Graco My Ride 65 Car Seat Review

The Graco My Ride 65 convertible car seat was the first on the market to offer a 40 lb rear-facing weight limit. This car seat also holds toddlers forward-facing to 65 lbs, and has a deep, tall shell and reasonably tall harness slots so that your baby or toddler gets the longest use possible out of the car seat. The My Ride 65 has a lot of strong points. In fact, some child passenger safety technicians joke that they'd have another baby just to have an excuse to buy a My Ride 65. But, no car seat is perfect, so take a look at this My Ride 65 review to hear the pros and the cons.

• Rear-facing from 5-40 lbs.
• Forward facing to 65 lbs.
• Infant insert.
• Lined with EPS foam.
• Separate, color-coded LATCh straps for each belt path.
• Deep seating area to accommodate larger kids.

The Graco My Ride 65 was the first car seat available in the U.S. with a 40 lb. rear-facing weight limit. During my review of the Graco My Ride 65 convertible car seat, I didn't find very many drawbacks, but I definitely found a lot of great features. One of the best features of this car seat is the price. The My Ride 65 comes in at about $160, and can likely be used until a child is at least 5 years old.

The higher weight limits plus the reasonably tall shell of the My Ride 65 should give you plenty of bang for your buck when it comes to the time you'll be able to use this car seat. The top harness height is about 17 inches, which is one of the tallest available for convertible car seats. Since many children outgrow their forward-facing convertible car seat when their shoulders go above the top harness slot, this is a beneficial feature for keeping your child in that harness a bit longer.

The harness itself is made of thick webbing that won't twist easily. Instruction labels on the harness straps and other areas of the car seat make it simple to adjust everything properly.

The My Ride 65 is very easy to install both rear- and forward-facing, with the seatbelt and with LATCh. I like the separate, color-coded LATCh belts for rear- and forward-facing. Getting the rear-facing angle correct was also easy in my vehicle and two others. You change the angle of the car seat by folding or unfolding flaps on the bottom of the car seat, which may be confusing the first time but should be easy after that.

This car seat has a plush cover and good padding for comfort. An infant pad helps smaller babies fit better in this big car seat. The deep seating area cradles small babies, and provides a more comfortable ride for older, long-legged kids, too.

Graco managed to create a convertible car seat that is easy to use, has high weight limits, and has lots of EPS foam and padding, and they did it for about $160. One of the things I like most about this car seat is the price.

Most of my dislikes about this car seat are minor. I don't think it has any huge drawbacks that would make it a poor choice. However, there are a few things to be aware of.

When the My Ride 65 is installed rear-facing, in some vehicles it may be hard to adjust the harness since the adjuster is low on the front of the car seat. The harness should be adjusted every time baby is in the car, so make sure you can get to the adjuster tail.

You must un-thread the harness to adjust the harness height. This isn't a difficult process, but there's potential to put the harness back together incorrectly, so make sure you keep the instruction book handy to check your work. You can also take a digital picture of the "before" harness and refer to it when you're re-threading. There is a plastic piece on the back of the seat that the harness must go behind, too. It's easy to mis-route the harness over that piece.

You cannot use the top tether when the car seat is rear-facing. The LATCh belts have fairly inexpensive connectors that can be tricky to use if it's a tight fit or long reach between the seats to find the anchors. I would prefer push-button connectors, but that style adds to the final price.

This is a fairly big car seat. It doesn't weigh more than others of its size, but the My Ride 65 is wide. The built-in cupholders are great since they can't get lost, plus kids love them, but they add to the width of the car seat considerably. If you're hoping to get three car seats across a back seat, the My Ride 65 is probably not for you.

For parents who hope to keep a child rear-facing as long as possible, and also want the opportunity to keep the child in a forward-facing harness past age four, the Graco My Ride 65 is a great choice. Spending more on other car seats of similar size will get you more ease-of-use features, such as built-in seat belt lock-offs and no-rethread harnesses, which can help with correct installation and use. However, if you read the instructions, the My Ride 65 is fairly easy to install without those features. There are no other convertible car seats at this price that offer a 40 lb rear-facing limit, 65 lb forward-facing limit and the deep shell plus tall harness slots that make it a good fit for older kids.

That said, if you're looking for a narrow car seat, the My Ride 65 is not for you. Though the base is a slim 12 inches across, the cupholder area is a whopping 22 inches. The difference in size might allow you to "puzzle" the My Ride 65 with other, narrower car seats, but I would try that out in the store before buying if space is an issue.