It’s no secret that I consider side impact collisions some of the most deadly situations we can encounter on the road as drivers or passengers. Unlike frontal collisions, which are more common but also have much more material, relatively speaking between us and the vehicles colliding with us, there are only a few precious inches between you and the outside of your door in a side impact collision. A few precious inches between life and death.
In far too many cases, the end result of a side impact collision is death; 1 out of every 3 auto fatalities this year will result from a t-bone collision. I’ve written up many of these stories, but there are still far too many out there.
How do I find vehicles designed to keep my family safe from side impact crashes?
My desire to reduce the number of grieving families each year is precisely why I follow improvements in side impact crash protection design, and why I chose a metric–the degree to which vehicle structures kept away the intruding vehicle in the IIHS standard side impact test–to compare design improvements. With this information, I put together several lists a year of the safest vehicles for surviving side impacts. In 2015, I wrote up lists for the safest cars overall, the safest small cars, the safest small SUVs and crossovers, the safest minivans, and the safest SUVs overall for surviving such collisions. I promised to keep these lists updated with improvements in technology. Well, it’s 2016, and a new crop of vehicles are out. And things have changed.
Last year, the best mainstream passenger vehicle you could buy to protect yourself in a side impact collision, by my metric, was the 2016 Volvo XC90. It featured a class leading 26 cm of resistance from the B-pillar to the center of the driver’s seat after a 31 mph side impact collision with a test sled simulating the equivalent of a 3,300 lb SUV (e.g., a Honda CR-V). This was the standard.
Thanks to Audi, there is a new standard.
The 2017 Audi Q7‘s test results were just released by the IIHS, and it is now the leader in the side protection race with 27.5 cm of resistance. This is greater than that of any other mainstream passenger vehicle whose results are currently available. Yes, it’s possible that a vehicle like the Model S or T might test higher, but in the absence of available data, right now, I’d recommend the new Q7 to families whose ultimate priority was side impact protection over any other vehicle currently for sale.
What if I’m not in a position to buy the new Q7?
If you’re not in a position to buy the new Q7 (I’m not either!), never fear. There are still a wide range of vehicles that offer excellent levels of side impact crash protection, and many of these are available for substantially less than the Q7. The list increases still further when you consider used vehicles; the primary job of a car, after all, isn’t to look new, but to keep you safe while transporting you and your loved ones from one place to another.
If you’re looking for a comparable SUV, check out this list; it includes a range of SUVs within 7 cm of the Q7, including the aforementioned 2016 Volvo XC90, the 2014+ BMW X5, the 2011+ Mercedes-Benz GLK, the 2011+ Ford Explorer, the 2009+ Audi Q5, and the 2010+ Volvo XC60.
Are older vehicles going to offer comparable safety, though?
Yes! As long as a vehicle hasn’t been in a collision or been otherwise damaged by rust, corrosion, or flooding, you should be able to expect the same level of crash protection performance from it years or even decades after it was originally made. Airbags, for example, are designed to last for the lifetime of a vehicle without maintenance. Seat belts should be inspected after 15 years or so, and replaced as needed if they show signs of wear or fraying, but the actual crash mitigation structures within the frame of the vehicle should easily last the life of the vehicle.
Any of these vehicles will offer nearly as much side impact resistance as that of the current generation Q7, and some will do so for substantially less money. The Q5, for example, has maintained the same design, which offers 23 cm of side impact protection, since 2009, which means you can find used models for substantially less than what you’d spend new. Similarly, the XC60, released in 2010, offers 22 cm of protection, which is still better than what you’ll find from the vast majority of cars, minivans, and SUVs on the road, new or used. The Ford Explorer’s design dates back to 2011, and is your best bet for finding side impact protection at this caliber with 3 row seating on a budget.
What about if I’m looking for side impact protection in cars or minivans? Can they be as safe as SUVs?
