Best Travel Car Seat For 2 Year Old (2023)

If you are looking for the best travel car seat for two-year-olds, you have come to the right place.

Finding the right car seat for kids can be challenging, but I’m here to help.

I’ve spent more than 60 hours researching the travel car seat for 2-year-olds. I’ve then listed the best car seats based on their comfort, feature, quality, and value for money.

Let’s dive in!

Best Travel Car Seat for 2 Year Old

Best Steel-Reinforced Frame

Chicco MyFit

Machine-Washable Fabric

Head and Torso Protection

Easy to Install

Best Overall

Cosco Scenera Next

Side Impact Protection

Removable Seat Pad

FAA-Certified

Best Four-in-one

Graco 4Ever

6-Position Recline

Easy to Clean

Highly Durable.

Here’s a detailed list of the best travel car seat for a 2-year-old:

#1 Best Overall: Cosco Scenera Next Convertible Car Seat

Best Travel Car Seat For 2 Year Old

The Cosco Scenera Next is the best convertible car seat for travel. It is an insanely lightweight and affordable seat that you must consider having. You can comfortably carry it on your back in your backpack or hang it on the back of your stroller.

This car seat has an overall rating of 4.5/5

  • You can use it for rear-facing or front-facing positions.
  • It is FAA approved and fits airplane seats.
  • It comes with a 5-adjustable harness.

Cosco Scenera Next Convertible is truly the best overall car seat for 2 years old because it is comfortable and affordable.

Why Buy Cosco Scenera Next Convertible?

  • This attractive car seat for 2 years old comes with a cup holder.
  • It has an easy-to-remove padded cover.
  • This car seat expires eight years after manufacturing.

If you travel frequently and want to purchase gear that could allow your kid to travel comfortably with you, the Cosco Scenera Next is the best option. It’s a smarter seat for families who don’t want to compromise on the safety and comfort of their kids.

It is designed to keep the kids safer from the side impact. It comes with a 5-point harness that can be easily adjusted from the front seat. The 3 buckle position of this car seat provides a snug fit, keeping kids in one place throughout the journey.

This car seat’s lightweight and compact design will not weigh you down in the airport during security checks. It has easy-to-clean fabric, which is both washable and dryer-safe. The fabric is soft to touch and maintains airflow to offer your baby a comfy ride.

What You’ll Love About This Product:

  • The car seat has soft pads, which can be easily removed and cleaned.
  • It has a removable cup holder.
  • It meets and exceeds NHTSA requirements.

What You Won’t Love About This Product:

  • In the rear-facing position, the straps are difficult to adjust.
  • It doesn’t come with extra protection in the headwinds.

#2 Best Four-in-one: Graco 4Ever DLX 4 in 1 Car Seat

If you want a car seat that can be changed into different styles as your kid grows? If so, Graco 4Ever DLX 4 in 1 car seat is the right option.

This car seat has an overall rating of 4/5

  • It comes with 10 years of use.
  • It is designed with ProtectPlus engineering to protect against the rear, frontal, rollover, and side crashes.
  • It has an easy-to-adjust harness system.

Graco 4Ever DLX 4 in 1 is truly the best four-in-one car seat because you can transform it into a rear-facing harness car seat, backless-belt positioning booster, front-facing harness car seat, and high belt-positioning booster.

Why buy Graco 4Ever DLX 4?

  • This car seat offers a 6-position recline.
  • It comes with a belt lock-off for quick installation.
  • The cover is machine washable.

For better comfort, this car seat comes with a 10-position height adjustment. The RapidRemove technology removes the cover in 60 seconds for easy cleaning.

It has two cup holders and fuss-free harness storage. It has an exclusive InRight LATCH attachment for easy attachment and secure installation.

What You’ll Love About This Product:

  • This car seat has a load capacity of 120 lbs.
  • The seat is machine washable.
  • It is available in five different colors.

