Graco TurboBooster Highback LX Matrix Booster Seat

The seat cover is removable and machine washable for easy cleaning. The seat can be securely fastened using the car’s seat belt. Additionally, the seat has dual cup holders to keep drinks and snacks within easy reach. Overall, the graco turbobooster 2.0 is designed to offer safety, comfort, and convenience for older children in the car. With its adjustable features and durability, it provides peace of mind for parents while on the road. My daughter’s Graco Nautilus is expiring in a few months so it was time for my 6 year old to get a new seat.

The seat and the child are still held in place by the vehicle seat belt — on a booster, the lower anchors only keep the booster in place if it’s empty during a crash. If this booster isn’t installed with the lower anchors, buckle the vehicle seat belt when the seat is empty. If your goal is an excellent option for little ones to carry themselves or something compact you graco turbobooster can use while traveling, then the BubbleBum is our favorite. This simple booster is an inflatable cushion with a shoulder belt positioner that can be quickly and easily deployed in almost any situation. The lower price and better crash test analysis results than the TurboBooster make it a great option for when a high-backed traditional booster would be impractical.

graco turbobooster

And as with our top pick, the seat belt slides into the threader from the bottom up (though one tester found Chicco’s version to be more intuitive). The TurboBooster LX has a standard stationary plastic cupholder on one side, and on the other there’s a cupholder that slides in and out of the seat base. These cupholders cannot be removed for cleaning (as the Chicco’s cupholders can).

Toysrus.ca & Babiesrus.ca base “Our Suggested Age” ranges on these manufacturer recommendations, as well as considering which ages will enjoy the product. Such factors as a child’s developmental skill set and toy popularity help determine the enjoyment levels of a product. The safest place for a car seat is in the centre of the rear seat, so that there is sufficient distance from the airbags. It is also pretty narrow, with a width of only 16.3 inches. Only one option is narrower than this option, which is great for multiple seats in one row; however, combined with its disappointing crash analysis, we would look elsewhere. The TurboBooster did not perform well in our crash tests, with some of the highest recorded g-forces for both the HIC (head) and chest clip sensors in the group.

The Clek Oobr, Chicco KidFit Zip Air Plus 2-in-1, Diono Monterey 4DXT, Diono Cambria 2 also performed well and earned higher scores. We believe that the crash test details indicate that these higher-scoring options potentially offer an additional margin of protection over the average seat. For the crash tests, they buckle a crash test dummy into the booster secured to a sled to simulate the forces experienced in an actual crash. This dummy has sensors in the head and chest that record the force exerted on those areas during testing. NHTSA crash studies show that the risk of injury is higher for forward-facing children. Head Injury Criteria (HIC) score is the factor used in the federal safety standards.

The Diono Monterey 2XT Latch is similar to our top pick in terms of function, but it’s covered in a plusher fabric and has the option of extending the sides through the shoulders. This makes it a good choice for kids who have a wider frame and parents who want bigger children to stay in a high-back booster seat longer. This seat received a Best Bet rating from the IIHS for its ability to provide a proper seat-belt fit. She’s got plenty of room to grow in the TurboBooster LX with True Shield and it offers a good vehicle seat belt fit. She climbed into the TurboBooster LX without any trouble and was able to buckle herself in properly. She reports that the armrests are too short for her tastes — she’s got a fondness for car seats with higher sides around the thighs so I’m not surprised at this.