Price: $220.
Type: Convertible seat, booster.
Limits: 4-40 lbs. rear-facing, 20-65 lbs. in harness mode forward facing and 30-100 lbs. as a belt-positioning booster. Backless booster 40-120 lbs.
NHTSA ease of use rating: Four out of five stars (rear or forward facing).
IIHS rating for booster mode: Best bet.
Pros: All-in-one seat works from 4 lbs. through booster mode. No rethread harness. Six recline positions; ten position adjustable headrest. Side impact protection.
Cons: No belt lock-offs, harness can be tricky to tighten when rear-facing. Heavy. Only one side has level indicator.
Comments: The all-in-one car seat is the Fountain of Youth for car seat makers—the mythical seat that works from birth to college (ok, as a belt-positioning booster to 120 lbs., or when kids age out of booster seats and can correctly fit in a regular seat belt. That’s usually around age ten or later).
Yet like Ponce De Leon, Graco’s quest for the perfect all-in-one seat has been one of frustrating missteps. Their last effort, the SmartSeat, received mixed reviews from parents, many of whom cited negatives like the seat’s bulk and a harness that was hard to use.
Amid that backdrop, we now have Graco’s latest effort in this category: the Graco 4Ever. This seat is similar to the new Graco Milestone, which sells for $205. The big difference is the booster mode: the 4Ever converts to a backless booster for use up to 120 lbs. The Milestone works as a belt-positioning booster to 100 lbs . . . but no backless mode.
There are some other small differences as well—the 4Ever has two built-in cup holders. The Milestone has a single cup holder attached to the side of the seat. The 4Ever has six recline positions and a headrest with ten positions that can be adjusted with one hand. The Milestone has only four recline positions. In the not too distant past, the 4Ever was $70 more than the Milestone—that gap has narrowed to about $15. That makes the 4Ever a better buy in our opinion for the backless booster mode alone.
Graco clearly has put a lot of thought into the 4Ever. Little touches like the harness that stores away in booster mode (you don’t have to remove it from the seat) are very nice. Unlike the giant SmartSeat, the 4Ever is easier to fit in a vehicle in rear-facing mode. The steel reinforced frame and EPS lined seat are pluses. You also get premium “push-on” LATCH connectors, which you would expect at this price point.
Reader feedback and online reviews are very positive about the 4Ever. Readers love how the fabric snaps off for cleaning. The 4ever is easy to install and adjust. The seat earns a Best Bet in booster mode by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety.
What’s not to love? Readers say in rear-facing mode, the seat’s harness can be tricky to tighten. The lack of a belt lock-off for seat belt installs is a curious omission for a $200+ seat. Minor quibble: there is a level indicator, but only one side. And the fabric isn’t as soft to the touch as you’d expect for a $200+ seat, say some critics. The 4Ever is also quite heavy—fine if you won’t be moving this seat from vehicle to vehicle, but a pain otherwise.
On the plus side, in the past few months, the price for the Graco 4Ever has drifted downward—from $300 when it debuted to roughly $200 on Amazon as of October 2019.
We’ll give this seat an A-. Graco’s all-in-one 4Ever seat comes as close as you can get to that mythical all-in-one nirvana.
Rating: A-
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Good morning! I went to buy the Graco 4Ever 4 in 1 on Amazon and it says there is a newer version, the DLX. Do you have reviews on that one yet? Looks like it’s just extra padding?
Thanks!
Val
It’s basically the same, with a bit fancier fabric and an integrated seat-belt lock-off (which is a nice feature)!
Hi, I have a question regarding this product. What is the difference between the True Shield , DLX, and regular 4ever car seats? Do you recommend one version over the other?
Thank you!
Hi there! Good question: we should add that info to clarify the differences. Here you go:
• TrueShield adds additional side impact protection.
• The DLX version adds a seatbelt lockoff and fancier fabric.
We don’t recommend one version over the other—if you can afford the additional cost of the TrueShield for the additional side impact protection, we’d go for that. Especially if you can’t install the seat in the middle of the back seat of your vehicle.
Hope that helps!
Hello! I cannot locate a review of the Graco 3 in 1 slim fit convertible carseat. Do you have any any information about it? My inlaws are looking for a carseat that is thin and safe. Thank you.
Hi Allison: Thanks for visiting our site. The Graco SlimFit is very close in design to the Graco Milestone, which we review here: https://www.babybargains.com/convertible-car-seat-review-graco-milestone/
The major difference is the SlimFit has 2 cup holders, versus 1 for the Milestone.
Meanwhile, we did have a reader comment on that seat in this thread:
https://windsorpeak.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?501777-Car-seat-WWYD
So, in a nutshell, we would recommend the SlimFit! Best wishes!
Do you have a review for the Trigrow Snuglock?
Hi Brooke! Thanks for visiting our site! Well, that is seat is very similar to the 4Ever, with the addition of a seat belt lock off. That makes it easier to install. So we’d recommend the Trigrow Snuglock. Hope that helps!
When is the last time you reviewed the Graco 4Ever Convertible Car Seat? Would you still give it an A- now? What about the Graco 4Ever DLX SnugLock? Would you rate this any differently/better/worse than the standard 4Ever? Thank you!!
Hi there! We last updated this review in 2019—we still recommend this seat. It is basically the same seat, even the DLX version with SnugLock. So still recommended!