Britax_logo In its first major update in years, Britax plans to roll out a "next generation" series of car seats to replace their current offerings in August. 

The seats will feature new technology to lower the risk of head injury to a child in an accident—the "safe cell" design will absorb more energy in a crash, resulting less movement of the seat. Integrated steel bar frames will replace Britax's current plastic frames, to provide more strength.

We got a sneak peak at Britax's seats before they were debuted to the juvenile industry earlier this month. Here are some key notes:

  • The new seats will sport higher weight limits but the same names as the old seats. Hence the Roundabout 50 will now be the Roundabout 55; the Marathon, Boulevard and Advocate will now work to 70 pounds. 
  • Prices will stay the same, which is a surprise. Typically, when a company upgrades technology, the price rises. Kudos to Britax for holding the line on pricing.
  • The seats will feature deeper side walls (2") for enhanced side impact protection.
  • New EPP foam will run the entire seat. Current Britax seats only have foam at the top of the shell. The more expensive seats will have more layers of foam: Marathon will have 2 layers, Boulevard three, Advocate four.
  • All Britax seats will go to 40 pounds rear-facing. And with a top weight of 70 pounds for all but the Roundabout, the average Britax seat will now be able to fit a six year old child with a five-point harness.
  • For newborns, Britax will have a new lower harness position (9") to better accommodate small infants.
  • The belt paths and LATCH systems have also been improved. All but the Roundabout will feature an auto adjusting harness height (no rethreading) and a quick-adjust head restraint.
  • Also new: the seats will have covers that easily remove for cleaning.

So, what if you are in the market for a convertible car seat this summer? If you can, we'd wait for these newer seats to arrive in August. We will have full reviews of the seats when they hit the market.