Here are the Best Infant Car Seats of 2017!
#4. Britax B-Safe 35 and 35 Elite Infant Car Seats.
About $170-200 depending on whether you go for the regular (usually around $170) or Elite (usually around $200) version, and pattern choice. There's a reason that the Britax B-Safe Infant Car Seat is the #1 best-selling car seat on the market this year, because moms and dads love it, and you can't beat the Britax safety reputation. The B-Safe and B-Safe Elite come with a base that easily attaches into (and detaches from) your car using either the Latch system or the conventional seat belt. Moms love the form and fit of this seat, and we found that it does a really nice job supporting even very small (4+ lbs) infants with use of the included infant padding insert. As the baby grows, you can remove the additional body and head padding to give your baby a bit more room. The car seat also has simple to adjust head protection pads, a 35-pound weight limit (which is at the higher end of the range), two crotch strap positions (a rarity!), multiple shoulder strap positions to fit a growing baby, and we found it very easy with the Elite version to make on-the-fly adjustments to suit different size babies. The B-Safe 35 and B-Safe 35 Elite have three primary differences that we could see: the elite adds quick-adjust head protection, adjustable shoulder straps without rethreading (this is truly worth the cost), and a bit more padding and higher quality fabric. Overall, we believe the extra $40 is worth the advantages of the Elite version. All those features in a car seat that weighs about 19 pounds (seat is 10lb + base is 9lb), which we understand may be quite heavy for some parents. That's one of the biggest downfalls with this car seat, though it's also a bit too narrow for some wider (ahem!) babies. But we think the Britax reputation for safety makes this extra bulk worthwhile. Both versions use the Britax SafeCell technology, which combines side impact protection, a strong steel frame, and an energy absorbing base; in the event of an accident, these are great features to have, and Britax has an excellent reputation for safety. Relative to the Chicco KeyFit (see above), the B-Safe Elite has slightly plusher and premium-feel fabric, and we found the fabric much easier to clean with wipes, and to remove for machine washing. The B-Safe also has a higher weight capacity (35 pounds), and a maximum baby height of 32" as opposed to the Chicco KeyFit's 30". Also, the canopy is much larger and truly covers a baby during bright sun, rain, snow, or simply for privacy and during a nap. The B-Safe is made in the USA and comes in a variety of colors/patterns. Yes, it's expensive, but we believe the quality, features, and safety reputation are well worth the cost. It is definitely one the best infant car seats available this year. Note that the Britax B-Safe was hit with a recallin July 2017, which involved replacing the chest clip for a potential choking hazard; the ones currently on the market use a new chest clip design. Before the recall it was at the top of this list, and time will tell whether things have settled and the long-term reliability of the newly designed seat warrants higher placement on this list! Here is the Britax B-Safe Infant Car Seat, and here is the Elite version.
About $170-200 depending on whether you go for the regular (usually around $170) or Elite (usually around $200) version, and pattern choice. There's a reason that the Britax B-Safe Infant Car Seat is the #1 best-selling car seat on the market this year, because moms and dads love it, and you can't beat the Britax safety reputation. The B-Safe and B-Safe Elite come with a base that easily attaches into (and detaches from) your car using either the Latch system or the conventional seat belt. Moms love the form and fit of this seat, and we found that it does a really nice job supporting even very small (4+ lbs) infants with use of the included infant padding insert. As the baby grows, you can remove the additional body and head padding to give your baby a bit more room. The car seat also has simple to adjust head protection pads, a 35-pound weight limit (which is at the higher end of the range), two crotch strap positions (a rarity!), multiple shoulder strap positions to fit a growing baby, and we found it very easy with the Elite version to make on-the-fly adjustments to suit different size babies. The B-Safe 35 and B-Safe 35 Elite have three primary differences that we could see: the elite adds quick-adjust head protection, adjustable shoulder straps without rethreading (this is truly worth the cost), and a bit more padding and higher quality fabric. Overall, we believe the extra $40 is worth the advantages of the Elite version. All those features in a car seat that weighs about 19 pounds (seat is 10lb + base is 9lb), which we understand may be quite heavy for some parents. That's one of the biggest downfalls with this car seat, though it's also a bit too narrow for some wider (ahem!) babies. But we think the Britax reputation for safety makes this extra bulk worthwhile. Both versions use the Britax SafeCell technology, which combines side impact protection, a strong steel frame, and an energy absorbing base; in the event of an accident, these are great features to have, and Britax has an excellent reputation for safety. Relative to the Chicco KeyFit (see above), the B-Safe Elite has slightly plusher and premium-feel fabric, and we found the fabric much easier to clean with wipes, and to remove for machine washing. The B-Safe also has a higher weight capacity (35 pounds), and a maximum baby height of 32" as opposed to the Chicco KeyFit's 30". Also, the canopy is much larger and truly covers a baby during bright sun, rain, snow, or simply for privacy and during a nap. The B-Safe is made in the USA and comes in a variety of colors/patterns. Yes, it's expensive, but we believe the quality, features, and safety reputation are well worth the cost. It is definitely one the best infant car seats available this year. Note that the Britax B-Safe was hit with a recallin July 2017, which involved replacing the chest clip for a potential choking hazard; the ones currently on the market use a new chest clip design. Before the recall it was at the top of this list, and time will tell whether things have settled and the long-term reliability of the newly designed seat warrants higher placement on this list! Here is the Britax B-Safe Infant Car Seat, and here is the Elite version.
