I fall for a comfortable and safe car seat every time, especially if it’s one with decent potential as a rear-facing seat and with a good range as a forward-facing seat. Maxi-Cosi demonstrated its potential in both arenas with the Pria 70, and when I heard the Maxi-Cosi Pria 85 was on the way, I knew I had to give it a try.

Maxi-Cosi Pria 85 – What’s the big deal?

The Maxi-Cosi Pria 85 is a convertible car seat with a pretty common rear-facing range but a rather impressive rear-facing range. Being a convertible seat means that it can be used in two configurations, including as a rear-facing infant seat, and as a forward-facing seat. A TinyFit system is not yet available, although I’m sure it isn’t far behind. At any rate, it has one of the highest forward-facing weight limits available in any convertible currently on the market. The goal as stated by Maxi-Cosi is to enable parents to forward-face their children for longer than they would have been able to with the Pria 70. Is it worth it? Let’s see!

Buy the Maxi-Cosi Pria 85 on Sale with Free Shipping at Amazon.

Maxi-Cosi Pria 85 Limits for Weight and Height

Rear-facing: 14-40 pounds. Your child’s head should not reach past 1″ below the top of the main shell and should be less than 40″ in height.

Forward-facing: 22-85 pounds, and between 34 and 43″ in height. The tips of your child’s ears need to be below the top end of the shell. Your child should be at least 1, and it’s recommended that s/he is at least 2. Of course, research into car safety indicates children should remain rear-facing for as long as possible (the average is 4 years in Sweden, which posts the lowest child fatality rate on Earth), and after rear-facing, the child should remain forward-facing as long as possible. Thanks to the Maxi-Cosi Pria 85, that’s a lot more possible.

Dimensions of the Maxi-Cosi Pria 85

The seat is 20″ wide and weighs around 20 pounds. It’s not the lightest seat on the market by a long shot, but it’s not bad for a convertible.

Using the Maxi-Cosi Pria 85

A look inside the box will reveal an attractive and elegant car seat packed securely and well mated to the space around it. As with the previous Pria 70, there are 9 harness height options available that span 9.5″ at the lowest setting and 17.5″ at the highest setting with small steps in between. Something I liked about the Pria 70 that Maxi-Cosi kept with the Pria 85 is the ability to raise and lower the harness height from the front of the seat, whether or not the seat is currently installed. You simply squeeze the handle back and pull it up or down as desired. It is called the Perfect Fit harness height adjustment and is designed to be used with one hand. Micro-adjustments are also possible so the fit is easier.

There is a red handle behind the seat restraint (see the image to the left) that is the recline adjuster. You can choose between several different positions; the positions that you choose will determine the angle at which the seat is tilted. The rear-facing adjustment is described as a “deep rear-facing adjustment”, and it is designed to make a correct rear-facing install easier and faster, which is always a good thing when you think about how the vast majority of car seats are installed incorrectly.

Other things I like about the Maxi-Cosi Pria 85 include the fact that it includes a no-rethread harness adjust in addition to the no-rethread headrest. Other small but significant features include the addition of harness holders, which are designed to hold your harness straps away from you while loading a child. These are increasingly common on higher-end car seats, and while they don’t make a safety difference, they do make a significant convenience boost, so I’m a fan of them.

The installation of the seat itself is straightforward, and there is a one click LATCH system included that works intuitively. Keep in mind, however, that as is the case with just about every convertible seat, you can achieve a safe install whether you use a LATCH system or a seat belt. Personally, I almost always prefer the seat belt install since it makes installing multiple or three seats across a much easier affair. Similarly, I often find that the seat belt is the only way to achieve a safe center seat install, and the center seat is the safest seat. You can and are strongly encouraged to tether while forward-facing, although it’s not required. Here’s an article on why tethering while forward-facing is a great idea.

Oh – I also like the fact that there’s an integrated cup holder. Sometimes it’s the little things. Similarly, there are machine washable and dryer safe seating pads and harness covers included, while the CosiCushion fabrics and padding are really comfortable. Then again, Maxi-Cosi seems to have figured out a while ago how to make their car seats comfortable.

Buy the Maxi-Cosi Pria 85 on Sale with Free Shipping at Amazon.

Why Buy the Maxi-Cosi Pria 85?

This is the meat and potatoes of this car seat. The Maxi-Cosi Pria 85 is one of several seats in the United States that allow you to rear-face a child for up to 40 pounds. This isn’t as good as it gets anymore, but it’s still decent. Every pound is precious, as the longer you rear-face, the safer your child is. In the US, parents tend to turn their children around into the line of fire at 1. In Sweden, this typically isn’t done until 4. Children in Sweden are far less likely to die in car crashes than children in the US. It makes that much of a difference. This alone is reason enough to buy the Maxi-Cosi Pria 85.

However, the primary reason why I’m a fan of the Maxi-Cosi Pria 85 is because the seat will work well with larger and older children due to its 85 pound weight limit. This is almost as good as it gets for a convertible car seat; the only convertible seats that currently offer higher forward-facing limits are the Diono Rainier and Pacifica at 90 pounds. The Maxi-Cosi Pria 85 is a smaller seat than either of these, which makes it easier to fit in smaller vehicles. Be sure to check out the 3 across guide to see which kinds of car seats are likely to fit in your vehicle.

The biggest strike against the Maxi-Cosi Pria 85 is the fact that there are seats that allow you to RF significantly longer by weight. I’m also not a fan of the fact that you can’t use it with infants from day 1, the way you can with a number of other convertibles, due to the 14 pound minimum weight. I’m sure Maxi-Cosi will soon release a Maxi-Cosi Pria 85 with a TinyFit insert the way they did with the Maxi-Cosi Pria 70 with TinyFit, and that will take care of this concern nicely. For now, though, you’ll need an infant seat to start things off if you have an infant who weighs less than 14 pounds.

However, if the ability to practice ERF, practice EH, or extended harnessing, and enjoy ease of installation are important to you, the Maxi-Cosi Pria 85 will give you what you’re looking for. Finally, I do like that the seat is FAA approved for aircraft use. I also like that it is made in the United States.

I recommend the Maxi-Cosi Pria 85 wholeheartedly. You can buy the Maxi-Cosi Pria 85 here in three colors. Canadians can buy it here.

—

If you find the information on car safety, recommended car seats, and car seat reviews on this car seat blog helpful, you can shop through this Amazon link for any purchases, car seat-related or not. Canadians can shop through this link for Canadian purchases.