Maxi-Cosi has been building great car seats for years now, and I’ve had the chance to review a few of them over the last several months, including the newer Pria 85 and older Pria 70 with TinyFit. As a result, when they announced they were coming out with a cheaper version of the Pria convertible line, I put in my pre-order on Amazon. It arrived today! In short, it’s called the Maxi-Cosi Vello 65, and this review is about how it should be high on your list for a safe, modern, and comfortable car seat for your little ones.

Maxi-Cosi Vello 65 – Quick Review

The Maxi-Cosi Vello 65 is essentially a simpler version of the Pria 85, which is a great convertible car seat in its own right. It comes with a number of unique features including a crotch strap adjustable in 3 positions, 3 recline positions, a no-rethread harness, ergonomic push button lower LATCH connectors, an easy to remove cover, storage pockets, and cup holder, as well as a removable body pillow.

Because the Vello 65 is a convertible car seat, you can install it in two different positions: rear-facing and forward-facing. When using it in the rear-facing configuration, it’s suitable for toddlers and preschoolers, while the forward-facing configuration is suitable for keeping preschoolers and elementary-aged children safe and properly restrained. As a rear-facing seat, it’s not suitable for most infants due to the height of the harness in its lowest position (10″).

Buy the Maxi-Cosi Vello 65 on Sale at Amazon here.

Maxi-Cosi Vello 65 Weight and Height Limits

Rear-facing: 9 to 40 pounds. Your child must be 40″ tall or less. There is also the standard 1″ requirement, which means that the top of your child’s head must be at least 1″ under the top of the seat shell. Despite the 40″ height limit, this is the practical height limit of this car seat and the realistic limit of most car seats on the market, since the amount of height you’ll get in a seat will depend on whether your child’s height is primarily in his or her torso or legs. The lowest harness position is 10″ while the highest is 17.5.” The shell height is 26.5″, which is identical to the shell height I measure in the Pria 85 and Pria 70 with TinyFit.

Forward-facing: 22 to 65 pounds. Your child must be between 29″ and 49″ in standing height. The lowest harness position remains at 10″ while the highest position holds steady at 17.5.”

While Maxi-Cosi allows you to forward-face your child as soon as she or he turns 1 and weighs ant least 22 pounds, I’m a staunch advocate of extended rear-facing, which means I recommend you keep rear-facing as long as possible. This means rear-facing if you can even into the preschool years (when your child is 4 or more)! The reason I advocate this practice is because rear-facing is safest for young children when transported in a car, and reduces their risks of serious and fatal injuries. When you decide to forward face, you’ll want to forward-face in harnessed seats for as long as possible until your child is ready for a booster seat.

Dimensions of and Stats for the Maxi-Cosi Vello 65

The Vello 65 is around 20″ wide and close to 20 pounds in weight. There are lighter convertibles available, but this is still a manageable weight, especially considering the fact that the seat will probably live in one vehicle permanently as a convertible.

The date in which the Vello 65 was manufactured is located on the side of the seat on a white sticker that also includes the model number. The seat’s expiration date is on the seat bottom engraved into the plastic. The seat has a 10 year product life and is approved for aircraft use by the FAA.

To see which car seats are likely to fit well in 3 across configurations in your car, pickup, SUV, or minivan, you’ll want to check out the full 3 across car seat installation guide. It covers vehicles of all sizes, makes, and models, and if a vehicle you’re looking for isn’t there, send me an email and I’ll add it to the list of vehicles to test.

Using the Maxi-Cosi Vello 65

Rear-facing installation and adjustment

Installing the Vello 65 in a rear-facing configuration is pretty straightforward in most vehicles. You simply place the car seat on your vehicle’s seat and look at the recline angle. There is a black molded plastic line above a lime green sticker to the side of the seat, close to the top head rest. That line must be parallel, or level, relative to the ground. To do this, you’ll need to set the recline foot to either position 2 or 3. Once you have the recline angle that works for your vehicle and vehicle seat, you’ll either run the lower LATCH anchor strap or your seat belt through the indicated path for rear-facing belts. This path is marked on the sides of the seat and is beneath where your child’s feet sit in the seat.

You’ll want to set the crotch strap in the closest of the 3 available positions to your child. You’ll then run your seat belt or lower LATCH anchor strap in front (ahead) of the crotch strap so that the slot furthest away from the child is covered.

