Review by J. Carroll "happy parent" : I'm so glad I bought this car seat!

I was really wary when I read the reviews before buying this seat, because people had mentioned lack of cushioning, and difficulty of adjusting the straps. But this car seat was so much cheaper than everything else out there, I got it anyway - and I'm so glad I did!

As for lack of cushioning, maybe it has less than other models out there, but it's plenty for my little one. Also, it makes for very easy clean-up. Face it, at some point or other, your kid is going to throw up ALL OVER the car seat (or worse, diarrhea). When that happens, you'll be so happy you bought this car seat because it is very easy to just pull off the cover and throw it in the washing machine, and all that's left to do is wipe off the plastic base.

As for the difficulty adjusting the straps, I'm not sure what other reviewers were referring to. I have had no problems at all in pushing the little button to loosen them or pull them tight, which we do every time we get in or out. The safest way to use a car seat is to pull the straps so tight that you have to loosen them just to get them off (but not so tight that your baby is noticeably uncomfortable).

My favorite feature about this car seat is the safety rating. As an educated parent, I worry every time we get in the car because I know how dangerous it is to be on the road. With this car seat, I worry just a little bit less.

My second favorite feature about this car seat is the view. This is probably a feature of every convertible seat as contrasted with an infant seat, but I wish I had started with a convertible and skipped the infant seat altogether (especially since we are baby-wearers and rarely took the infant seat out of the car anyway). Once we got our baby into a convertible (she grew out of her infant seat), she could suddenly see out not only the back window, but the sides as well, and she could even turn her head to see the driver. Car rides suddenly became a lot more bearable.

My one gripe with this car seat is the cup holder. We hadn't even used it yet when the little plastic piece that holds it on snapped in two. So if you really need a reliable cup holder, this car seat is not for you.

Review by Prefer to be anonymous "Karen" : Great while it lasted

I got this car seat a year ago when my son outgrew his bucket seat. We also have a Britax Marathon for our main car. This car seat was used as a secondary car seat. It worked, was functional, but now my tall (36 inches) 25 month old has outgrown it.

The pros-1.Just as comfortable as the Britax Marathon, if your child weighs less than 30 pounds.
2. You can't go wrong for 45 dollars.
3.It works well-your child will be safe-
This car seat was a smart purchase. Had this car seat been more expensive I would be giving it less stars though.

The Cons
1. My son has chubby thighs. In the beginning, it did not matter. However, as he got taller-the crotch strap got more and more difficult to adjust. I now cannot use it is just too tight.
2. According to my partner it is a pain in the a$$ to install in my 2000 Corolla that does not have a LATCH.
3. This car seat only lasted a year-and my son only weighs 35 pounds-he technically has 5 more pounds of use!

I made a big deal about getting a Britax Marathon that we can use as a 5 point harness until my son is 65 pounds. When we got the Scenera, my partner laughed at me for spending over 200 dollars for a car seat. The Scenera was just as comfortable a year ago, and so much cheaper. I am making her eat her words now. We (knock on wood) have about 2 good years left on this carseat.

Maybe if my son wasn't so tall I would have given it 5 stars. I know it's not the car seats fault. However if you have a tall child, you might want to invest in the Britax Marathon as it will last longer. Having said that, I will probably keep this car seat for child number two and use it as a back up until it expires or that child out grows it-whichever comes first.

Review by P. Dyer "pinkertonfloyd" : Best seat out there... tips on a good install below!

Great seat, holds up better than most expensive ones.

Here's some pointers on getting this to tighten down.

They purposely make the strap tightener tight (All Dorel/Cosco/Safety first products use the same system, even on the $200 seats). The reason is they WILL NOT COME LOOSE (like I've seen other brands). They must be pulled perfectly STRAIGHT to loosen or tighten. The idea of the design is that the odds of the car seat pulling perfectly straight is nil, and therefore it's an extra safety feature in case the button fails.

Here's the Tip... take the strap, and measure where you need to pull it by taking it to the mounting point, then with it unbuckled, shorten the strap to the length you need, then push on the seat (if you can get your knee on the unit it helps), and then clip the buckle to the car... test it, if it's too loose, unhook, tighten a tad more and repeat... once you do this you can get a rock solid install.

A note about the "lack of padding". This is a safety feature also... as someone who has used racing safety equipment over the years... excessive padding is BAD. It allows more movement, which can cause more injury... the lack of padding is not to be "cheap", it's to make the unit comfortable "enough" while maintaining top safety. This is why this seat is loved by Consumer Reports.

Review by Jami Rill : Good Seat for Extended Rear Facing

We've just started using this carseat for our 19 month old daughter who is 22 lbs and 29 inches. She is our fourth child, so we have a bit of experience with different seats and I like this one better than those that have cost us more money. We also used this car seat front facing for our four year old son and always had an easy time with it. He was older when we bought i for our second car and never used it rear facing though.

Please note that the instructions for this carseat say that your child must be 34 inches to sit facing forward!!! My 19 month old is on the smaller half of the growth chart at 29 inches, but I can't imagine that any twelve month old (old enough to face forward) is 34 inches tall.

We are using it rear facing, but to get the level line horizontal with our seat, which gives it the recline that other reviewers have complained about (so make sure you check that line!), we had to put the carseat in the middle of the back seat or else have the passenger seat pulled all the way forward in our Dodge Durango SUV. We also had to put part of a swimming noodle under the seat so it would recline enough. It is very snug in there though and installing it was not any different that any other seat we've had. Our daughter has plenty of leg room (another complaint that I've heard about extended-age rear facing).

Please check to make sure your one year olds who are FORWARD facing meet the height requirement to do so in this carseat. They must be 22 lbs AND 34 inches AND one year old to forward face in this seat!

Review by K. Gabbay "Book worm" : Cheap and Functional

This carseat is terrible when compared to the comfort of the Britax Boulevard; however, as a second carseat (in my husband's car), it gets the job done at a price I was really comfortable with. I wouldn't recommend it for a primary carseat or for long trips.