A really fabulous convertible car seat

I recently bought two Britax Boulevard car seats for my two-and-a-half-year-old twins. They were about to outgrow their Britax Roundabout car seats, and we were buying a second (new) car, and wanted to have car seats with LATCH (our Roundabouts were older and didn't have LATCH). I was planning to buy two Marathons, but when I went looking for them, I came across the Boulevard, and was very impressed and ultimately chose it over the Marathon.

The Boulevard can be used rear-facing from 5-33 lbs., and forward-facing from 20-65 lbs. The forward-facing height limit is 49 inches or until the tops of your child's ears are level with the top of the carseat base. Most children will fit this carseat rear-facing until age 2 or 3 and forward-facing until 4 or 5. Smaller children will obviously be able to use it longer.

The Boulevard is Britax's new improved "Wizard" carseat, and is actually replacing the Wizard. The features that I find most impressive are the TSIP (true side impact protection) wings, and the adjustable shoulder-strap height. The TSIP wings are not at all obstructive or confining (as some have said the wings on the Britax wizard are), and my toddlers LOVE them. They actually have been able to sleep much better in the car now that they have such great head rests. The adjustable shoulder-strap height mechanism is *very* easy to use and really is infinitely adjustable. It is so great to be able to customize the seats to fit my children perfectly as they grow. The other way in which this carseat differs from the Britax Marathon (aside from the TSIP and the infinitely adjustable shoulder-strap height) is that it comes with a very cushy, removable infant support pillow. I still think a newborn would be most comfortable in an infant car seat, but it is much easier to imagine putting a tiny baby in the Boulevard as opposed to the Marathon due to the Boulevard's infant support pillow. If you are dead set on only buying one harnessed car seat for your baby, I think the Boulevard would be a great choice, even to use from birth.

Installation of the Boulevard is very straightforward and easy. Although I should mention that I have not attempted to install it rear-facing since my children are over 33 lbs. I have installed it using the LATCH and using regular seat belts. Due to the built-in locking clips, the installation was almost as easy with the seatbelt as it was with the LATCH. Both ways allowed me to get a really tight, secure fit.

I would also like to mention that the car seats are very attractive and soft. We have the "park avenue" fabric and I LOVE it. It is not at all a typical car seat or "baby" fabric and it looks really nice in the car.

These car seats certainly are not small! While they do fit into our 2001 honda civic 2-door, getting them in there was a little bit tricky due to their height, and there is not enough space in between the car seats for a person or another car seat.

After using these seats, I can't imagine ever putting my children back in the Britax Roundabouts (or any other car seat). They just look so safe and protected and comfortable in the Britax Boulevards. I hope that they last for a long time. . . from the looks of it, they should last at least a couple of years!