My husband and I looked for a long time to the perfect carseat for our son when he outgrew his baby carrier. Everyone I talked to recommended the Britax seat because of their saftey and comfort. I knew I would purchase a Britax but was a little weary of the size since both my husband and I drive smaller cars. We found the Diplomat and it is perfect! It fits well in both cars. We used it rear facing until my son was 20 months and then turned him forward. The best parts of this seat are the ease of adjusting the harnesses as your child grows. There are knobs on the top of the seat that you turn, so you don't have to remove straps or anything. There are also the velcro tabs that keep the straps out of the way while you place your child in the seat so you never have to fish them out from under your child. Truthfully I have no complaints with this seat at all, I just wish it had a higher weight limit...but that would probably make it bigger, which I wouldn't want. My son is on the small side so we will definitely get our money's worth out of this seat, but if you have a child in the higher percentiles it's probably worth getting the Marathon or Roundabout. The weight limit on this seat is 40 lbs and I know some 2 year olds that are getting close to the limit.

crazygs32

Marlton, NJ

I chose this carseat because it was top of the line in safety from Britax but was created to be narrower to fit in smaller vehicles. I have been using this carseat for nearly 4 years now starting with my daughter and now being used for my son. It does not hold the kids as long as some other carseats and my daughter didn't last in it for too terribly long, but my son has been riding in it since he was 2 months old. He is now 2 and still fits in it great. Great neutral color and fantastic quality!

rowansinlove654

Auburn, GA

If only this could manage to cover those last few years (when a booster is needed) it would be a miracle!  Seriously though, to have a carseat that is so comfortable and such a fabulous fit for children from newborn through the preschool years is incredible, not to mention a boon for the wallet!   I love the pretty, soft fabric on this model, and my daughter, now 3 1/2 years still happily falls asleep against the plush sides that don't make her lean too far for support.  The surrounding headrest is easily adjusted in height by turning the black knobs at the back sides.  My daughter is tall for her age, often mistaken for a 4-5 year old, but still fits this seat well. I shopped first and foremost for the safest seats available, and am so happy with the comfort and design of this seat.  It is also MADE IN THE USA! The straps on this have never begun to fray or twist, and the belly pad still provides comfort behind the buckle after all this time.  While the cover is washable, I haven't needed to remove it yet since it wipes clean so nicely. I would have happily purchased a second one of these for our newborn, but we do prefer the infant carrier type seat that we can leave our winter baby bundled in when going in and out from the car.  By the time she outgrows the infant seat I believe her sister will be big enough to need a booster and can pass this seat on to the baby.

nickany

Osceola, IN

We purchased this car seat after our child grew out of his baby carrier carseat. We own a Honda Civic 4 door so the back seat is not very big. Even though this was our first child we still wanted something that left a little room in the back seat for additonal passengers or even just to put the groceries down. I settled on this car seat because it was a compact version of what seems like the safest brand of car seats on the market today. I felt like we were not compromising safety for size with this car seat. The car seat is not too small and there is plenty of room for our child to continue to grow.  It was the perfect size for our small car and it was very easy to install. We moved this car seat back and forth between our civic and our other larger car, but eventually ended up buying two to make it even eaiser. The only con with this car seat is the strapes tangle very easily, however it could be something we are doing wrong. I highly recommend this car seat to anyone with a small car.

mmcnally

South Bend, IN

We bought this carseat for my daugther when she was 6 months old. She had outgrown her Gracie Snugride and we needed something that was safe. I did a lot of research and Britax was the safest company/carseats I found. This seat was a bit pricey, but I wanted the best for my daughter. It worked out great for about a year and a half, but she is very tall and quickly outgrew it. We bought this for our Honda element, since it had side impact protection. I should have gone with the bigger Advocate model, but all in all, it is a great, very safe seat. I have since put my son in it and he should fit well for another year. After that, we will have to move him to a bigger seat. My only complaint is that the pull strap had to be replaced twice. It would get caught in the seat and from use, it shred overtime. Britax was great about getting a replacement strap to us, but I don't think an expensive carseat should have a cheap strap. Also, while I am on the straps, they also twisted very easily, so you need to be careful while you are putting on and taking off, so that they don't twist. Other than that, we love our Britax Diplomat.

