As a parent, you want the safest products available for your children. Safety concerns are naturally high on your list when you choose a car seat as well. Finding the right car seat for your child and vehicle doesn’t have to be overly complicated. Make sure that the car seat you ultimately choose meets or exceeds the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 213 and have not been recalled for defective parts or safety concerns.
Under the recommendation of the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) the car seat in your vehicle must be rear-facing for infants up to 35 pounds since, in this position, your child is best protected. Once your toddler reaches the 35-pound mark, he or she can be safely buckled in a front-facing car seat.
While you could buy 2 separate car seats, there are many car seats made these days that are convertible. That is to say that they will accommodate an infant in a rear-facing position as well as a toddler facing front with just a few adaptations to the base. This nifty feature will most likely save you some hard-earned cash.
In this Evenflo SureRide DLX Review, we will highlight the pros and cons and compare it to other notable brands.
The SureRide DLX is a convertible car seat made by Evenflo. It will hold an infant in the rear-facing position and can be converted for a child up to 65 pounds and 54 inches tall in the front-facing position.
This particular model meets or exceeds Federal Safety Standards. Evenflo has done additional testing on the product, and it meets their own Side Impact Test Standard for Structural Integrity which is twice the federally mandated safety levels.
The shoulder strap has six positions, and the crotch buckle has two positions to accommodate your growing child. The foam liner used in the seat cushion adds extra comfort and safety and is both removable and machine washable.
The car seat weighs 10 pounds, making it one of the lighter weight models. It is, therefore, which makes it easier to transport for use in multiple vehicles. It uses the LATCH (Lower Anchors and Tethers for Children) system.
The Evenflo SureRide DLX can accommodate infants between 5-40 pounds and a height of 19-40 inches in the rear-facing position. When it is used as a front-facing car seat, it can fit a child 29-54 inches tall, and that weighs between 22-65 pounds. The child’s head should be at least one-inch lower than the top of the car seat back to determine if your child still fits into the chair.
The seat weighs just 10 pounds. The base width is 10 inches, and the overall width is 19 inches. The shell height is 26 inches, and with the cushioned cover it is 28 inches.
The Evenflo SureRide DLX has a removable cup holder for your toddler. It comes in four attractive colors.
This carseat meets the safety standards FMVSS 213 Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards for Child Restraint Systems and FMVSS 302 Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards for Flammability of Interior Materials. It also meets Canadian safety standards CMVSS 302 Canada Motor Vehicle Safety Standard and CMVSS 213 Canada Motor Vehicle Safety Standard.
The Evenflo SureRide DLX has been certified for use in an aircraft. Additionally, it has passed testing done by Evenflo for product integrity at low and high temperatures.
Consumer Reports rates the Evenflo SureRide DLX car seat as the third best in convertible car seats. They do rigorous testing of child car seats in their lab and rate them on ease of use, how well the rear LATCH system works in a variety of cars, and how easily the chair can be installed using the rear-belt in the backseat.
This model has buckle pockets that allow you to put the buckle tongues away. Your child won’t get tangled in the buckle as he or she gets in and out. Nor will you be digging underneath his or her bottom for the buckles when you strap your child in.
The 5-point harness system is adjustable from the front of the car seat which again makes it easier to get your little one in and out. It also features a rear-facing recline bar to ensure that your rear-facing infant is positioned correctly.
All cloth components on the Evenflo SureRide DLX are machine-washable including the removable head and body pillows and the seat cover.
It’s best not to buy a used car seat for your child. You have no idea if it has sustained damage from misuse or been in an auto accident.
The price of the Evenflo SureRide DLX varies from store to store. You can purchase from online retailers, such as Amazon, Walmart, and even directly from Evenflo.
Here’s how the Evenflo compares to several other brands in approximately the same price range. Although there were several different models at a more comparable price manufactured by each company, they have had recalls on those models and therefore we won’t use them even for comparative purposes. Your child’s safety is of the utmost importance.
Before buying any car seat, check if the product has been recalled. You can find a list of car seats recalled in the last ten years from the United States Department of Transportation.
The Evenflo SureRide DLX has a lot going for it. With six harness positions, four of which are rear-facing, it can accommodate a child of many different sizes. The FAA has approved this model for airplane use. It’s inexpensive and light-weight. The fabric components are machine washable. It also has excellent safety statistics.
