Here are the Best Infant Car Seats of 2017!
#1. Chicco KeyFit 30 Infant Car Seat. 
About $200, depending on color and pattern options. Though we've placed the Chicco at #1 on our list for 2017, let's be clear that realistically you will likely be very happy with any of the top three to five infant car seats on this list, and a lot of the decision comes down to preference. The Chicco KeyFit comes with a base that attaches into your car using either the Latch system or the conventional seat belt. We actually found that attaching and detaching this seat from the base was a bit easier than most others, and it only weighs 15 pounds (seat + base; 5 lbs lighter than many). But of course, realize that other heavier infant car seats are probably heavier because they either have some additional safety technology (like the SafeCell tech in the Britax B-Safe, or the anti-rebound bar on the Primo Viaggio), and might support heavier babies up to 35 pounds, which makes the seat itself bigger and heavier. The form and fit of this seat are very good, and we really appreciated the soft-touch fabrics and trim, super comfortable. And the infant insert comes with the seat, supporting very small infants down to 4 pounds. Note that while the Chicco KeyFit has multiple shoulder strap positions, it only has one crotch buckle position (many others have 2 crotch buckle positions). The shoulder straps are adjustable without rethreading, a feature you usually only get with more expensive units, like the Peg Perego or Britax B-Safe Elite. We thought the Chicco KeyFit's shoulder straps were better than several others on this list, mostly because they are a bit wider and therefore aren't as prone to twisting. However, the canopy is much smaller than some others, making it harder to fully cover the baby. This was one of the bigger drawbacks of the Chicco, as we tend to use the canopy quite a bit: for sunny days, for napping, and for rain or snow. Overall, this is the best infant car seat on the market today, and we think it has a lot of great things going for it, at a very reasonable price. For something a bit more expensive and capable, check out our #2. Here is the Chicco KeyFit 30, with several different colors: Chicco Keyfit 30 Infant Car Seat and Base
About $200, depending on color and pattern options. Though we've placed the Chicco at #1 on our list for 2017, let's be clear that realistically you will likely be very happy with any of the top three to five infant car seats on this list, and a lot of the decision comes down to preference. The Chicco KeyFit comes with a base that attaches into your car using either the Latch system or the conventional seat belt. We actually found that attaching and detaching this seat from the base was a bit easier than most others, and it only weighs 15 pounds (seat + base; 5 lbs lighter than many). But of course, realize that other heavier infant car seats are probably heavier because they either have some additional safety technology (like the SafeCell tech in the Britax B-Safe, or the anti-rebound bar on the Primo Viaggio), and might support heavier babies up to 35 pounds, which makes the seat itself bigger and heavier. The form and fit of this seat are very good, and we really appreciated the soft-touch fabrics and trim, super comfortable. And the infant insert comes with the seat, supporting very small infants down to 4 pounds. Note that while the Chicco KeyFit has multiple shoulder strap positions, it only has one crotch buckle position (many others have 2 crotch buckle positions). The shoulder straps are adjustable without rethreading, a feature you usually only get with more expensive units, like the Peg Perego or Britax B-Safe Elite. We thought the Chicco KeyFit's shoulder straps were better than several others on this list, mostly because they are a bit wider and therefore aren't as prone to twisting. However, the canopy is much smaller than some others, making it harder to fully cover the baby. This was one of the bigger drawbacks of the Chicco, as we tend to use the canopy quite a bit: for sunny days, for napping, and for rain or snow. Overall, this is the best infant car seat on the market today, and we think it has a lot of great things going for it, at a very reasonable price. For something a bit more expensive and capable, check out our #2. Here is the Chicco KeyFit 30, with several different colors: Chicco Keyfit 30 Infant Car Seat and Base
#2. Peg Perego Primo Viaggio 4/35 Infant Car Seat.