It’s also important to remember that, if at all possible, the best way to avoid dying in a side impact collision is to avoid getting into one to begin with. That means not driving if you can (by using public transportation, walking, or cycling as alternatives), followed by driving as little as possible, followed by choosing the safest vehicles you can find.
I’ll keep working to spread the word about the importance of considering side impact protection when choosing a new or used vehicle for one’s family or loved ones. I hope to have more comparison lists out soon regarding 2016 cars, SUVs, and minivans.
The Honda HR-V is a mini SUV recently brought to the US market to compete with other subcompact and compact crossovers like the Chevrolet Trax / Buick Encore, the HR-V’s larger brand sibling Honda CR-V, Toyota RAV4, Nissan Rogue, Mazda CX-5, Subaru Forester, Ford Escape, Jeep Compass, Kia Sportage, Hyundai Tuscon, Jeep Renegade, and Jeep Patriot. The market is crowded, but it’s a popular one among small families interested in fuel economy, maneuverability, and hatchback practicality.
I got a hold of an HR-V and liked what I saw. Based on the similarly-sized Fit, it looks small on the outside but is surprisingly roomy on the inside, and comes with the latest safety features we’ve come to expect in new vehicles in the US, like good crash scores, ESC, and side impact airbags. However, what most interested me was whether I’d be able to stuff 3 car seats into the back row without spending half the afternoon scraping my knuckles. Is it possible? Read on to find out!
Before we dive into which seats did and didn’t work in the HR-V, though, why not join me for a quick read of what’s important to do and when (and why!) when it comes to car seat ages and stages.
For me, car seat safety starts with rear-facing. It’s the safest position we know of, and the longer our kids rear-face, the safer they’ll be, regardless of what kind of vehicle they travel in. I recommend keeping children in rear-facing infant or convertible seats as long as possible (ideally until 4!), then keeping them harnessed in forward-facing seats for several years more (ideally until 8!), and then only switching them out of booster seats when they pass the 5 step test (which typically happens between 10 and 12). The goal is to keep kids in the safest kinds of seats for as long as possible to increase their odds of surviving serious car crashes.
With that all in mind, I got to work with my seats to create what I believe to be the most detailed 3 across guide for the Honda HR-V on the Internet. If you find the list helpful when shopping for car seats, you can shop through my Amazon link below. I’ll add more seats as I test them over time.
The initial US generation of the HR-V is just over 169 inches long and just under 70 inches wide. In other words, it’s a very short and very narrow SUV. The width hurts you when it comes to 3 across installations while the length makes it difficult to fit rear-facing seats without robbing precious leg room from front row occupants. This is one of the most difficult vehicles I’ve successfully worked with when it comes to 3 across installations; to be honest, I found the Fit slightly more friendly, even though they’re based on the same platform and the Fit is narrower.
You can get around the leg room issue with my rear-facing convertible leg room comparison guide, and you can get around the width issue by using the seats I listed above. You’ll absolutely want to use the seat belts instead of the LATCH system, as the LATCH anchors are spaced wide apart, which keeps you from making the most of your very limited back seat room. If you’ve only got one or two seats to install at a time, however, feel free to use the LATCH system.
The third row, if you have one, is statistically the safest row in your vehicle.
One of the most common questions I get from parents involves the safety of the 3rd row in 3-row minivans and SUVs. Whether from old articles online, rumors from baby forums, or general feelings of unease, many parents come to believe the third row is one to be avoided at all costs. However, is it true?
Not at all. There are certainly risks involved with using the third row, but on average, the third row is actually the *safest* place to be in a vehicle with three rows. We’ll dive into why in this article.
The Third Row is the Safest Row in a Crash – But Why?
The reason why the third row is the safest place for children, car seats, or passengers in general, on average, is due to the distribution of points of impact in fatal multi-vehicle collisions. From earlier articles, you know that most fatal multiple-vehicle crashes by volume are frontal crashes, followed by side collisions, followed by rear-end collisions. Why is this?
