Customer Reviews

Graco Snugride Infant Car Seat, Metropolitan

5 star:		(35)
4 star:		(34)
3 star:		(15)
2 star:		(15)
1 star:		(9)

 

 

I am a first time father. Having spent many hours looking in stores and reading reviews on infant car seats, my wife and I chose this one. Here is why:

Pros - it's light, the base attachment is similar to most others
- it fits into shopping carts; the Graco swing and the Graco strollers
- it has a Winnie the Pooh cover, it also cost only $80 (or $140 in Canada)
- it has the same safety rating as all the rest etc.
- the seat can used in another car without the base and attaches nicely

Cons
- The seat belt safety clip is stored under the babies right thigh. (yes, we couldn't believe it either, so we bought some high impact foam to fix it so it was more even and soft)
- The straps tightens from the rear of the seat
- The chest harness is hard to open for a mans fingers because they are to small and for a woman's fingers because it is stiff
- The plastic shell is bulky and a little cheap feeling
- The handle is not well designed like that of the Baby Trend or Evenflo

My wife and I wondered why some many of the seats looked and felt so similar and seems to have many of the same problems. Interestingly we noticed that even though there appear to be many different brands to choose from, there are in fact only two or three different manufacturing parent companies and the brands are kept to create the impression that a healthy competitive market exist. If you take the cover off most seats and infant seats you will find most of the same plastic shells. For example Eddie Bauer, Maxi-Cosi, Quinny, Cosco, and Safety 1st are all produced by the Dorel Juvenile Group.

- The comfiest seat we found was the Chicco (and they have one that goes up to 30lbs like the Graco SafeSeat only half the weight), but it doesn't fit into a shopping cart or the Graco swing we liked. Chicco's strollers feel very solid too. Much more than Graco, Eveflo, etc.
- The easiest one to carry was the Baby Trend triangular handle, but it did not fit into things too well either and it was a little heavier.
- The more expensive brands like Peg Perego etc. have nice features but are similar to the Chicco and Baby Trend quality so the price is not justifiable.
- Evenflo has a great handle designed but their seats and strollers seem rather flimsy

I hope this helps. God bless. Paul and Flavia Beriault, Toronto, Canada

i bought this carseat in the color 'lotus' (crimson and black) and my daughter loved riding in it. the double infant head support cushion was key during the first couple of weeks - i've talked with other people who've had difficulty using infant carseats with just a single head support, as the newborn's head bobbles around. excellent safety ratings and not TOO heavy, although not the lightest carseat out there. installation of the base into our car (prius) was fairly easy, although it required aggressive tightening (i.e. my brother-in-law getting on top of it and yanking really hard on the straps) to be really secure. getting the carseat in and out of the car was easy, and carrying was fine. the baby fell asleep in it a lot, but also just relaxed and enjoyed being rocked in it when we had it on the floor. nice padding. my only complaint: she outgrew it in 16 weeks.

I did quite a bit of research before purchasing this car seat. This car seat consistently receives high safety ratings and is reviewed very favorably on Consumer Reports. It's light and easy to snap in and out of the base. You can purchase Graco's inexpensive Snugrider stroller frame to avoid even having to take the baby out of the seat. There are also adaptors for just about every stroller to snap this seat into it. The only con I have (that didn't warrant downgrading its rating) is that the fabric is very hot ... but then again all car seats are hot by nature of their design. It's not a huge issue, we just dress the baby a little lighter when he'll be in the seat for a long period of time.

All in all, this is a great buy for a high quality infant seat!

We got this seat in a different color for our first baby. We feel very secure with it. Easy to install and a little hint, they try to get you to buy the second base for the snugride if you have two cars... you don't need it, you can fasten the seat without the base. the directions for it are on the seat.
I like that we can move the canopy to wherever the sun is to directly block it, and that it's transportable to our stroller. (bough seperatly) It comes with a head "brace" whatever those things are called to cradle the head. Those never do anything, and are pretty useless, but the seat itself is great.

I recently bought a Graco Snugride just like this one (manufactured in 2009) because the Snugride I bought 6 years ago worked so well. Little did I know that Graco has kicked quality to the curb. They cut so many corners on this model that I find mine unusable--and the new one cost twice as much! My list of complaints:

1. WHO designed the strap adjustment?!?! It is in the BACK of the seat, and you practically have to tip the seat upside down to tighten or loosen the harness. (My original Snugride had the upfront adjustment, which only required the pull of a strap to tighten/loosen the harness.) Also, the harness must be adjusted one side at a time. Ridiculous.

2. The seat cover no longer has an elastic edge or elastic loops to hold it in place. It slips around very easily, and can allow all kinds of junk to fall between the seat and it's cover.

3. Seat cover is so thin that all the weird bumps and edges press into baby's bottom and legs.

4. Handle is considerably cheaper. The plastic used to make the handle has been honed down to the minimum, and the hand grip is stiff and hard (used to have some give to it, and was softer).

5. On my particular seat, the red release buttons only work half the time because they are so stiff and rough. They will need to be treated with some kind of silicone spray in order to make them smooth enough to operate.

I am about to have my fourth baby, so I have lots of experience with car seats. This Snugride is a pathetic product. I encourage others who have bought this car seat (note that I'm not reviewing the 32 or 35 model)and are dissatisfied, to contact Graco and let them know that this kind of poor quality is an insult to consumers.

