I really wanted to love this car seat...
December 4, 2019
I really, truly wanted to love this car seat. It's plush, stylish, and appeared compact compared to the one I had. I was excited to install it and when it arrived I quickly took it out of the box and started reading the instructions. At first, it looked pretty straightforward. I had installed two different car seats in my car before and the process seemed the same. Unfortunately, this time was different, and not in a good way. The strap which connects the car seat to the vehicle was too short to connect to the car's anchors. We were able to attach it, however, the base of the seat was uneven and therefore, not safe. We then attached the seat using the seatbelt, but I was not comfortable with this option as I've always used the seat anchors to ensure a proper fit. Still, I wanted to love this car seat, so with the seatbelt option in place, I loaded my son in and we were off to the grocery store. My son seemed OK in the seat, but it was clear that he was missing his extended footrest, which his old seat had. He continued to remind me that this seat did not have the feature by saying over and over, "Where my feet go?". Still, something we could get used to with time. However, when we got to the grocery store it was a struggle to get him out of the car. I would think one must get used to the magnetic clip that secures the chest buckle, but I just wasn't getting it. Eventually, my husband had to take over and also struggled for a minute before getting the clip undone. This struggle continued the entire time the car seat was in my car, causing increased blood pressure for me, and increased tantrums for my child who only wanted to get out of the seat. We kept the car seat in for a few days, but it made me nervous to think that I may struggle in an emergency, which reminded me that the seat was attached with the seat belt and not the anchors. For these reasons, I uninstalled the Maxi Cosi and went back to my old car seat, despite my desperate attempts to love this modern, clean, and sleeker-looking option. I would recommend this car seat to someone who has a smaller car (I have an SUV, not sure if that had something to do with the straps not reaching the anchors), and is savy with their hand dexterity. I would highly suggest trying the magnetic buckle in a store prior to purchasing to ensure that you can operate the clip easily and feel secure with its presentation. I did not, but that's not to say others would struggle in the same way I did. Overall, a very nice car seat, but it just didn't fit my life.
This product review was collected by the manufacturer.