About $300, with some color and pattern options being more expensive than others. Peg Perego was founded over 60 years ago in Italy, when founder Giuseppe Perego was motivated to make the finest baby carriage of the time, made of rubberized materials instead of wicker and sheet metal. Well, he succeeded, and the company was a bit hit in Europe for many decades. Fast forward to modern times, and Peg Perego has become a respected brand around the world for creating safe, durable, reliable, and comfortable baby products. There are several unique features for this Peg Perego infant car seat, including adjustable side impact padding (6 positions up/down) to accomodate your growing baby, a comfortable handle, plenty of padding for even little babies (down to 4 pounds using an included dual-stage insert, up to 35 pounds), a soft and plush fresco jersey breathable cloth, an adjustable-height 5-point harness (no rethreading necessary), canopy, and it's made in Italy (not China)! It is also one of the rare car seats to include the anti-rebound safety bar on the front, which is now standard in Europe but not yet required in the US. A bit beyond some other car seats on this list, this one has a 32" height limit for babies. And it's beautiful. When you get your hands on it and see its smooth lines, modern patterns, quality stitching work around the edges, and feel its quality fabric and padding, you will realize why people are willing to pay a premium for this seat. Some of the seat honestly looked like it was hand-tailored by an Italian designer. Nice touch. The seat itself is among the heavier on the list, coming in at about 10 pounds. Together with the base it's quite a bit heavier (not that you'd be carrying it around with the base). We have two primary negatives with this car seat: first, it's not really the most comfortable to carry given that the canopy opens up against the handle, so the only reasonable option is to carry it with the canopy retracted. We found that in addition to it being a bit cumbersome to carry around, the harness straps tend to spin around and tangle a lot, and some of our moms complained that many of the nice and affordable car seat covers (such as the JJ Cole) won't fit around the large side impact cushions. Overall, this is a great car seat with some only minor cons relative to the others. It's near the top of our best car seat list, so you can't go wrong, especially given the overall high quality, great style, and versatility. There is a newer model of the Primo Viaggio, called the Nido, which includes the load bar for extra safety, and a bigger "cocoon" type canopy (but it's also about $100 more expensive!). You can see the Nido model here. Here is the Peg Perego Primo Viaggio 4/35 Car Seat, with tons of different color options:
About $300, with some color and pattern options being more expensive than others. Peg Perego was founded over 60 years ago in Italy, when founder Giuseppe Perego was motivated to make the finest baby carriage of the time, made of rubberized materials instead of wicker and sheet metal. Well, he succeeded, and the company was a bit hit in Europe for many decades. Fast forward to modern times, and Peg Perego has become a respected brand around the world for creating safe, durable, reliable, and comfortable baby products. There are several unique features for this Peg Perego infant car seat, including adjustable side impact padding (6 positions up/down) to accomodate your growing baby, a comfortable handle, plenty of padding for even little babies (down to 4 pounds using an included dual-stage insert, up to 35 pounds), a soft and plush fresco jersey breathable cloth, an adjustable-height 5-point harness (no rethreading necessary), canopy, and it's made in Italy (not China)! It is also one of the rare car seats to include the anti-rebound safety bar on the front, which is now standard in Europe but not yet required in the US. A bit beyond some other car seats on this list, this one has a 32" height limit for babies. And it's beautiful. When you get your hands on it and see its smooth lines, modern patterns, quality stitching work around the edges, and feel its quality fabric and padding, you will realize why people are willing to pay a premium for this seat. Some of the seat honestly looked like it was hand-tailored by an Italian designer. Nice touch. The seat itself is among the heavier on the list, coming in at about 10 pounds. Together with the base it's quite a bit heavier (not that you'd be carrying it around with the base). We have two primary negatives with this car seat: first, it's not really the most comfortable to carry given that the canopy opens up against the handle, so the only reasonable option is to carry it with the canopy retracted. We found that in addition to it being a bit cumbersome to carry around, the harness straps tend to spin around and tangle a lot, and some of our moms complained that many of the nice and affordable car seat covers (such as the JJ Cole) won't fit around the large side impact cushions. Overall, this is a great car seat with some only minor cons relative to the others. It's near the top of our best car seat list, so you can't go wrong, especially given the overall high quality, great style, and versatility. There is a newer model of the Primo Viaggio, called the Nido, which includes the load bar for extra safety, and a bigger "cocoon" type canopy (but it's also about $100 more expensive!). You can see the Nido model here. Here is the Peg Perego Primo Viaggio 4/35 Car Seat, with tons of different color options:
#3. UppaBaby Mesa Infant Car Seat.