eapannone

Lawrenceville, NJ

I was given a really nice car seat/stroller travel system at my babyshower and I used the car seat to start with but my daughter quickly outgrew the infant car seat so my quest for a convertable car seat began. I researched tons on consumer reports websites and came across the Britax Diplomat (which jut happened to be on a killer sale at diapers.com). It has great saftety ratings. This thing is durable. And it appears comfortable compared to some of the other seats that I have looked at. I love the fact that it is convertable and with great ease I might add. The head rest can be adjusted up and down. The ability to strap it in using either the seatbelt or the latch system is easy. And if you are at all concerned about color - the Huntington - which is tan is great for either a boy or girl so it can be saved and used again for either gender. The fabric is nice and soft and durable too. In all honesty, I wouldnt use any opther brand of car seat.

jlcameron513

Harrisburg, PA

This is a great car seat for small cars. I have a ford focus and like many of the cars of that size I have limited back seat space but this is no problem for the Britax Diplomat. Unlike many of the larger car seats the Britax diplomat fits nicely in my car. Britax is known for their superior safety and this car seat is no exception.  It comes with all the safety features of the britax company in a size that is great for smaller vehicles.  However, I must warn you this car seat is not the easiest car seat to install, is very pricey if you can't find it on sale, and it also has limited height and weight restictions compared to other car seats on the market (40 lbs and 40 inches) But it is very safe, it is great for small cars, and comes in the super cute cowmooflage pattern, which I absolutely love.  Therefore I would say to any small vehicle this cute car seat would be well worth the money.    

mlind186

North Sioux City, SD

This convertible car seat offered additional side impact protection over the roundabout, otherwise pretty much the same seat.  My daughter seems to find it quite comfortable.  The latches can be a little tricky at times, but the simple push button adjustability of the straps helps with that.  All in all a good choice.

jehaine

Pawtucket, RI

We purchased this seat over two years ago for our son, who was then just under a year old. We chose this seat over it's big brother, the Britax Boulevard, because we have a smal, two-door car. (2004 Ford Focus SE). We were attracted to the Britax quality reputation, as well as the side impact protection of the wings on the headrest. This was one of the most expensive 5 point harness seats of its size, but we are willing to pay for quality for such an important piece of safety equiptment. We first used the seat rear facing. It took me a minute or two to figure out how to use the LATCH system in the rear facing position, but once I figured it out, it was pretty easy to install. When our child was about 15 months old, we turned the seat around to forward facing. He loved it! Our son is now three and a half years old and weighs 34 pounds. He still fits comfortably in the seat, although you can tell he is reaching the 40 pound limit. We plan on purchasing another Britax (probably the boulevard) and keeping him in the five point harness. our diplomat will be passed on to his little brother! We have been very happy with this product.

redrusso

Hyattsville, MD

The Britax Diplomat was and continues to be our choice for a car seat.   I highly recommend it to safety-conscious parents who do not have a lot of room in their backseats.   The Britax name is what first attracted us to this seat and its smaller size, to allow it to fit backwards in our 1997 Toyota Corolla is what sold us on it.   The black (onyx) color is both a positive and negative feature.   It hides dirt amazingly well, but it does get hot in the summer.   Highlights of the car-seat that have been especially useful include increasing the height with the turn of a nob, that it is higher than some car seats so that your child can look out the window easier, and the safety feature of the headrest extending out, which also allows for a place for your child to easily rest his or her head when asleep.   Negatives include a cavity inside the seat that traps liquids that you might not know about if you didn't look for it (easy enough to clean).   I did not attempt to move it from car to car while it was rear facing, but have done it countless times while forward facing.   The latch to hold the safety belt in place if you are using it to secure the seat it extremely useful for installing it.   Note: when you take it apart be careful of the top foam piece as it can break easily and you will need to have a new one shipped.   Also, if you can fit one of the larger Britax seats backwards in your car I suggest it because this seat's limits are not as high.

PatriciaOwensFlores

Woonsocket, RI