What You Won’t Love About This Product:

  • Over time, the strap of this car seat might fray.
  • Seat padding is not the best.  

#3 Best Convertible: Baby Trend Trooper 3-in-1 Convertible Car Seat

It’s a small convertible car seat that you cannot miss having. It is great for parents who travel frequently or families with small vehicles. The car seat is just 10 lbs and is quite slim.

This car seat has an overall rating of 4.3/5

  • It can fit up to toddlers of age 6 years.
  • It comes with a head pillow, harness pad, and body cushion.  
  • It can fit perfectly inside any vehicle.

Baby Trend Trooper 3-in-1 is the best convertible car seat because it comes with 3 modes.

Why buy Baby Trend Trooper 3-in-1?

  • The manuals and instructions for this car seat are impressive.
  • It comes with head protection to offer better side impact protection.
  • It comes with shoulder buckle adjustment.

Baby Trend Trooper 3-in-1 is one of the popular car seats among families who don’t want to install a car seat in their vehicle permanently.

The 3 different modes of this car seat include a rear-facing toddler mode, rear-facing infant mode, and forward-facing toddler mode. It has a built-in bubble-level indication. It offers a 5-position height adjustment.

This car seat has a lightweight shell, which allows the use of LATCH installation. The premium fabric of this car seat feels comfortable and promotes better airflow. Lastly, it has removable seat inserts.

What You’ll Love About This Product: 

  • It is a comfortable and convertible car seat.
  • It has a built-in cup holder.
  • It has clear labeling on the car seats.

What You Won’t Love About This Product:

  • It is not as durable as other car seats.
  • It has a very steep recline.

#4 Best Steel-Reinforced Frame: Chicco MyFit Harness + Booster Car Seat

Chicco MyFit Harness + Booster car seat is an excellent choice because you can transform it from a five-point harness seat to a belt-positioning booster. Not to mention, it has a steel-reinforced frame and a sturdy design.

This car seat has an overall rating of 4/5

  • This car seat comes with side impact protection.  
  • It is durable.
  • It comes in different colors, giving you a wide choice of selections.

Chicco MyFit Harness fits perfectly under the best steel-reinforced category. The steel frame gives a sturdy look to the seat and provides extra impact protection.

Why buy Chicco MyFit Harness?

  • The seat grows with your kid.
  • It comes with head and torso protection.
  • It has easy installation.

Chicco MyFit Harness comes with deep ergo-boost padding to make the seat comfortable. The seat has EPS energy-absorbing foam for better reliability.

You also get LATCH connectors for easy and secure installation. The car seat has a dishwasher-safe cup holder with a push-button removal feature.  

The combination of harness and booster seat Chicco MyFit Harness kept it in use for many years. The sleek design of this seat makes it possible to fit multiple car seats in a single row.

You can easily clean this car seat without creating a mess. In terms of safety, this car seat has excelled with its reclining options and quality padding.

What You’ll Love About This Product:

  • The car seat has 3D mesh for better airflow.
  • It has machine-washable fabric.
  • It comes with user-friendly touchpoints.

What You Won’t Love About This Product:

  • Cup holders are not highly durable.
  • Tightly securing this car seat is not possible.

#5 Best Certified: Safety 1st Grow and Go All-in-One Convertible Car Seat

The Safety 1st Grow and Go is a promising cat seat designed to save space and offer better comfort. It is lightweight and can protect a kid of up to 100 pounds or 52 inches. It is affordable and available in different colors.

This car seat has an overall rating of 4.2/5

  • The car seat is designed to grow with the kid
  • It has side impact protection for keeping your keeping extra safe.
  • It comes with a QuickFit harness.

Safety 1st Grow and Go has been the best-certified car seat for 2 years old because it has convenient features at each stage.

Why buy Safety 1st Grow and Go?

  • The fabric of Safety 1st Grow and Go is machine washable and dryer safe.
  • Easy installation.
  • It has two cup holders.

