Britax Diplomat Vs. Boulevard

I actually have the Britax Marathon. When I looked at them, I also looked at the Diplomat and liked both, the Marathon and the Diplomat. I decided to go w/the Marathon b/c it had a higher weight limit. It does look huge in my van (I have an older Toyo Sienna) but my son loves it! And so do I. We are used to the size now and I'm glad I got it. I don't know if you are thinking of buying them at a local store. Before you do, check out www.albeebaby.com. We got our Marathon for $80 less than what we would have paid at BabiesRUs. And Albeebaby has free shipping over $100 or $150.

I am a labor and delivery nurse and was trained on how to properly install car seats. All my experience with Britax is that they are not very user friendly at all. So, I always tell Moms to stay away from them. There idea is good, but very difficult to use. Hope this helps!

I have the Diplomat, using it in a Mercury Mariner. It really is a great seat, and so much less "intrusive" and unwieldy than the larger one. On the occasion that I must remove it from the car, it is easy to do so - and easy to put back in. The baby (18 mos) sits up nice and high and he can see out the front window of the car, yet I can see over the seat and out the rear window.
Your boy is only one year old now, and unless he is in the extreme upper percentile in growth, he won't be outgrowing the Diplomat until he is ready to move to a booster seat.

I would really go with the Britax.. I have 3kids and have only used them.. They have great safety ratings...and they are NOT hard to put in or out of the car... They are a lil bigger than say graco but worth it.. my daughters were in the carseat till 4yrs then we switched to the britax booster seat. i would never use anything but a britax.. My husband actually had a accident with the girls,and they didnt move.They were safe and sound and I think its because of the carseats...

Hi A. - I realize this doesn't answer your Britax question, but... we purchased a Sunshine Kids Radian carseat and have absolutely LOVED it! It's very narrow, so we can easily have 4 adults + our 1 1/2 old son in our Subaru Forester. We bought it about 6 months ago and I seem to remember that it has a steel frame, and can be used in the rear-facing position up to 35 lbs (which is the safest way to travel), and forward-facing up to 65 lbs.

I bought the Boulevard because of it's outstanding safety rating and the wonderful reviews it's received. I have it installed in my Honda Accord and while it is large, I can see over it just fine. My daughter is only 8 months so it's still in the rear-facing position. It is a very comfortable car seat and she is well-protected. My only complaint is that the crotch strap is very short. It makes it just a little more difficult to buckle her in but it does work. The seat comes out very easily when I need it to because of the push button latch connection, but they might both have that. Overall I'm very glad I got it.