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The Chicco NextFit convertible car seat is made to be used rear-facing for babies from 5 to 40 pounds. Once your child has reached the 40 pound rear-facing weight, or has turned two years old, the NextFit can be used forward-facing for kids up to 65 pounds. My expectations for this seat were pretty high, considering the popularity and ease of use of the Chicco KeyFitinfant car seat. NextFit is Chicco's first entry into convertible car seats, and they've hit this one out of the park.

What I Like About the Chicco NextFit

Chicco excels at LATCH installations once again with the NextFit! They've included a LATCH belt with something called SuperCinch, which is a force-multiplier that helps you get a tight installation without less effort. Using the SuperCinch really is easy, too. You tighten one side of the LATCH belt as normal, and then finish by pulling up on the SuperCinch side of the LATCH belt. With what seemed like minimal pulling, I was able to install the car seat very tightly every time.

When it's time to move from rear-facing to forward-facing, it's also simple to move the LATCH belt to the next position thanks to the slide path. Just open two little flaps on the sides of the car seat, slide the belt to the new position, and close the flaps. If you're not using the LATCH belt, you can store the connector ends in those little flaps, too.

If you need to install with the seat belt, that's pretty easy, too. The belt paths are wide enough to maneuver the seat belts where they need to go.

The built-in lock-offs are easy to open and close, and they hold the seat belts securely once closed.

There are 9 recline positions, which is more than any other convertible car seat on the market today. That makes it easy to find the best recline position for your baby and your car. The recline positions are clearly marked so you can tell which ones are appropriate to be used with your baby at any given time. Moving between the recline positions only requires you to pull a lever on the front of the car seat.

The padded head rest can also be moved up and down with just a touch of a button up top. Since the no-rethread harness height is connected to the head rest, it's very easy to move the harness height to the perfect spot for your baby each time you're in the car.

The NextFit is one comfy car seat! Honestly, when I felt how padded it was, I wished Chicco had made an adult version. The entire seat pad feels like a cushy memory foam mattress. There's an extra infant pad included, too, to help newborns fit better into the large seat shell.

I really like the top tether storage on the back of the shell. The hook end fits behind a little door, and the belt can be adjusted so it lays flat against the back of the car seat. That means the tether isn't flopping and clanging around when you're using the car seat rear-facing. For forward-facing, the tether is simple to use and adjust, too.

The labels and indicators on the NextFit make it intuitive to use, even for non-experts. There's plenty of color-coded, diagrammed advice right there on the sides of the car seat where you need it as you're buckling baby in.

What I Don't Like About the Chicco NextFit

If you live in a very warm or humid place, or your child tends to sweat a lot in the car seat, all that padding may make for a soggy ride. My son does tend to sweat in the car, but doesn't have a lot of trouble with the NextFit. We don't live in a particularly humid place, though.

The strap covers at baby's shoulders are pretty stiff. My son doesn't seem bothered by them, but I think they can make the harness hard to adjust at times. I found that pushing the strap covers down a little (toward the bottom of the seat) before tightening the harness made it easier to achieve the best fit.

When the car seat is installed rear-facing, in some situations, it can be hard to pull the harness tightening belt at an angle that works best. When forward-facing, this is not an issue, as you can easily pull out and down to tighten.

Overall, the Chicco NextFit is an amazing car seat that should last your child for many years. Some taller kids may outgrow it by height before they're ready to move to a booster, but that problem isn't unique to NextFit. The ease of use is a delight for car seat aficionados, and will help inexperienced car seat users feel like an expert in no time. Average cost is $280.



Disclosure: Review samples were provided by the manufacturer. For more information, please see our Ethics Policy.