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The institute named a record 31 seats among its "best bets," meaning they "correctly position a vehicle safety belt on a typical 4- to 8-year-old in almost any car, minivan or SUV." Brands with more than one "best bet" included Britax, Graco, Harmony and Recaro.
Engineers evaluated 62 booster models. Some dual-use seats, which can work as high-back or backless boosters, were evaluated twice, so a total of 83 seats were tested.
Five seats were rated "good bets," providing "acceptable belt fit in most vehicles." Nearly half of the models, 41, fell into the "check fit" category, meaning they "may provide good fit for some children in some vehicles."
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Insurance Institute for Highway Safety: Booster evaluations for 2011
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Only six models were "not recommended."
IIHS' 31 "best bets" are:
- Britax Frontier 85, Frontier 85 SICT, Parkway SGL (high-back mode)
- BubbleBum
- Chicco KeyFit Strada (high-back)
- Clek Oobr (high-back)
- Cosco Pronto (high-back)
- Cybex Solution X-Fix
- Diono/Sunshine Kids Monterey (high-back)
- Eddie Bauer Auto Booster (high-back)
- Evenflo Big Kid Amp, Big Kid Sport (backless mode), Maestro, Symphony 65 e3
- Ferrari Dreamway SP (high-back)
- Graco Argos 70 (high-back), TurboBooster Baldwin (high-back), TurboBooster Elite (high-back)
- Harmony Cruz Youth Booster/Carpooler, Dreamtime (backless and high-back), Olympian/Secure Comfort Deluxe, Youth Booster Seat
- Kids Embrace Dale Earnhardt Jr.
- Maxi-Cosi Rodi XR (high-back)
- Recaro ProBooster, ProSport, Vivo
- Safety 1st Boost Air Protect (high-back), S1 Rümi Air
- The First Years B570 Pathway
The "not recommended" models are:
- Evenflo Chase, Express, Generations 65, Sightseer
- Safety 1st All-in-One, Alpha Omega Elite