Not all crashes carry the same risks of fatalities
Frontal collisions (e.g., head-ons, moderate overlaps, small overlaps) are the most common fatal multiple-vehicle collisions simply because most roads don’t offer significant barriers between opposite direction traffic, and high-speed (e.g., 40 mph and higher) collisions in such situations can rapidly become fatal.
In fact, analyses of multiple-vehicle collisions and fatalities reveals that roughly 1 out of 2 multiple-vehicle collisions involve frontal impacts, and 1 out of every 2 multiple collision deaths are from such impacts. This doesn’t mean that 1 out of every 2 frontal collisions will lead to fatalities; it just means that half of all multiple-vehicle collisions involve frontal collisions, and that half of all multiple-vehicle fatalities also involve frontal collisions. It’s a common crash scenario, and it’s also a common fatality scenario. However, the risk of dying in a frontal collision is proportional to the risk of being involved in one. This isn’t the case in side and rear-end collisions.
Side collisions (.e.g, t-bones) aren’t as common in occurrence as frontal collisions; only about 1 out of every 5 multiple-vehicle collisions will feature one vehicle t-boning another. However, if a multiple-vehicle collision is a fatal one, there is a 1 in 3 chance that the collision involved a side impact. In other words, the risk of dying in a side collision is disproportionately higher than the risk of dying in a frontal collision.
Fortunately, with rear-end collisions, the odds reverse in our favor. Rear-end collisions are more common than side impact collisions (slightly more than 1 out of every 4 multiple-vehicle collisions are rear-enders), but they’re dramatically less likely to be fatal. Only 1 out of every 12 multiple collision deaths results from one vehicle crashing into another from behind. In other words, the risk of dying in a rear-end collision is proportionally much lower than the risk of dying in either a frontal- or side-collision. In fact, even though there are 25% more rear-enders than t-bones on the road, there are more than 4x as many side impact fatalities than rear-end fatalities each year.
Where are the most dangerous and safest positions for a child in a vehicle?
An analysis of crash frequencies and fatalities shows us that the most dangerous places for a child to sit in a vehicle are likely the front passenger seat, followed the outboard seats of the second row, followed by the outboard seats of the third row.
I’d estimate the safest places for a child to sit in a vehicle are the center third and center second row seats, followed by outboard seats in the third and second rows. This doesn’t take the orientation (e.g., rear- vs forward-facing), duration (e.g., rear-facing until 1 vs rear-facing until 5) or type (e.g., harnessed vs booster) of seat into account, but simply the location of the seat.
How to use car seat choices reduce risks of child injury or death in frontal, side, and rear collisions
With this knowledge, our focus turns toward reducing the risks of deaths from frontal- and side-impact collisions by varying the kinds of car seats we choose, how we orient them, and how long we use them before changing to less safe seats. This is ultimately more important.
We reduce these risks by rear-facing children for as long as possible (ideally until at least 4), then either forward-facing or boostering, provided your kids sit safely and are at least 5. We then keep them in booster seats until they’re large enough to sit safely in adult vehicle seats with only seat belts (which typically happens between the ages of 10 to 12). The orientation of the seat, the type of seat used, and the length of time a child spends in a particular seat has a greater impact on child safety than where a child happens to be sitting in a vehicle.
In other words, a rear-facing child in any row is safer than a forward-facing child in any row. A 5-year old in a harnessed seat in any row is safer than a 5-year old boostered child in any row. The longer you can keep your kids rear-facing vs forward-facing, the safer they are. The longer you can keep them forward-facing vs boostered, the safer they are. The longer you can keep them boostered (until they’re big enough to use adult seats and belts), the safer they are.
So you’re telling me, Mike, that the third row is a safe place for kids or adults?
Yes! The third row is likely the safest place you can seat a child in a vehicle that offers such a row, and I’d estimate the center seat of the third row to be the safest location in a vehicle. The third row is the most impervious to severe frontal crashes, which take the greatest number of lives per year in multiple-vehicle collisions.
