Considering this Graco car seat? The best car seat is the one that fits your child, vehicle, budget, and lifestyle and has the features important to you. The safest car seat is the one you can install correctly and use properly on every ride! Let us know in the comment section what questions you have about this Graco Extend2Fit 3-in-1 car seat review.
Graco Extend2Fit 3-in-1 Car Seat Review (USA)
The original Graco Extend2Fit (review) convertible car seat was one of the first with a 50-pound rear-facing limit! This updated version is even better than the original! It’s still one of the best convertible car seats for small cars, making it a great option for tall front-seat passengers, compact vehicles, or any situation with limited front-to-back space! The Graco Extend2Fit 3-in-1 has an easier-to-tighten harness and a high-back booster mode. It also doesn’t have the under 40-pound forward-facing recline issue that the original Extend2Fit does.
Type
A 3-in-1 car seat that can be used rear-facing, forward-facing, and in high-back booster mode
When
After you’ve used an infant seat for a few months or after the infant seat has been outgrown
Age
Our recommendation: 2 months+ until the seat is outgrown (average 7/8 years old)
What you need to know before you go.
Rear-Facing Seat Stats
- height limit: 49″
- weight limit: 4-50 lbs
- head height rules: at least 1″ below the top of the headrest
Forward-Facing Seat Stats
- height limit: 49″
- weight limit: 22-65 lbs
- head height rules: ears must be below the top of the headrest
High-back Booster Stats
- height limit: 43-57″
- weight limit: 40-100 lbs
- head height rules: ears must be below the top of the headrest
Other Seat Stats
- width of seat: 20”
- weight of seat: 22 lbs
- crash replacement policy: Replace after any crash
- expiration limits: 10 years
- harness: no-rethread
- lock-off: no
✅ Seat is good for you if:
✅ You want to rear-face as long as possible.
The Graco Extend2Fit 3-in-1 rear-faces to the maximum pounds allowed on the US market – 50 pounds. The best practice is to rear-face as long as possible (think age 4+), and with the built-in-leg extension panel, your kiddo will have 5 extra inches of leg room. Curious why rear-facing is safest? Watch this!
✅ Your back seat space is very limited.
The Graco Extend2Fit 3-in-1 is one of the best convertible car seats for small cars. It is one of the most compact in front-to-back space!
Because the seat has numerous recline positions, it can get very upright, which lessens the footprint of the seat from front to back. If you have a tall driver or passenger or are just really tight on that legroom in the second or third row of your vehicle this seat is one of the most compact car seats.
🚩 Use Caution If:
🚩 You need to fit 3 people in one row of the vehicle.
For the majority of vehicles, this seat is too wide at 20″ to work in a 3 across configuration. Check out options that we like better here.
🚩You want to skip an infant seat.
We’ve found this seat fits an infant ok from 8-9 pounds. If you are expecting a smaller baby and want to start with a convertible seat, this is not the best car seat for a newborn on the tiny side. The car seat harness has to be coming from below the shoulders when rear-facing, and a smaller baby will unlikely meet this requirement in this seat. Our list of favorite car seats for preemies can be found here.
️ Stand Out Features:
️ It’s very compact rear-facing.
This seat has 3 recline options. Once the seat is in the most upright recline position, it takes up very little space front-to-back. This makes it one of the better convertible car seats for small cars or for front-seat passengers who are very tall.
️ Has an optional leg panel for extra leg room in rear-facing mode only.
The leg panel has multiple settings and can give up to 5″ of extra leg room for a rear-facing child. This is optional and does not have to be used if you have a smaller vehicle or very tall passengers. This panel can never be used in forward-facing mode.
⚠️ Quirks to be Aware Of:
⚠️The cupholders are required.
Once they’re clicked into place correctly, they can’t easily be removed! They must always be attached when the car seat is in use.
✈️ Airplane Use
The Graco Extend2Fit 3-in-1 is an FAA-approved car seat. While it’s not the lightest car seat, nor is it the heaviest, you certainly can travel with it. Just get a travel cart to maneuver through the airport! Because it can be very compact in rear-facing mode, it will fit in that direction on most airplane seats. It is wide, so you’ll need to put the airplane armrests up to fit! For help with all things airplane travel and car seats, check out our Wheels Up Course and private Facebook group.
SITS Bottom Line
As long as you don’t need 3 across, this will be a good option for most people. It’s great to keep even the highest percentile kiddos rear-facing as long as possible. It can be quite compact front to back as well.
Other Versions of this seat:
- Graco Extend2Fit 2-in-1 (Review | Rear-Facing Install | Forward-Facing Install)
- Graco Premier 4Ever DLX Extend2Fit SnugLock
- Graco Premier 4Ever DLX Extend2Fit with anti-rebound bar
*A SITS recommended seat. Recommended seats are in our Buying Kits because they have ranked high on our vehicle, child, ease of use, and features scale.
Compare Car Seats
Looking to compare car seats and narrow down the best car seat for your family? The Convertible Car Seat Buying Kit walks you through our 7Cs of selection, then on to an interactive quiz, and finally, a recommended car seat list is generated just for you! If you are overwhelmed and sick of spending hours researching and reading car seat reviews like this one, the Buying Kit will guide you to Safe in the Seat’s recommended car seats for you in under 30 minutes!
We check every day for our recommended car seats on sale, and we have all the deals here for you.
Shopping in Canada? Check out our Recommended Canadian Car Seat Sales here.
What About Seats We Don’t Recommend?
Just like anyone, we have preferences! This goes for car seats, too. If we don’t recommend a car seat, it’s not because it’s unsafe for your little one. All car seats are safe if they’re installed and used properly, are not expired or damaged, and when they’re made and sold by a reputable manufacturer and/or retailer. Click here for our full list of car seats that we do not recommend (and alternatives we like instead!).
A note about crash-tests
How does the Graco Extend2Fit 3-in-1 perform in crash tests?
Well, that’s a great question. We know it passes the strict federally required testing for all car seats sold in the United States. But we don’t know exactly how it performs. That data isn’t released by any official sources in the US — not by car seat manufacturers, not by government agencies like NHTSA, not anywhere!
There are a few third-party websites that claim to offer objective crash test data that compares car seats. But we at Safe in the Seat ignore that data for a few big reasons. First of all, third-party car seat crash tests don’t actually give us meaningful data! Car seat manufacturers crash-test their products hundreds, even upwards of a thousand times. They crash test the finished product in every single installation configuration using every applicable-sized crash test dummy, not to mention a whole lot of testing at each stage of the development process too. So one or two crash tests completed by another organization just can’t give the same level of information! One or two crash tests aren’t going to represent the overall average performance of any car seat across its lifespan.
Affiliate links are included above. Safe in the Seat earns a small commission when you purchase through these links at no cost to you. We so appreciate your support.
I have this seat for my giant 15month old. I knew I’d need the higher weight limit to maximize his time rear facing. Great purchase!
We are using this exact car seat with my 13 month old 99th percentile daughter!!!! Got nervous when you did the other review of the extend to fit 2-1 but so happy and reassured to read this review! We purchased this one because we’d like to keep her rear facing as long as possible. Thank you for doing what you do so moms can feel confident in their decisions surrounding car seat safety!!
We got this one done as quickly as we could! I’m glad you like this one!