Century Bravo LX 5-point: Riding in the lap of luxury!
Written: Apr 03 '01 (Updated Jun 28 '04)
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Pros: Comfortable and Sturdy Seat, Looks nice too!
Cons: Tricky to install
The Bottom Line: This is an overall good carseat. Its safe, comfortable and moves pretty good from car to car to SUV.
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| marytara's Full Review: Bravo LX Car Seat |
We purchased the Bravo LX Deluxe 5-Point Newborn/Toddler Car Seat with Leather Trim for the grandparent's vehicle(s). You may be asking Why did we choose this seat? Especially one with a leather upholstery? ..I will explain.
When looking for a carseat to be used while visiting my husband parents (2 sets of them due to remarriages) we had a few basic needs. Sometimes when we visit them we fly, other times we drive. The convenience of having a reliable and safe carseat available to us when visiting was of utmost importance.
First and foremost, we wanted a car seat that we'd be able to use for a couple of years. Even though at the time we purchased it our son was in the size range where he could use an infant carseat we didn't think that was a wise choice. He'd be small enough for the infant seat now but in a few months we'd have to spend more money and get a new seat. So we decided that an infant/toddler convertible seat was the route to go.
The Century Bravo LX 5 point seat can be used for infant through toddler. The seat accomodates infants up to 30 lbs in the rear facing position and toddlers 20 to 40 lbs in the forward facing position. The seat cost us around 120 dollars. This was significantly less expensive than our seat at home, Britax Roundabout, but was a bit more expensive than several other models we looked into, specifically infant-only seats. Since we wanted to have a seat that could grow with our son the convertible option was the better one for us.
Bravo! You've got the Looks
The Bravo LX Deluxe version has soft, real leather detailing. We knew that this would look good in the back of our parent's luxury vehicles. They like to ride in style and so should their grandchild! Personally, we use the Britax Roundabout in Cool Blues (Denim). Its practical and fits our personality. Likewise, this seat fits theirs! The seat itself is a tan/brown color and it has leather trim and accents.
This model has a super deluxe pad design with flip-away pillow for toddlers. Looks really comfy and luxurious. Ours is tan, though I've also seen the seat in grey. It also has a removable (snap in or out) head support and body pillow for infants. Talk about comfort!
Surprisingly, its easy to clean also! Since the seat pad itself is not leather, it is removable and machine washable. The accent pillows which are leather are surface washable, and a baby wipe does the trick.
Other Great Features of this seat include:
Leveling System
A big selling point for this seat was the LevelRight™ system. This is a leveling System to make sure that its installed properly (for rear facing it needs to be the right angle) This is a great feature. In fact, this is the only feature that I feel our main carseat, the Britax Roundabout, lacks.
5 point harness
This seat has a 5 point restraint harness for safety. Not only is the 5 point restraint safer than an overhead shield its also very easy to clip your kid in! The straps can be threaded at 3 different levels. When rear-facing they must be in the lowest level, but depending on the height of your child you can adjust the straps for comfort and safety in the forward facing position.
The front of the harness has a Two-piece clip that is easily opened or closed by the parent and tricky enough that kids can't tamper with it. (At least, ours hasn't figured it out yet).
3 positions of recline
When used forward facing, the seat can be reclined for comfort or used in an upright position. In the rear-facing mode, it must be at a certain angle of recline for safety purposes, so these positions do not apply.
Installation
I will admit that this seat was tricky to install the first time. But once we got it the right angle and figured it out, its been a snap. We've used this car in several different vehicles with a great amount of success. This is a big plus for us. The Century Bravo LX moves really easily between vehicles and fits good in a range of vehicles - from 2 & 4 Door sedans to Sport Utility vehicles. In the back of a 2 door Sebring, this seat takes up quite a bit of space - especially rear facing. But in the larger vehicles it installs quite comfortably.
Installation is made easy because of the front access BeltWay™ included on the seat. There is a flap which covers a premade pathway for you to thread the passenger seatbelt through. This is not a "big deal" but it does make the installation go a bit quicker as you arent routing around under the frame of the seat.
Overall
In summary, We are pleased with seat all-around and so are the grandparents. We know our son is safe and also comfortable, and he's definitely riding in style when he's visiting his grandparents.
The leather trim is certainly not a necessity and adds a bit of expense to the seat - the same seat can be purchased without the leather trim for approximately $20 cheaper.
For more info
http://www.centuryproducts.com
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 130
Age Range of Child: 0 to 12 Months
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marytara
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