This, by the way, is why airplanes almost always have their cockpit and data recorders located in the tail of the plane; this location has the most protection from catastrophic damage due to the rest of the plane being in front of it.
The center seat in any row, as I’ve discussed previously, offers the most protection against side impact collisions, which are much rarer than rear-facing collisions but are proportionally much more likely to be fatal. The third row is the most vulnerable to rear-end collisions, but statistically, these collisions are the least likely to result in fatal injuries simply because of the direction in which both vehicles will be traveling.
Above all, remember that seat orientation, duration, and type matters more than row location. In Sweden, for example, parents frequently install rear-facing seats in the front passenger seat of vehicles. This is very rare in the US, but statistically, it’s still safer than forward-facing anywhere else in the vehicle.
As a result, if rear-end collisions aren’t the least common collisions but are the types of multiple-vehicle collisions with the lowest fatality risks, it stands to reason that these are the collisions you need to spend the least amount of time worrying about. However, you do want to make sure that your third row has side curtain airbags, just as your second and first rows should, as these offer substantial protection against side impact collisions, particularly if your child is seated in an outboard seat. Most new three row vehicles that feature side airbags do feature them in all three rows, but this is not always the case, so you’ll want to check (Kia, for example, didn’t include third row side airbags in the previous generation Sorento).
The Ford C-Max is one of the many new family-focused hybrids to hit the US market in recent years. Based on the Ford Focus and designed to replace the Ford Escape hybrid, it competes with a range of small cars sold in the US, including the aforementioned Ford Focus, Honda Civic, Toyota Corolla, Kia Soul, Chevrolet Cruze, Mazda 3, Dodge Dart, Toyota Prius, Scion xB, Volkswagen Golf / GTI, and Subaru Crosstrek. In the hybrid segment, its small car competitors are the Prius, the Chevy Volt, and the now defunct Honda Insight. It’s relatively affordable and gets good mileage. But how does it do on car seats?
That’s what I decided to find out. On paper, the C-Max is a good, safe, family car. It seats five (a seven seater exists outside of the US but hasn’t been brought to this market yet), has good frontal and side crash test scores, features ESC and side airbags, and has an acceptable small overlap score. But there are many vehicles out there that look better on paper than they are in practice. I wanted to make sure the C-Max wasn’t one of them when it came to fitting 3 car seats across the back row.
Before we dive into which seats did and didn’t work in the C-Max, though, why not join me for a quick read of what’s important to do and when (and why!) when it comes to car seat ages and stages.
For me, car seat safety starts with rear-facing. It’s the safest position we know of, and the longer our kids rear-face, the safer they’ll be, regardless of what kind of vehicle they travel in. I recommend keeping children in rear-facing infant or convertible seats as long as possible (ideally until 4!), then keeping them harnessed in forward-facing seats for several years more (ideally until 8!), and then only switching them out of booster seats when they pass the 5 step test (which typically happens between 10 and 12). The goal is to keep kids in the safest kinds of seats for as long as possible to increase their odds of surviving serious car crashes.
With that all in mind, I got to work with my seats to create what I believe to be the most detailed 3 across guide for the Ford C-Max on the Internet. If you find the list helpful when shopping for car seats, you can shop through my Amazon link below. I’ll add more seats as I test them over time.
The first US generation of the C-Max is just over 172 inches long and 72 inches wide. In other words, it’s neither a very long nor very wide car. The width hurts you when it comes to 3 across installations while the length makes it difficult to fit rear-facing seats without robbing precious leg room from front row occupants.
You can get around the leg room issue with my rear-facing convertible leg room comparison guide, and you can get around the width issue by using the seats I listed above. You’ll absolutely want to use the seat belts instead of the LATCH system, as the LATCH anchors are spaced wide apart, which keeps you from making the most of your rather limited back seat room. If you’ve only got one or two seats to install at a time, however, feel free to use the LATCH system.