This is a fantastic car seat. We drove from LA to Houston and back with my 2 month old son riding in this seat the entire time. Love it.

Pros:
1. Super easy to take the car seat in and out of your car. The seat snaps right onto the base and pops right off when you push up on the red handle in back. You can remove the seat from your car without waking up your sleeping baby.Great design!
2. Safe. Consumer Reports rated the Graco Snug Ride with EPS foam as one of the best car seats on the market. Note that not all of the Graco Snug Rides have EPS foam, so be sure to pick one that does.
3. Comfy. My son sat in it for 3 days straight during our road trip. Also, when this seat is on the floor in a restaurant, I can rock it back and forth and put my son to sleep easily.
4. Light. This seat is only 7.24 pounds, but once your baby weighs around 15 pounds, it can still be pretty strenuous carrying around 20+ pounds of baby-in-car-seat. I highly recommend buying the Graco Snug Rider to use with this car seat. It is VERY convenient and compact.
5. Stylish. Unlike most baby gear, this modern, unisex color scheme isn't frou-frou at all.
6. Good value. You definitely get a lot of features for the price.

Cons:
1. The fabric of the seat is not very breathable, and my son gets pretty sweaty when he sits in the seat on a hot day or for longer than an hour or so.
2. There is a "peek-a-boo" window in the canopy that is very annoying - you constantly have to adjust the sun shade so that light doesn't shine in your baby's eyes/face. To remedy this, I put a light receiving blanket over the canopy so that my baby isn't blinded by the light from the "peek-a-boo" window.
3. The base is *really* difficult to install correctly. You need to stand over the base, push down with both knees, push the back of the base with both hands, then pull on the top seatbelt strap to tighten it. Whew! There should be no lateral movement whatsoever. I definitely recommend making an appointment with a certified child passenger safety contact. The NHTSA provides a list of technicians near your zip code that will install your child seat for you.
4. According to Graco, the seat is intended for use by children "less than 29 inches tall." My son was 26.5" tall at his 3 month checkup, which means he'll probably be growing out of this seat by the time he's 4 months old. If you have a tall kid, this seat just doesn't last very long. Graco, hope you are listening! 29" is not enough!

Overall, I highly recommend this seat. It will be a sad, sad day when my son outgrows it, but the Graco Snug Ride and Graco Snug Rider stroller frame are absolutely the most convenient and safe way to transport your baby.

Pros
*Great safety record
*Nice cushion, this model had thicker foam when compared to other more economical models of the snugride
*Parents have great options when it comes to adapters for different strollers
*Can double as a rocker when you're at the grandparents or relatives house

Cons
*This seat will make your baby sweat like a PIG, this fabric does not breathe at all and made my baby sweat to the point that there were unpleasant sweat stains that had to be washed all the time. It also caused my little one to wake up sooner due to the discomfort level
*The handle on the seat is horrible and created lower back pains for me
*The canopy on this doesn't do alot. There is a plastic window were you can view the baby; its this same window that will shine into your kids face when your baby is trying to sleep. The canopy is also on the small side. If you are out and about, you are constantly stopping to adjust it

Conclusion
I would recommend a snugride with another fabric, not the metropolitan. Invest in a JJ Cole Bundleme or something similar, so your baby doesn't have to feel the fabric. (It's feels like a 70's polyester leisure suit.) Get a decent canopy, because your baby can not wear the majority of sunscreens out there till they are 6 months old.

I did plenty of research for a car seat for my firstborn, and the Snugfit got the best safety reviews. And we just loved the pring- perfect for a boy or a girl. I had heard how hard car seats were to install in the car, but it was a BREEZE. I had it installed in the backseat within five minutes. My car has the LATCH system, and it has worked great. My daughter loves being in her car seat, and I have always felt perfectly safe with her in it. I was surprised to read the other reviews, since I have never experienced a single one of those issues with my car seat. I would highly recommend this seat to any parent.

My wife and I just had our first baby two months ago, and this was the best purchase we could have made. We have a 2004 Toyota Corolla, which has an annoying hump in the middle of the back seat (Which is where it's recommended to put the child seat), but this seat was so easy to install behind the driver's seat. It's easier than many to install because you can take the seat off of the base.

The seat as a carrier has been great. It is a bit heavy, so long walks with only the carrier aren't practical, but the carrier fits perfectly on the child seat of grocery carts and in our Graco stroller, so we can be very mobile with our daughter without having to move her in and out of the seat.

She seems to find the seat comfortable, too. Car rides have been a great way of getting her to sleep on those horribly fussy nights, and we don't worry about the safety of the seat (The fire department personnel who helped show us the proper way of installing it said that this seat is one of the best out there). We are so happy with this seat and would recommend it to anyone who is getting ready to start a family.

I have been using the Graco Snugride since my son was about 2 months old - he's now five months old. The seat and the base are both easy to install and the seat is easy to adjust and to carry. As the product name suggests, my son fits snugly and comfortably into the seat.

The only problem that I have is with the process for adjusting the harness. The buckles to do so are at the back of the seat and do not allow the harness straps to move easily. I have found that I have to get behind the seat and really work at the straps and the buckles to adjust the seat properly, which is difficult to do if the seat and baby are already in the car. Apart from that, the seat provides good value for the price.