Review on 🚗 Graco Size4Me 65 Convertible Car Seat, Matrix: Safety, Comfort, and Versatility Combined by Karen Johnson

I'm a bit confused about this car seat. I bought it for my 19 month old daughter. We needed an extra car seat because we just couldn't use one. Also, she's using my son's old seats, so it's about time. The included instructions weren't very helpful, but I'm pretty good with puzzles so it wasn't that hard to figure out. I'm a freak when it comes to safety and research. For everyone reading this, yes this is a great car seat. I owed Graco (Snug32 - many years ago) and Britax (Marathon). You don't have to buy a Britax or Chico car seat to get a very safe, comfortable and well designed seat. However, I am rating it 3 stars for that reason, the straps and the bottom buckle. Here is a list of pros and cons from my point of view. PRO: I personally like that it's big. It fits well in my SUV and I feel better knowing it's sitting in a large car seat pan. I LOVE padding. It offers great support and in fact my daughter didn't get out the day I took it out of the box. I had to put it in front of the TV and just let her sit in it for a while. She cried when I pulled her out. I LOVE the adjustable head/neck/strap. It's much easier than the old way of pulling the straps through the small slots to adjust the shoulder straps. SO much easier. This was a HUGE benefit for me. I like that it reclines. And he REALLY leans back. My Britax doesn't recline as much as this one. It is very convenient for them, especially on long journeys. It's easy to install and I love that the little ball tells you if you're right or wrong. My Britax basically says "make sure you're at that level". I feel like I have to grab a level from the toolbox to make sure it's set correctly. The latches snap into place on the side of the seat. So if you pull it out of the car you won't get hit by the big latches. This feature was extremely helpful recently when we checked it in as baggage for our flight. CONS: Straps don't pull tight enough. I was very concerned about this and almost sent it back. I checked out the reviews and saw several posts that said you have to completely loosen the straps in order for them to tighten properly. Yes, it is true. OPTIONAL I went to the Graco website and saw a video of this seat. You no longer have to tighten it so tight that you can barely fit your finger under the strap. Be careful not to pinch the strap with two fingers. Please watch a video (youtube). You will see and understand what I am talking about. That being said, the straps are a pain, but now I'm more comfortable about security. My other complaint is the bottom buckle latch. WHY WHY Graco decided to make it so big I have no idea. What a bad design. They are constantly on my daughter's hips. You are very uncomfortable for her. I adjusted the bottom latch strap which helped and if I removed the bottom washer it would help more. However, I refuse this. I managed to get it working, but I doubt it will continue to work once their small feet grow into big ones. I took a picture of what I'm talking about, but unfortunately you can't see what I'm talking about either. I will try to update this review with a better picture. Overall this is a good car seat where the pros outweigh the cons. However, the disadvantages are quite significant.