2018 Update: The Graco Extend2Fit continues to be the best deal on the market when it comes to extended rear facing. There have been no significant changes to the seat since the original review.
There are a lot of great convertible car seats available at the $200 price point in the US, including many by Graco that I’ve reviewed in the past, including the Size4Me, Fit4Me, Contender, and Head Wise. Each of those seats allows rear-facing until 40 pounds, which will get many kids to age 4 before they need to be turned around.
Considering the fact that most parents turn kids forward-facing far too early between ages 1 and 2, these seats are already a great step forward for many parents. However, there are parents interested in rear-facing as long as absolutely possible, and those are parents I typically steer toward seats like the Fllo, Foonf, Rainier, and Pacifica. That said, those seats are also on the more expensive end and out of budget for many parents. The EX 65 Air+ is cheaper, but it’s also a huge seat (it’s nearly two feet wide!), which makes it nearly impossible to use in 3 across setups, never mind in small vehicles with a premium on front-to-back space, as I showed in my rear-facing leg room comparison. This is where the Extend2Fit comes in.
Imagine a seat that allowed you to rear-face your kids until they hit 50 pounds (or in other words, until 5 for most children). Imagine that same seat cost under $200. And finally, imagine that seat being narrow enough to actually use in a range of 3 across setups. If this all sounds too good to be true, you owe it to yourself to consider the Extend2Fit. I picked mine up on Amazon with free shipping, and after a brief wait (a lot of folks are understandably interested in this seat), it was in my hands to try. Suffice it to say that it’s a good car seat that many parents would do well to consider. Let’s look at it in a bit (okay, a lot) more detail!
Graco Extend2Fit – What’s the big deal?
If you’re looking for the cheapest way to rear-face until 50 pounds, you’re looking for the Extend2Fit.
The Graco Extend2Fit is the latest in a long line of rather capable convertible car seats by Graco. I’ve had the chance to review a number of their seats over the years, and the Extend2Fit fits right in with the majority of them, with the major standouts being its extended rear-facing weight limit (all previous Graco convertibles topped out at 40 pounds) and very high height limits for rear-facing, which is a very good thing for accommodating taller children.
More broadly, if you’re interested in the Graco Extend2Fit, you’re looking at a convertible car seat that’ll let you rear-face as long as any other car seat in the United States by weight (up to 50 pounds) while only being limited by the height of the seat’s shell. This means that most children who use the Extend2Fit will be able to use it to rear-face until the tops of their heads are within 1″ of the shell. The shell itself is a whopping 30″ tall when you fully extend the head rest, which means most kids are going to be able to reach the 50 pound weight limit before outgrowing the seat. In other words, you’ll be able to rear-face at least until 4, and probably beyond 5!
There are a range of harness strap height options available with the Extend2Fit, which works well with its 4 pound starting weight limit. In other words, you’ll be able to buy the Extend2Fit online from, say, Amazon, install it in a few minutes in your primary vehicle (or like I do, buy one for each family vehicle so we don’t have to do the car seat dance), and use it to bring your baby home from the hospital (or birthing clinic). And because the Extend2Fit features a 10 year lifespan, you’ll get to use it with multiple kids if you’d like to, or at least take full advantage of the 50 pound rear-facing limit and 65 pound forward-facing weight limit. If this sounds like a great seat to you, you’re not alone. It’s officially my default convertible recommendation for families on a $200 budget who don’t need super narrow seats for 3 across.
Graco Extend2Fit Limits for Weight and Height
You can use the Extend2Fit from the day your baby is ready to leave the hospital.
Rear-facing: 4 to 50 pounds. You’ll want to rear-face as close to that 50 pound limit as you can before you turn your child forward-facing, as the rear-facing configuration is the safest position for a child in a moving vehicle. There is a 49″ absolute height limit and a 1″ rule that states that your child’s head needs to stay below 1″ of the head rest when the head rest is extended to its maximum position. Because the shell height is an amazing 30″ tall when it’s fully extended, most children out there will be able to reach 50 pounds in weight before outgrowing the seat rear-facing by height. This is reason enough to buy this seat.
