Why we chose the Diono Radian RXT for our third baby

The car seat industry constantly expands and improves, which is fantastic for parents but makes car seat shopping feel a bit daunting. Over five years ago, when we were getting ready to buy our first convertible car seat, I did a ton of research and asked my mom friends a lot of questions. We ultimately went with the Diono Radian RXT, and I’m glad we did. We continue to choose this seat for our little ones for five main reasons.

1. Smart and sleek design

Diono designed the Radian RXT well from the inside out. It’s an attractive seat made with premium plush interlock knit fabric and comes in great color options. One of my favorite features of this seat is its low-sitting profile, which makes it super easy to load kiddos in and out. It offers expandable sides and a long seat bottom to allow proper leg support. Installation is a breeze because of the unique SuperLATCH system.

2. Allows three seats in a row

The narrow profile of this seat allows you to sit three seats across in the back seat of most vehicles. Many people will appreciate that they don’t need to upgrade their vehicle to fit a third seat, which is huge, or it gives you a lot more storage space. I currently have two Diono Radian RXT seats and one Diono Cambria High Back Booster in my van’s second row. My three boys prefer this set up, and it gives me lots of room for the dog, stroller and hockey bags in the trunk, which is priceless.

3. Longevity

The RXT has one of the longest lifespans I’ve seen in a car seat. As long as you are accident free, the seat is good for 10 years. It can accommodate kiddos from 5 pounds up to 80 pounds with the harness, and up to 120 pounds as a booster. We’ve had Radian RXT seats for years with our older boys, and they are still going strong. At ages 4 and 6, they both fit comfortably in the seat.

4. Extended rear facing

Rear facing is recommended for children at least through age two, but the longer the better in my opinion. This seat comfortably accommodates little ones rear facing from 5 pounds to 45 pounds for maximum safety. Diono Radian RXT seats comes with premium plush head and body support cushions for newborns and infants.

5. Top notch safety features

The Radian RXT and other seats from Diono receive top-notch safety ratings and rave reviews. With a full steel frame and aluminum-reinforced sides, energy-absorbing EPS foam and side impact protection and a Safe Stop® energy-absorbing harness, this seat is hard to beat.

Certainly every seat has its pros and cons, but this seat gets high marks in my book. However, steel isn’t light. I take comfort in the sturdy design, but please note this is a heavy seat. When rear facing in the second row, the Radian generally works best in the middle because of the tall design. With my van’s current configuration, my youngest sits rear facing behind the driver’s seat and my tall husband has a hard time driving comfortably. We will likely be moving his seat to the middle.

I highly recommend bringing every car seat to a local CPS Tech to check the installation and fit. Diono also offers some great installation videos to get you started, and you can check them out here. The Diono Radian RXT retails for $360, which is on par with top convertible car seats, but the lifespan of this seat — from birth to booster — really sets it apart.

Have you tried the Diono Radian RXT? What are your favorite features?

This post was contributed by Rebecca Spear as part of Savvy Sassy Moms Product Scouts. You can find more from Rebecca on her blog, Mainely Mama.

Diono kindly provided me with a car seat for the purposes of review, but all as always all opinions are my own.

Meet the Author | Product Scout

Savvy Sassy Moms Product Scouts have been hand selected by our editors to bring you the latest and greatest products that make your life a little easer and a lot more stylish! Our product scouts have a variety of children from newborn to age 10 and are on the ground (literally) using and testing these products. Our reviews are honest and the opinions of the scouts are always their own.