Britax Frontier Review

I just purchased the Frontier and installed it in my car. This is my 5th Britax car seat, I have had 3 Marathons and one Parkway. I notice several people complain about ease of install on the Frontier, and I have one thing to say. READ THE MANUAL!!! I skimmed the manual when I got it, figuring that LATCH installation would be similar to all the other Britax seats I have had. After strugging with it for a while, I went back to the manual and discovered - it isn't. The LATCH buckles are recessed into the body of the seat, which makes it impossible to tighten the conventional way one tightens a Marathon or a Roundabout. You must reach BEHIND the seat pad and pull the LATCH tethers tight that way. Perfect, Britax quality solid installation. It is illustrated that way in the manual, and had I read it thoroughly I would have had this seat in in less than 5 minutes. So, shame on me. Second, in harness mode, you MUST flip the bottom of the seat from booster mode to harness mode. This is also in the manual. Lastly, people have complained that the straps twist - the manual addresses this too. Instead of the strap velcro that the Marathon had, Britax suggests you use the armrests to hold the straps back out of the way. Viola! No twisting. 

All in all, I think this is a great seat and another example of quality Britax engineering. I can foresee that Britax might have issues with people not being able to install this seat properly, though, because people don't READ THE MANUAL!!! Can I again suggest to read the manual? I gave this seat 4 stars instead of 5 only because I wish it came in more colors and patterns - I loved my Cowmooflage seats, and am not impressed with the color and pattern selection available here. This is the last car seat I will buy, it will take my son all the way through until he can ride like an adult.