The Extend2Fit’s shell is just about 20″ wide at the widest points (from one cupholder to the next), while the seat itself is close to 24″ in height and 22″ long. The seat can be used for 10 years from the date of manufacture, and the harness height ranges from 7″ at the lower end with the included infant insert to 18″ at the top. You can choose from 10 head rest positions and a no-rethread harness is included. You can choose from 2 crotch buckle settings, with one 4.5″ from the back of the seat and the other 6″ from the seat back. The Extend2Fit weights just under 19 pounds, and there are 6 recline positions (3 exclusively rear-facing, 2 exclusively forward-facing, and 1 that can be used both rear-facing and forward-facing) available.
Because it’s just under 20″ wide, you won’t be able to fit it in small, medium, or even certain large cars, SUVs, and minivans, when it comes to 3 across installations, unless you use particular car seat combinations. If you want 50 pound convertibles that will fit 3 across with themselves in any vehicle, your only options remain the Fllo and the Foonf.
The Graco Extend2Fit Compared to the Size4Me, Fit4Me, Head Wise, My Size, and Contender: Similarities and Differences
Out of the box, the Graco Extend2Fit resembles the five or more Graco clones it’s derived from; it has the classic convertible shape with swirls, curves, and attractive color prints. The recline indicators and additional labels are in the expected places, and the infant pad, head pad, LATCH connectors, and no-rethread harness will all look familiar to parents who have owned prior Graco convertibles. The most significant difference, visually, is the slighter greater width. This is due to the inclusion of a pair of cupholders, which brings to mind Graco’s recent all in one seat the 4Ever. The most significant internal difference, of course, is the 50 pound rear-facing weight limit.
Installing the Graco Extend2Fit
The Extend2Fit can rear-face the average child until 7 years old, which is ridiculously amazing.
Installation of the Extend2Fit is straightforward; you can choose between seat belts and LATCH lower anchors when rear-facing or when forward-facing, and both setups are easy. I typically recommend seat belt installations over LATCH installations since they take up less space whether rear- or forward-facing and since it means you won’t need to worry about exceeding LATCH weight limits (which are 45 pounds in the Extend2Fit).
That said, if you want to forward-face before 7, the seat won’t stop you.
The LATCH lower anchor weight limit means that if you do plan on rear-facing until your child reaches 50 pounds, which I’d recommend if your child hasn’t outgrown the seat while rear-facing by height, then you’ll need to switch from LATCH to a seat belt installation during the interval when your child weighs between 45 and 50 pounds. If you simply start out with a seat belt installation, you won’t need to worry about this throughout your rear-facing span. The same issue will apply while forward-facing if you start doing so before your child weighs 45 pounds and wish to use the Extend2Fit until you max out its 65 pound forward-facing weight limit.
Switching from LATCH to seat belts when the time comes isn’t a big deal, but if you’re like me and don’t frequently weigh your children, it’s easy to forget the LATCH weight limit. If you use the seat belt, you’ll have one less thing you’ll need to remember. Of course, you’ll still need to remember to turn the seat forward at the 50 pound mark and stop using the seat with a forward-facing child once s/he reaches 65 pounds, regardless of which restraint method you use.
If you’re interested in installing through LATCH, you won’t have any issues; The LATCH connectors are the basic push-on type. The directions and guides for which anchors to use are clearly marked on the sides of the seat. The markings are also clear for the belt path to use when using a seat belt installation. I did find the belt path a bit narrow when rear-facing, which just meant I needed to pay a bit more attention to thread the seat belt through the path for the installation.
Reclining, Leg Room, and Tethering the Extend2Fit
There are a total of 6 recline positions to choose from with the Extend2Fit. Three of them are designed to be used exclusively while rear-facing, one can be used while rear- or forward-facing, and the remaining two are exclusively for forward-facing. All are clearly marked on the side of the seat, along with a wealth of other instructions. Older versions of the seat will only show two positions for forward-facing and three for rear-facing.