If you’re using your lower LATCH anchors, you’ll first thread your connecting strap through the rear-facing belt path on each side of the seat before tightening it.

If you’re using the seat belt, you’ll thread the lap belt through the rear-facing belt path while the shoulder belt follows it. From that point on you simply buckle the belt and tighten it.

To ensure you have a securely tight installation and aren’t making one of the most common mistakes when using a car seat, make sure you do the 1″ test for movement, as described here. That goes for every car seat, not just the Vello 65.

Forward-facing installation

The forward-facing installation is about as simple as the rear-facing installation. You’ll need to use either recline positions 1 or 2. You’ll use 1 for children who weigh between 40 and 65 pounds and 2 for children who weigh between 22 and 40 pounds.

Child fit

Generally, the Vello 65 does a great job fitting children it’s designed to fit, and features like the no-rethread harness make it easy to adjust both the harness and head support for your child without removing your child from the seat or having to uninstall and reinstall the seat. However, there are some important points to cover regarding fit.

The Vello 65, unlike most convertible seats on the market, is not designed to fit newborns on their way out of the hospital (or birthing center). This is important to note, since the 9 pound lower weight limit might make parents of large babies think they’d be fine. The issue isn’t just the weight, it’s also the harness height. The lowest harness height of 10″ is still going to be too tall for most infants, which is why I’d suggest waiting until your child is close to 1 before beginning to use the Vello 65. Before that, an infant seat like the Evolution Pro or one of the many others I’ve reviewed and recommended here would be a much better bet.

Comparison with the Maxi-Cosi Pria 85 and Pria 70 with and without TinyFit

Compared with the other members of the Maxi-Cosi convertible family, there are a lot of similar features across the line. All four seats have a 40 pound, 40″ weight and height limit, respectively, while rear-facing. However, when forward-facing, the Vello 65 has the lowest upper weight range at 65 pounds. The highest belongs to the Pria 85 at 85 pounds. The Vello 65 is also the only seat with a 49″ height limit when forward-facing. The lowest harness height setting is the same at 10″ for all seats except for the Pria 70 with TinyFit, which has a 4.5″ lowest height setting when the TinyFit is installed. The highest harness height is the same across all models at 17.5″, as is the shell height at 26.5.”

The Vello 65 and the Pria 85 are the only models to include an easy remove cover, while the Vello 65 is the only model to not include the air protect feature. All models except for the Pria 85 include a body pillow.

Buy the Maxi-Cosi Vello 65 on Sale at Amazon here.

Why Buy the Maxi-Cosi Vello 65?

When it comes to buying car seats, I try to keep things simple by looking at how well of a job seats do at keeping kids safe. For me, that means looking for seats that keep kids in the safest positions possible for as long as possible, which means rear-facing as long as possible, then forward-facing in a harnessed seat for as long as possible, then using a booster until the 5-step test is passed, before finally switching to the least protected and most vulnerable position for both children and adults: forward-facing in an adult seat with the adult seat belt.

The Vello 65 justifies itself by helping children rear-face until 40 pounds and then forward-face until 65 pounds. I wish it had a lower weight limit on the lower end, as the 9 pound lower weight limit along with the high low harness setting means it’s not going to be useful for parents right out of the hospital, which, to me, is one of the big advantages of a convertible seat. However, if you’ve already got an infant seat and are looking for a convertible to switch to, the Vello 65 deserves a look. It makes installation and adjustment easy, which makes the seat safer by removing some of the biggest obstacles parents face in successful and safe car seat installations. I also love the plushness of the seat fabric, the ease with which I can strip the cover for washing it, the storage pockets and cup holders around the seat, and the narrowness of the seat in front-to-back measurements, which helps in preserving front passenger leg room.

Overall, i believe the Maxi-Cosi Vello 65 is a car seat worth buying. You can buy it here in Black, Grey, and Pink with free shipping and free returns.

Unfortunately, it’s not yet available in Canada, but Canadians can buy a similar seat, the Boulevard ClickTight, here.

If you find my information on best practices in car and car seat safety helpful, you can do your shopping through this Amazon link. Canadians can shop here for Canadian purchases. Have a question or want to discuss best practices? Join us in the forums!