#5. Nuna Pipa Infant Car Seat. 
Usually about $300. This is a stylish, simple, sophisticated infant car seat made by Nuna International, a boutique baby gear company based in Amsterdam. They have european styling and simplicity, and some safety features that are very common in the EU but relatively rare in the USA. The seat itself is made in China, like most on this list, and can be pretty hard to find. It's generally available at Nordstrom and a few other high-end department stores. In our testing, we really loved this infant car seat. It has super soft and high quality feel materials, with micro knit fabrics, soft and thick padding where it's needed most (like on the crotch buckle!), and a truly amazing canopy that has a nifty "dream drape" extension that basically covers the entire baby to protect from the elements (UPF 50+). It supports babies as little as 4 pounds with the included infant insert, making it an ideal infant car seat for premature babies. And it supports up to 32 pounds or 32 inches long. All that weight and height range while weighting under 8 pounds! The base is about 14 pounds, but nobody walks around with the seat attached to the base. This is one of the safest infant car seats we've ever tested, for a few reasons. First, it has the basic 5-point harness, but also deep and thick side-impact protection. Second, it includes a stability leg, which is becoming very common in the EU: the stability leg attaches to the back of the seat and extends down to your car's floor. It limits rotational forces by absorbing impact in the event of a crash. Installation was a breeze using the easy LATCH connectors. Note that the LATCH connectors on this seat are stiff and attached to the base. For that reason, they will not allow you to connect to non-traditional LATCH positions (like center seat), you'll need to use the car's seat belt for that. In our testing, we were really impressed with this seat, and thought that it was quite luxorious with its fabrics and overall fit and finish. And we loved the safety features, which are a welcome addition to the typical US features. Downfalls? Well, it's difficult to find in the online and brick-and-mortar stores you might be used to. It also does not have a quick-adjust harness unlike most others on this list; this means you need to re-thread the harness from the rear every time you need to adjust its height. That issue, combined with the high price (about $300), are the primary factors bring this car seat down on our list. Also, it can be difficult to find a stroller that fits it, unless you also purchase a Nuna stroller (though they do have some great ones!). Is it one of the best infant car seats available on the market? Yes, especially if you value the style and lightweight build quality, but you'll need to shell out some extra bucks and possibly be annoyed by the re-threading issue.
Usually about $300. This is a stylish, simple, sophisticated infant car seat made by Nuna International, a boutique baby gear company based in Amsterdam. They have european styling and simplicity, and some safety features that are very common in the EU but relatively rare in the USA. The seat itself is made in China, like most on this list, and can be pretty hard to find. It's generally available at Nordstrom and a few other high-end department stores. In our testing, we really loved this infant car seat. It has super soft and high quality feel materials, with micro knit fabrics, soft and thick padding where it's needed most (like on the crotch buckle!), and a truly amazing canopy that has a nifty "dream drape" extension that basically covers the entire baby to protect from the elements (UPF 50+). It supports babies as little as 4 pounds with the included infant insert, making it an ideal infant car seat for premature babies. And it supports up to 32 pounds or 32 inches long. All that weight and height range while weighting under 8 pounds! The base is about 14 pounds, but nobody walks around with the seat attached to the base. This is one of the safest infant car seats we've ever tested, for a few reasons. First, it has the basic 5-point harness, but also deep and thick side-impact protection. Second, it includes a stability leg, which is becoming very common in the EU: the stability leg attaches to the back of the seat and extends down to your car's floor. It limits rotational forces by absorbing impact in the event of a crash. Installation was a breeze using the easy LATCH connectors. Note that the LATCH connectors on this seat are stiff and attached to the base. For that reason, they will not allow you to connect to non-traditional LATCH positions (like center seat), you'll need to use the car's seat belt for that. In our testing, we were really impressed with this seat, and thought that it was quite luxorious with its fabrics and overall fit and finish. And we loved the safety features, which are a welcome addition to the typical US features. Downfalls? Well, it's difficult to find in the online and brick-and-mortar stores you might be used to. It also does not have a quick-adjust harness unlike most others on this list; this means you need to re-thread the harness from the rear every time you need to adjust its height. That issue, combined with the high price (about $300), are the primary factors bring this car seat down on our list. Also, it can be difficult to find a stroller that fits it, unless you also purchase a Nuna stroller (though they do have some great ones!). Is it one of the best infant car seats available on the market? Yes, especially if you value the style and lightweight build quality, but you'll need to shell out some extra bucks and possibly be annoyed by the re-threading issue.
