thanks for responses; here's another question. Anyone used one of these? got a honda crv and a 4 door accura... not sure which is better or if anyone had issues w/crv suv and lap belt (can't latch over 40 lbs). thanks!
We have the Sunshine Radian and my 3 year old loves it. I love that it is smaller and you can fit 3 in the backseat of a car. I was thinking about the frontier for our next one b/c of the option to switch to a booster, but I don't know if it's too big to fit 3 across...I'm guessing it is. We also have the Decatholon from Britiax. I know Britiax is an awsome and highly reccomended brand, but I have no complaints with our Sunshine Radian.
I love my daughter's Frontier. She fits great in it but I don't know how great it is in a CRV. I've decided that there aren't any cars out there that are very car seat friendly. I just found out that most cars are only latch friendly to 40 lbs as you mentioned. Doesn't do me a whole lot of good with a car seat that is supposed to be latched until 80 lbs...
I have tried both of these seats and I love the Frontier. My mom ended up buying it as the car seat for her car and the grandkids. It is so versatile, as she has grandkids ranging in age from 2-6. It's an awesome seat and I wish I had it (we have a Regent and a Boulevard). The Frontier is nice, like I mentioned, because it will last a long time and fits well through the years. My mom doesn't use the latch, and it fits great in her Toyota Camry- so not sure about your car but it has fit well in other cars she's tried it in. The Sunshine Radian was not liked by my kids because they felt squished. My kids must be broad shouldered (although one is nicknamed french fry by his soccer coach), because this seat along with the Britax Marathon and the Graco Nautilius are too narrow for my kids. Even my 2 year old can't sit all the way back in them without touching the sides. So, I love the Frontier and I know you will be happy with it. Check out carseat.org and ask them if anyone has it in a CRV. I love that site for all car seats.
I have the Radian and am very happy with it in most respects. It is VERY heavy. And in my captain chair middle row seats in my van I have to use the latch cause the belt just doesn't get it tight enough. I used it rear facing and liked it too. I had my 9 yr old try it and she wasn't squished in it, but she is small (50 inches, 50 lbs). My daycare kids that used it were happy sitting in it.
I have used the Frontier but wanted to give my view on the Radian. I got the Radian cheapest on Amazon, btw.