The Extend2Fit gets its name from an extension panel included in front of the base of the seat that can extend forward by up to 5 inches, providing kids with a significant boost in leg room while rear-facing. It can be set in four positions, with the fourth position being the most extended. In the manual, Graco tells you to keep the extender in positions 2-4 if your child weighs more than 40 pounds; this doesn’t actually seem to be necessary, from conversations with Graco. If you’re worried about going against the manual, just keep the extender in position 2; it barely protrudes.
Child Fit in the Graco Extend2Fit
The labels on the Extend2Fit are clear, bilingual (English / Spanish), and easy to read.
I tried the Extend2Fit with my kids, test dolls, and available neighbor children, and am happy to report that, like the other Graco convertibles from which it’s descended, the Extend2Fit is designed to work well with kids throughout most of its weight and height limits. The primary issue I found with it was the lower four pound weight limit.
Although Graco rates the Extend2Fit as a 4-50 pound rear-facing seat, I had trouble getting a safe fit with my 4 pound test doll. The weight wasn’t the issue; it was the height. The included infant insert works finely for typically-sized newborns, but the harness straps were still too high at the lowest 7″ setting and the crotch strap was too far away from the doll. Depending on growth rates, a preemie would probably need a month or two in a dedicated infant seat (e.g., the KeyFit 30, my favorite all around infant seat) before s/he could fit in the Extend2Fit safely.
Beyond the preemie stage, however, normally-sized newborns are likely to fit very well, as long as you use the included infant insert. Remember that the harness straps are supposed to be at or below the shoulders when a child is rear-facing and above the shoulders when forward-facing. The harness straps also need to be tightened sufficiently to the point where you wouldn’t be able to pinch the webbing between your fingers at the shoulder. You can read about these and other common car seat installation errors here.
This is one of the firs truly affordable 50-pound class car seats available in the US.
Beyond infancy, you’re going to be able to rear-face most children until 5 or even beyond in this seat before needing to turn them forward-facing. The specific height limit while rear-facing is 49″, even though parents will typically go by the 1″ rule anyway (at least 1″ of shell above the head of the child) when determining if a child can still fit in a seat by height while rear-facing. The actual rear-facing height limit to be 49″ is the same as the forward-facing height limit, which is significantly beyond any other seat I’m aware of on the market.
More Rear- than Forward-Facing, Growth Charts, and Boostering
There are a couple of oddities related to the Extend2Fit due to its design. One is that you could potentially run out of height room forward-facing with a tall and light child before running out of room rear-facing. Given the benefits of rear-facing vs forward-facing, however, this isn’t really a disadvantage, but rather another reason to keep rear-facing.
Secondly, depending on the dimensions of your child and when you decide to switch from forward-facing to boostering, you could conceivably use the Extend2Fit to keep him or her rear-facing completely until switching to a booster seat. Growth charts show that a 50th percentile boy or girl won’t weigh 50 pounds until turning 7, which means rear-facing from birth until 7 (or longer, with smaller children) is possible. I generally recommend holding off on booster seats until kids are 6-8, and there are very few 8 year olds who’d meet the height and weight restrictions necessary to keep rear-facing in the Extend2Fit, or any car seat on the market anywhere in the world.
As a result, I’d recommend just rear-facing as long as the seat (not your child) will let you, forward-facing as long as the seat will let you, and then switching to a dedicated forward-facing or combination forward/booster seat (e.g., the Frontier G1.1) until your child is physically and psychologically ready to use a booster seat.
I often recommend parents even skip the forward-facing part of most convertibles and just switch to a long-lasting combination seat once they’re no longer rear-facing. The advantage of buying a good combination seat is that you’ll be able to use it as a forward-facing seat at first and then as a booster seat later until your child no longer needs any kind of car seat at all and is ready for the adult seat and seat belt. This, of course, is when s/he passes the five step test.
