Britax Roundabout 55 Convertible Car Seat (Previous Version)

by Britax USA

• The Britax Roundabout 55 convertible car seat is designed for children rear facing from 5 to 40 pounds and forward facing up to 55 pounds
• Safecell technology features safecells designed to compress in a crash, significantly lowering the center of gravity and counteracting the forward rotation of the child seat which normally propels child toward the front seat
• Integrated Steel Bars strengthen the connection to the vehicle and reduce forward flexing of the child seat during a crash
• Side Impact Protection comprised of deep side walls lined with energy-absorbing EPP foam distributes crash forces, shields from vehicle intrusion and contains the head, neck and body

Product Description

Color: - Onyx

Amazon.com

The BRITAX ROUNDABOUT 55 Convertible Car Seat achieves optimum head safety through the combination of BRITAX SafeCell Technology, integrated steel bars, and a Versa-Tether, which work together to minimize head excursion and reduce the risk of head injury during a frontal impact. The seat fits children in the rear-facing position weighing from 5 to 40 pounds, and children in the forward-facing position starting at one year old and 20 pounds, up to 55 pounds.

ROUNDABOUT 55 (Onyx) Convertible Car Seat At a Glance: Age/Weight Requirements: In rear- facing position, fits children weighing 5 - 40 pounds; in forward-facing position, fits children 1+ years old weighing 20 - 55 pounds Warranty: 1-year limited warranty

Available in (from left to right): Onyx, Davenport, and Smokey Pearl.

Safety features include SafeCell Technology and True Side Impact Protection. View larger.

Comfort features include dual recline positions and high-density comfort foam. (Shown here in Davenport.) View larger.

BRITAX 360 Degree Protection
The BRITAX ROUNDABOUT 55 features technologies that work to minimize injury to your child during a crash from any direction, including both frontal and side impact crashes - the most frequent types of crashes. These technologies work together with other features on the car seat to minimize injury to your child during a crash by:

keeping your child in the vehicle, diverting crash forces away from your child, helping to slow down your child's body, minimizing movement of your child, and protecting your child's brain and spinal cord.

SafeCell Technology for Advanced Head Safety
Designed with SafeCell Technology, the ROUNDABOUT 55 features SafeCells, which are engineered structures located in the base of the seat designed to compress in the event of a crash. This compression significantly lowers the center of gravity and counteracts the forward rotation of the car seat, delivering unprecedented performance in a crash.

The ROUNDABOUT 55 also features integrated steel bars, which strengthen the connection to the vehicle and reduce the forward flexing of the car seat. In addition, the energy-absorbing Versa-Tether anchors the top of the car seat and minimizes forward rotation to reduce the crash forces that can reach your child if an accident occurs. These three features work together as a system to provide revolutionary head safety protection for your child.

Side Impact Protection for Added Security
To keep your child safe in the event of a side-impact collision, the ROUNDABOUT 55 includes Side Impact Protection. Side Impact Protection is a system composed of a rigid seat shell with deep side walls and energy-absorbing EPP (Expanded Polypropylene) foam lining the shell. These combined features work together to protect your child's head and chest from incoming side-impact crash forces by distributing the forces over a larger surface area, helping shield your child from vehicle intrusion and contain your child's head and body in the seat.

Premium Fit and Comfort Features
Whether children are watching the world go by or snuggling in for a nap, they'll enjoy that the ROUNDABOUT 55 reclines in both the forward and rear positions. And thanks to additional features, which include high-density comfort foam and a plush cover set with a matching belly pad, they'll always ride in style and comfort. A 55-pound weight capacity, two buckle positions, and a tangle-free five-point harness with four harness-height settings ensure that your growing child will ride safely and comfortably. Plus, an optional Infant Positioning Insert (sold separately) allows you to properly and snugly fit smaller infants into the car seat.