#6. Safety 1st Onboard 35 Air+ Infant Car Seat.
Usually under $150. This is a great bang-for-the-buck infant car seat, with a lot of great features and attributes. For the price, it was a bit of a toss-up with the Graco Snugride (below), but there were some great features with this car seat. The Safety 1st line of "Air" car seats uses the Air Protect side impact protection system, which basically looks like puffy airbags along the sides of the head and shoulders. These highly salient, comfy, and safe looking pillows surrounding the baby likely increased sales considerably for Safety 1st since they were first introduced. We get a lot of messages from parents mentioning how these seats really stand out against the others. And there are some good reasons for that, though we want to mention that all of the car seats on this list have exceptional safety features and records. Another safety feature is the GCell honeycomb HX energy-absorbing foam along the sides of the torso. This rear-facing baby car seat supports babies from 4 to 35 pounds, with an included infant insert, and for very little babies it also includes a preemie insert and super low harness setting. Of course, it has a 5-point harness, and uses the LATCH system; the test unit we purchased came with the old style LATCH connectors (not the type that you can simply push-on and click off). We really appreciated the overall support this seat provides, especially for smaller babies, and we thought the fabric was soft and nicely padded while still being durable enough for easy wiping to clean. The cover can be completely removed and machine washed as well, if necessary. There are also some cons to this seat that are worth mentioning. First, while it does have 4 harness heights, they require rethreading from the rear of the seat, and 3 crotch buckle positions that also require rethreading. The canopy doesn't provide much coverage, and to move the carrying handle you need to use both hands to push the release buttons on each side. The base itself does have multiple height adjustments, and there is a small level on the seat to help you get things correctly installed. It can be installed with the LATCH or vehicle's seat belts, though note that there is no lock-off if you're using the vehicle's seat belts (like most car seats). So overall this is a great addition to our best baby car seats list, but with some definite drawbacks relative to some of the front-runners.
Usually under $150. This is a great bang-for-the-buck infant car seat, with a lot of great features and attributes. For the price, it was a bit of a toss-up with the Graco Snugride (below), but there were some great features with this car seat. The Safety 1st line of "Air" car seats uses the Air Protect side impact protection system, which basically looks like puffy airbags along the sides of the head and shoulders. These highly salient, comfy, and safe looking pillows surrounding the baby likely increased sales considerably for Safety 1st since they were first introduced. We get a lot of messages from parents mentioning how these seats really stand out against the others. And there are some good reasons for that, though we want to mention that all of the car seats on this list have exceptional safety features and records. Another safety feature is the GCell honeycomb HX energy-absorbing foam along the sides of the torso. This rear-facing baby car seat supports babies from 4 to 35 pounds, with an included infant insert, and for very little babies it also includes a preemie insert and super low harness setting. Of course, it has a 5-point harness, and uses the LATCH system; the test unit we purchased came with the old style LATCH connectors (not the type that you can simply push-on and click off). We really appreciated the overall support this seat provides, especially for smaller babies, and we thought the fabric was soft and nicely padded while still being durable enough for easy wiping to clean. The cover can be completely removed and machine washed as well, if necessary. There are also some cons to this seat that are worth mentioning. First, while it does have 4 harness heights, they require rethreading from the rear of the seat, and 3 crotch buckle positions that also require rethreading. The canopy doesn't provide much coverage, and to move the carrying handle you need to use both hands to push the release buttons on each side. The base itself does have multiple height adjustments, and there is a small level on the seat to help you get things correctly installed. It can be installed with the LATCH or vehicle's seat belts, though note that there is no lock-off if you're using the vehicle's seat belts (like most car seats). So overall this is a great addition to our best baby car seats list, but with some definite drawbacks relative to some of the front-runners.
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