Additional Bonuses of the Extend2Fit
Because the Graco Extend2Fit is essentially an upgraded version of the Head Wise, Size4Me, My Size, and Contender, it has the same levels of flight-friendliness. In other words, it installs easily on airplanes and has FAA approval. The sticker’s in an awkward place, however, within the back of the seat shell. This means you’ll have a tough time showing it to the feds if you have a flight attendant, TSA agent, or anyone else along the way who questions you. Because of the dimensions, you’ll be able to rear-face in just about any airplane seat without issue, and you shouldn’t have much trouble forward-facing either. Of course, your mileage will vary with your airline and the kind of seat you buy.
At this point, we’ve discussed lots of neat features in the Extend2Fit, but in the end, it all comes down to one question before you buy it–what makes it worth the money? Personally, I say the Graco Extend2Fit is worth the money because it lets you rear-face to 50 pounds by weight and gives you the room in height to actually reach 50 pounds. First of all, the vast majority of kids in the US are turned forward-facing much too early. Part of this is because parents don’t know better, but part of it is simply because many seats run out of height room too quickly. It’s a rare child in the US who makes it to 4 rear-facing, even though that’s the standard in Sweden, and it’s also become the standard in Norway, where they now lose virtually zero children to car crashes every year.
Because there’s a generous amount of headroom in the Extend2Fit, the likelihood of most children reaching the 50 pound rear-facing limit is very high. And rear-facing is absolutely safer than forward-facing, which is why the Swedes (and now Norwegians), who have the best child safety record in the world, don’t forward-face their kids until they turn 4. Let’s learn from the folks who use best practices. Don’t fall into the trap of forward-facing your children between 1 and 2, the way the vast majority of parents in the United States currently do. Those extra years rear-facing are worth it, and it’s worth investing in a seat that makes that possible.
How do Clek, Diono, and Safety 1st Seats Compare to the Extend2Fit?
Keep in mind that the Extend2Fit is not the narrowest 50-pound car seat on the market, or even close to it. At 17″ across, the reigning kings of extended rear-facing in tight 3 across situations are the Fllo and the Foonf. The Rainier and Pacifica are each around 18-19″ wide, which makes them a no-go for 3 across setups in small vehicles but gives them a chance in some mid-sized vehicles. The Extend2Fit at 20″ will not reliably fit 3 across with itself in anything smaller than a minivan, large SUV, or large pickup truck, although you might be able to squeeze 3 of them into certain mid-sized vehicles. However, it’s still narrower than the Advance EX Air+, which won’t fit 3 across with itself in anything but monster trucks.
This is the largest flaw of the Extend2Fit, and why I’ll continue to recommend the Cleks and Dionos before it for parents with multiple children or smaller vehicles. However, if you have the space, have two or fewer children, or are on a tighter budget, but don’t want to compromise on rear-facing advantages, the Extend2Fit will compete with the best seats in the US market. This is huge.
Overall, the Graco Extend2Fit is a quality, well-thought out seat that offers parents the opportunity to practice extended rear-facing as much as feasibly possible in the US without breaking the bank. It’s relatively light, affordable, parctical, and offers you the ability to keep your children safe for several years on a shoestring budget.
35,000 Americans will die this year on the road. You don't have to be one of them. A car seat and car safety blog to promote best practices for families.
Last year, the best mainstream passenger vehicle you could buy to protect yourself in a side impact collision, by my metric, was the 2016 Volvo XC90. It featured a class leading 26 cm of resistance from the B-pillar to the center of the driver’s seat after a 31 mph side impact collision with a test sled simulating the equivalent of a 3,300 lb SUV (e.g., a Honda CR-V). This was the standard.
2016, 2017 Honda HR-V (2nd gen, 1st US gen)
If you find my information on best practices in car and car seat safety helpful, you can 
2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017 Ford C-Max (C344)