Ease-of-Use for Safety and Convenience
Packed with perks for parents, the ROUNDABOUT 55 makes it easy to secure your child in the proper position without guesswork. Premium lower LATCH connectors make for a quick, simple, and tight installation, while the push-button allows you to easily uninstall the connectors. Easy-to-access built-in lock-offs allow you to install the car seat with ease using your vehicle's lap and shoulder belt.

Additionally, an anti-slip contoured base grips and protects the vehicle seat, ensuring a tight installation in all types of vehicles. Convenient holders keep harness straps out of the way when you're placing your child in the seat.

The BRITAX ROUNDABOUT 55 Convertible Car Seat is backed by a one-year limited warranty.

What's in the Box
One BRITAX ROUNDABOUT 55 Convertible Car Seat and manual.

Product Description

The BRITAX ROUNDABOUT? 55 convertible car seat is designed for children rear facing from 5 to 40 pounds and forward facing from 1 year and 20 lbs up to 55 pounds. The ROUNDABOUT 55 achieves revolutionary head safety through the use of BRITAX SafeCellTM Technology, Integrated Steel Bars, and Versa-Tether? that work together to minimize head excursion and reduce the risk of head injury during a frontal impact. The ROUNDABOUT 55 also incorporates BRITAX Side Impact Protection, offers a five-point harness, and multiple buckle and recline adjustments. A body pillow is provided for comfort. Features Benefits: 360 Degree Protection Features SafeCell? Technology features SafeCells designed to compress in a crash, significantly lowering the center of gravity and counteracting the forward rotation of the child seat which normally propels the child toward the front seat Integrated Steel Bars strengthen the connection to the vehicle and reduce forward flexing of the child seat during a crash Patented, Energy-Absorbing Versa-Tether? features a staged-release tether webbing to slow the forward movement, reducing the crash forces reaching the child, and a two-point attachment to minimize forward rotation while anchoring the top of the child seat Side Impact Protection comprised of deep side walls lined with energy-absorbing EPP foam distributes crash forces, shields from vehicle intrusion, and contains the head, neck and body Tangle-Free, Five-Point Harness distributes crash forces across the strongest parts of the body and provides a secure fit Superior Fit and Comfort Features 55-pound Weight Capacity for safety and comfort as your child grows Rear and Forward Facing Recline for child comfort and positioning High Density Comfort Foam provides an extra layer of padding to gently cushion your child Two Buckle Positions for your growing childInfant Positioning Insert may be necessary for small infants to achieve a snug fit of the harness around your child (sold separa

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

51 of 52 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Just what I was looking for August 30, 2010

By Kristina M. Raymond

Amazon Verified Purchase

I ordered this seat after trying several others without success, and it's great! I have a 2009 Honda Fit which is a very small car. I wanted something that was safe, easy to use, would last at least a couple more years, was affordable, and most importantly...fit in my car!

The fabric on the seat is nice and plush, but even in the summer heat my girl did not seem extra sweaty. The quality is noticable compared to other models you see in big box stores. I love that is has a steel bar frame and that the base is stationary so the seat just pivots to recline. The LATCH connectors are super easy and store away neatly if you are using a seat belt. I installed it in my car with both methods and they were both easy and quick. I have used it both in the center and passenger side positions (both rear-facing) and it fit with enough room for my passenger to be comfortable. I couldn't even do that on the passenger side with my infant car seat. It's able to work because the base kind of lifts the shell up and over the back of the front seat, but not so high that it impedes on visibility. It is also narrow enough that the other side of my split seat will still fold down. It's not a narrow seat or anything, just not overly huge.

I only have a couple of minor complaints. First, the fabric cover is mostly just fitted on with elastic. I forsee it slipping off and/or having to be re-adjusted every once in a while. Also, the pouch to hold the tether when not in use makes a bulge at the top, taking up space. I had to leave it out of the pouch in the outboard position so it did not interfere with the front seat. And last, the pull to tighten the straps is pressed against the back seat, so it can be hard to pull (it's plenty long though!)

