Booster seat ratings - best to worst

Car booster seats rated by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS)

Isn't it grand when the little one comes out of the car seat and over to the booster seat. Children of four to eight years old need to have a good booster seat with a lap and shoulder belt.

The correct position on a booster seat is the lap belt going over the upper thighs and the shoulder belt should be at mid-shoulder. The fit of the belt is what is going to protect your child at the time of a car crash.

The statistics show that children four to eight years-old who ride in boosters are 45% less likely to sustain injuries in crashes than children restrained by belts alone.

Each province sets its own rules for when a child uses a booster seat. Ontario rules that children under the age of eight, who weigh 18 kg or more but less than 36 kg (40-80 lbs.), and who stand less than 145 cm (57 ins. or 4 ft. 9 ins.) must travel in a booster seat that meets the Canadian Motor Vehicle Safety Standard.

Here is the IIHS results:

First Choice and Best Bets:

  • Britax Frontier 85 (combination highback)
  • Chicco Keyfit Strada (dual highback)
  • Clek Oobr (dual highback)
  • Cosco Juvenile Pronto (dual highback)
  • Cybex Solution X-Fix (highback)
  • Eddie Bauer Auto Booster (dual highback)
  • Evenflo Big Kid Amp (backless)
  • Evenflo Maestro (combination highback)
  • Graco TurboBooster Crawford (dual highback)
  • Harmony Baby Armor (dual highback)
  • Harmony Dreamtime (dual backless)
  • Harmony Dreamtime (dual highback)
  • Harmony Secure Comfort Deluxe (backless)
  • Harmony Youth Booster Seat (backless)
  • Maxi-Cosi Rodi XR (dual highback)
  • Recaro ProBOOSTER (highback)
  • Recaro ProSPORT (combination highback)
  • Recaro Vivo (highback)
  • Recaro Young Sport (combination highback)
  • Safety 1st Boost Air Protect (dual highback)
  • The First Years Pathway B570 (highback)


Second Choice and Good Bets

  • Britax Parkway SG (dual highback)
  • Combi Kobuk Air Thru (dual backless)
  • Combi Kobuk Air Thru (dual highback)
  • Evenflo Symphony 65 (3-in-1 highback)
  • Graco TurboBooster Sachi (dual highback)
  • Graco TurboBooster Wander (dual highback)
  • Maxi-Cosi Rodi (dual highback)


Last Choice and Not Recommended:

  • Eddie Bauer Deluxe (combination highback)
  • Eddie Bauer Deluxe 3-in-1 (highback)
  • Evenflo Express (combination highback)
  • Evenflo Generations 65 (combination highback)
  • Evenflo Sightseer (highback)
  • Harmony Baby Armor (dual backless)
  • Safety 1st All-in-One (3-in-1 highback)
  • Safety 1st Alpha Omega Elite (3-in-1 highback)
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