Graco Turn2Me

The Graco Turn2Me is one of the best rotating car seats for small cars because it is very compact front-to-back. 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 a good option.

This seat only swivels in rear-facing mode. However, that’s good enough for most people. Once a child is old enough to be forward-facing, they can generally climb into the seat on their own. If you want a swivel seat due to you or your child having a disability, you may be interested in one of the seats that can also swivel in forward-facing mode, such as Chicco Fit360 or Evenflo Revolve Extend.

This seat features a lock-off called SnugLock. However, see the quirks section, as some users have reported issues with the seat belt loosening in the rear-facing mode. It could be difficult for individuals with larger hands to install this seat rear-facing, as the belt path you are working with is quite small.

For the harness to be low enough to fit most newborns, you would need to use the insert. However, the head insert tends to push a newborn’s head forward, which can be dangerous. Both of the inserts (head and body) have to be used together if used at all, so you can’t just remove the head insert to improve the fit.

See our picks for convertible car seats for infants here.

For the majority of vehicles, this seat is too wide at 18.5″ to work in a 3 across configuration. Check out options that we like better here.

The Graco Turn2Me will work fine rear-facing in most vehicles. But if you have a vehicle that has non-removable headrests, you may have trouble using this seat in the forward-facing and booster modes. In booster mode, the car seat needs to be flush against the vehicle seat. Find car seats that work with non-removable headrests here.

As mentioned in this review, this will not bother most people. But if you need or desire a seat that can swivel in the forward-facing mode as well, Chicco Fit360 or Evenflo Revolve Extend may be better options to consider.

If you have trouble with the seat belt staying tight in the rear-facing mode, you can install it with the lower anchors instead. However, the lower anchors have a maximum weight of 35 pounds. We haven’t heard of this being an issue when the seat is used forward-facing. The rear-facing lock-off is quite small, and it appears that thinner seat belts may be slipping through it, causing the seat to become loose over time. If this happens to you, we recommend filing a report with NHTSA, which you can do here.

This is one of the few forward-facing car seats that has a recline indicator. But more surprisingly, Graco allows you to add a rolled towel under the seat to get the seat at the proper recline.