I'm glad I got this seat and I'll probably be ordering a Britax Marathon as well for my husband's truck. From the manufacturer's website, the outer dimensions are the same on both seats, so they should be a great pair!

29 of 29 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Britax Roundabout 55 - Smokey Pearl September 10, 2010

By Colleen

Color Name:- Smokey Pearl|Amazon Verified Purchase

We ordered 2 of the Britax Roundabout 55 carseats in smokey pearl, one for each of our vehicles. We have this carseat installed rear-facing in both a 2005 Toyota Camry and a 2005 Chevy Silverado extended cab pickup, and it fits great in both vehicles. In the Camry, the carseat is installed behind the passenger, and there is lots of leg room for the person riding in the passenger seat - the passenger seat is almost all the way back. Our previous carseat was a Graco Snugride, and the Roundabout 55 takes up MUCH less of the passenger's leg room. In the pickup, we have the carseat installed in the rear center seat. We initially installed it behind the passenger, but rear-facing, this seat was not a good fit - the passenger seat had to be almost all the way forward. However, there is plenty of room for the seat to rear-face in the middle and the seat does not affect the position of the driver or passenger seats at all.

We have been using this carseat for about a week, and so far so good. The seat installed easily using the LATCH system, we have not tried a seatbelt install with this seat yet. The quality of this seat is obvious, especially when compared with our previous seat. The cloth cover is a soft, plush fabric, and the colors are true to what is shown in the picture. The dots on the cream background are a grayish-brown color and beige, and the edging is a medium-brown color. The seat is well padded, and our daughter seems comfortable and happy in it. The velco tabs for holding the harness straps back when not in use are a nice touch. The buckle on the 5-point harness is not any more or less difficult to latch and unlatch than the Graco seat. The harness is much easier to adjust on this seat compared to our previous seat, except (as another reviewer mentioned) that the adjuster strap does get trapped between the carseat and the seat back when rear-facing. However, that is not a big deal to us, since we don't often adjust the harness straps anyway.

One of the reasons we chose this seat is because it can potentially rear-face to 40 pounds. However, I am almost certain that our daughter will outgrow this seat rear-facing on height well before she reaches 40 pounds. Same thing for forward facing. Right now, our 9 month old is 20.5 pounds and 28.5 inches and the shoulder straps are threaded thru the 2nd set of holes, and is not far from moving up to the 3rd set of holes. However, if we can keep her rear-facing in this seat until she is 2-2.5 years old, and forward facing until she is 4 or so, I will be satisfied.

72 of 82 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars Good Seat with some complaints December 22, 2010

By B. Pradhan

Color Name:- Davenport

We bought this seat 2.5 months ago for my now 10.5 month old son. Before I went out and bought this for my baby I spent months researching safety reviews and parent reviews of so many different car seats it was so draining. We settled on a Britax because these do get excellent safety ratings. Anyways, we've owned this seat for over 2 months now and it fits great in our 2007 Honda Accord. I thought that the installation was easy and it is buckled tight and secure in the backseat.
I do have a few complaints about this seat though:
1) I wish that the shoulder straps were easier to thread. I personally thought that getting them threaded into the right slats was challenging and cumbersome.
2)For some reason the restraint straps and buckles are always getting twisted. It just makes it a little more challenging trying to get a very active 10 month old restrained into his car seat.
3) For me the seat cover is always popping off the back of the seat. I'm not sure if anyone else is having this problem but I'm constantly having to reapply the seat cover to the back of the car seat. To me it's a big annoyance.
4) I'm concerned that he'll be outgrowing this car seat sooner than I hope that he would. He's only 10 months and his shoulders are already reaching the second to the last slat on this car seat. I don't think that I'll be getting the years of use out this seat that I hoped for.
These annoyances that I have about this seat keep me from being thrilled about this product. But with all of those things said I will say that I do feel that my son is safe and secure in this seat and he is comfortable in it.