Usually about $300. This is a slightly more expensive options than most others, but there are some great features and safety reputation that might make it worth the cost. It's one of the easiest to install and use infant car seat we've tested. This is for three primary reasons. First, it uses a great automatically tightening LATCH system with a convenient indicator to tell you when the base is fully secured to the seat. If you're using the vehicles belts, it does have a lock-off. Second, also helpful during installation, it has a 4-position foot that helps you level the base correctly in the car (there is also a level indicator on the side). Third, the headrest and shoulder straps adjust easily between five height positions without any rethreading (the crotch buckle adjusts between 2 positions, but with rethreading from the bottom. So there are a lot of nice convenience factors with this seat. Now for safety. The seat has nice plush dual-layer side impact protection, that according to UppaBaby performs up to 4-times better than on side impact crash tests than any other premium infant car seat on the market. To absorb impact in the event of an accident, the seat also uses energy-absorbing EPS foam. An infant insert is included to accommodate babies (and premies) as small as 4 pounds, and the seat goes up to a 35 pound weight capacity (32" height). Coming in just under 10 pounds, there's a lot of convenience and safety features given a relatively low overall weight (the base adds another 9 pounds). It's also not so wide either, with a 15.5" wide base, and adding another 2 inches to that due to the handlebar levers sticking out on the sides. It is a good option for fitting three car seats in a row, because the bottom of the base is very narrow, to allow LATCH and buckles to fit close together. Additional things we liked were how easy the chest buckle was to use, and how easy the shoulder strap adjustment was using the front button and strap. Downfalls? Well, you need to use two hands to adjust the handlebar, the canopy isn't as big as we'd like and it does get a bit too close to the handlebar when both are up, and the entire thing is pretty heavy to lug around. We also want to note that the fabric wasn't quite as soft as others on this list. Speaking of fabric, the new 2017 Henry version does add chemical-free fire-resistant fabric by using merino wool. A great concept, but we didn't like the feel of it so much and were worried that it would get super hot in the summer. Wool is highly breathable though, so we'll need to test that theory. Overall, this is one of the best infant car seats on the market and would be higher on this list if it weren't for the $300 price tag and the less than comfortable fabric.
Usually about $300. This is a slightly more expensive options than most others, but there are some great features and safety reputation that might make it worth the cost. It's one of the easiest to install and use infant car seat we've tested. This is for three primary reasons. First, it uses a great automatically tightening LATCH system with a convenient indicator to tell you when the base is fully secured to the seat. If you're using the vehicles belts, it does have a lock-off. Second, also helpful during installation, it has a 4-position foot that helps you level the base correctly in the car (there is also a level indicator on the side). Third, the headrest and shoulder straps adjust easily between five height positions without any rethreading (the crotch buckle adjusts between 2 positions, but with rethreading from the bottom. So there are a lot of nice convenience factors with this seat. Now for safety. The seat has nice plush dual-layer side impact protection, that according to UppaBaby performs up to 4-times better than on side impact crash tests than any other premium infant car seat on the market. To absorb impact in the event of an accident, the seat also uses energy-absorbing EPS foam. An infant insert is included to accommodate babies (and premies) as small as 4 pounds, and the seat goes up to a 35 pound weight capacity (32" height). Coming in just under 10 pounds, there's a lot of convenience and safety features given a relatively low overall weight (the base adds another 9 pounds). It's also not so wide either, with a 15.5" wide base, and adding another 2 inches to that due to the handlebar levers sticking out on the sides. It is a good option for fitting three car seats in a row, because the bottom of the base is very narrow, to allow LATCH and buckles to fit close together. Additional things we liked were how easy the chest buckle was to use, and how easy the shoulder strap adjustment was using the front button and strap. Downfalls? Well, you need to use two hands to adjust the handlebar, the canopy isn't as big as we'd like and it does get a bit too close to the handlebar when both are up, and the entire thing is pretty heavy to lug around. We also want to note that the fabric wasn't quite as soft as others on this list. Speaking of fabric, the new 2017 Henry version does add chemical-free fire-resistant fabric by using merino wool. A great concept, but we didn't like the feel of it so much and were worried that it would get super hot in the summer. Wool is highly breathable though, so we'll need to test that theory. Overall, this is one of the best infant car seats on the market and would be higher on this list if it weren't for the $300 price tag and the less than comfortable fabric.
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