On the other hand, SureRide DLX is hard to install or uninstall. There is no handle to use it as an infant carrier. It doesn’t have strap pads. They must be purchased separately. The padding is too thin for maximum comfort. There is a large gap between the third and fourth harness slot which means there may be a time when the seat is not comfortable for your growing child. Also, the rear-facing positioning is in full recline, and there is no way to adjust that.
The Graco Size4Me 65 Convertible Car Seat gives the Evenflo SureRide DLX a run for its money. The Size4Me 65 is also approved by the FAA for airplane use. It is designed to be used by rear-facing infants from 4-40 pounds and forward-facing toddlers from 22-65 pounds, so there’s not much difference there either. The Rapid Remove seat cover is machine washable. It also meets or exceeds all applicable U.S. safety standards and been tested for side-impact safety as well.
As for positionings, the Graco Size4Me 65 gives you two different forward facing positions, one for children 20-40 pounds, and another for children 20-65 pounds. The SureRide DLX does not give you these options. It has eight positions designed in the Simply Safe Adjust harness system which adjusts the harness and the headrest without rethreading as the SureRide DLX does.
The Graco Size4Me 65 also comes with a full-year warranty against defects which is considerably more than Evenflo’s 90-day guarantee.
However, the Graco Size4Me 65 is more expensive. It weighs nearly twice as much at over 19 pounds. It is also slightly wider measuring 22.3 inches and somewhat shorter at 26 inches in height.
The Safety 1st Guide 65 Convertible Car Seat meets or exceeds federal, ASTM, and JPMA safety standards. It can accommodate a child weighing 5-40 pounds in rear-facing mode and from 22-65 pounds in forward-facing position. It is FAA approved for use on an airplane.
The Safety 1st Guide 65 Convertible Car Seat is also very affordable. It is less expensive than the SureRide DLX.
Guide 65 is more cumbersome at 15 pounds than the SureRide DLX. However, the SureRide DLX is wider than the Guide 65’s 14 inches. This smaller size allows for three car seats to fit across the back seat of your vehicle. The Guide 65 is also 2 1 /2 inches taller at 30 inches.
Safety 1st’s car seat only has five harness heights with three buckle locations, so it is not as adjustable. The fabric is not machine washable either. Customers have complained that this particular model is difficult to install as well.
The Baby Trend PROtect Car Seat Series Premiere Convertible Car Seat has a detachable headrest meant to be used by children in the front-facing position. It is an optional addition when the car seat is rear-facing.
The harness setup is also a bit different than the other models we’ve looked at in this article. Instead of using either a threaded position system, there is a bar that holds the harness in place. When you need to adjust the harness, you pull the bar up and out from both sides while keeping the seat firmly in place.
There are five positions, 3 for rear-facing and 2 for front facing. There are also four straps for shoulder belt height positioning. All these adjustments provide a good fit for your child but are a bit time-consuming. There are harmless pads which help keep the buckles at the appropriate part of the child’s body if necessary.
It’s a little wider and taller than our other models measuring 23 x 22 x 32 inches. It is also the heaviest model at nearly 22 pounds. It has EZ Off-N-Wash pad that snaps on and off and is washable.
The SureRide DLX is considerably less bulky and much easier to use than Baby Trend’s convertible car seat. It also weighs and costs less. For safety standards, SureRide DLX is also superior.
As you can see from our Evenflo SureRide DLX review, this convertible car seat is a reliable product for a reasonable price. Consistent with other convertible car seats of about the same price, the SureRide can be used rear-facing for children from 5 to 40 pounds and front-facing for children from 22 to 65 pounds. It is lightweight, the seat padding is machine washable, and has buckle pockets to keep the buckles from getting squished under your child’s bottom, all extremely attractive features for the harried parent.
Since your child’s safety is paramount, you can trust in the SureRide DLX. We found in our Evenflo SureRide DLX review that it meets or exceeds federal safety standards, is approved for use on an airplane, and passes Evenflo’s safety tests. While we would have like to have a better warranty period, in our opinion the Evenflo SureRide DLX is a solid high rating.
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