Hi =) I use to sell car seats for a living and I can tell you that Britax seats have the highest crash test ratings, they are the safest car seat on the market. Britax is also the only manufacture that crash tests their booster seats since that is not required. I also have a Britax, I have the Marathon and I absolutely love it. I have purchased 3 now- one for my car, one for Daddy's car and a new one for Daddy's car since he was in a car accident with my son in the car. I was told by one of the police officers after the paramedics looked at my son, "It is a really good thing you had a safe carseat that was installed properly, otherwise your son would be in a lot worse shape." I will never buy anything else now. I know that carseat saved his live. The car was t-boned, the entire passenger side was buckled in, glass every where, the car was totalled and my son never moved, his seat was installed properly and safe, he walked away with just a few bruises- thank heaven. I highly recommend Britax! I know they are expensive but I personally cannot put a price on my sons safety. Also, the covers just come right off, wash them in the gentle cycle and hang to dry- since we all know how messy our little ones can be =) And you can always buy new covers, they are about 40 bucks but sometimes the mess is just too big to clean lol. Hope this helps =)
Take care,
H.