Safety 1st Grow and Go is an all-in-one convertible car seat you need because it grows through 3 stages. You can use the QuickFit harness to adjust the headrest.

The car seat comes with two modes for forward-facing mode. The arched back and flailing arms keep the kids comfortable in one position throughout the journey.

What You’ll Love About This Product:

  • The car seat has a QuickFit harness.
  • In harness mode, it is FAA approved.
  • It can be nicely installed rear-facing without taking up too much legroom.

What You Won’t Love About This Product:

  • Securing LATCH can be difficult.
  • In the small and newborn position, the harness needs rethreading.

#6 Best slimFit: Graco SlimFit 3 in 1 Car Seat -Slim

Graco SlimFit 3-in-1 Car Seat -Slim is a sturdy car seat, certified to be used in the aircraft in the harness system. It grows with your child from a rear-facing to a forward-facing harness. It saves plenty of space in the back seat.

This car seat has an overall rating of 4.4/5

  • It is easy to install without professional assistance.
  • This slim design car seat comes with a dual cup holder.
  • It has a sturdy look and is durably built.

Graco SlimFit 3-in-1 Car Seat -Slim is truly the best slimFit car seat because you can rotate away the cup holder to make it 10% more slim.

Why buy Graco SlimFit 3 in-1 Car Seat -Slim?

  • It has an easy-to-read level indicator.
  • It has a harness storage compartment for safely keeping the harness when it is in the belt belt-positioning booster mode.
  • The steel-reinforced frame of the car seat keeps it in good shape.

Graco SlimFit 3-in-1 is an impressive car seat that can be transformed from a rear-facing harness to a front-facing harness to a highback booster.

It is designed using Graco Protect-Plus engineering to protect the kid from frontal, side, rollover, and rear crashes. The safe harness allows you to adjust the harness and headrest in one go.

It comes with a 10-position headrest, so your kid stays comfortable during the journey. Also, the 4-position recline keeps your kid safe.

What You’ll Love About This Product:

  • It comes with a push button InRight LATCH for ease.  
  • It is made with a steel-reinforced frame for better durability.
  • It is slimmer than most car seats available in the market.

What You Won’t Love About This Product

  • It might not be easy to clean.
  • Straps might fray over time.  

#7 Best 3-in-1: Diono Radian 3R, 3-in-1 Convertible Car Seat

Diono Radian 3R is the best 3-in-1 car seat, which can easily transform from a rear-facing car seat to a high-back booster. In simple terms, this car seat grows with your kid. Its reinforced steel core keeps it in good shape for a long time.

This car seat has an overall rating of 4/5

  • It is made of high-density plastic and steel to offer better protection.
  • The side walls are made of aluminum.
  • It has thick energy absorption foam.

The Diono Radian 3R is the best 3-in-1 seat because it is perfect from birth to booster.

Why buy Diono Radian 3R?

  • It is designed with memory foam.
  • It is FAA approved and easily folds for travel.
  • It is longer rear-facing.

Diono Radian 3R is an all-in-one convertible car seat designed with a steel reinforced frame for longer and better support. It stays in good shape for 10 years. It keeps your kid safe in the rear-position mode.

It comes with convenient features like easy fold for transportation and storage. Also, its covers are machine washable.

What You Will Love About This Product:

  • You can fit three Diono Radian 3R in the back seat with convenience.
  • It comes in five different color options.
  • It is super easy to install.

What You Won’t Love About This Product:

  • This car seat is not as comfortable as others.
  • It doesn’t come with a cup holder.

Buying Guide of Car Seat for 2 Years Old

Here’s what you need to consider when buying a car seat for 2 year old:

Simple Installation

An infant car seat needs to have a simple installation so you can attach it to your vehicle whenever needed. This factor also allows putting the car seat properly in place easier, making it work optimally.

Also, the car seat should be easy to clean and must come with accessible instructions. In such a situation, you don’t need expert assistance for the correct installation.

Always check how easily the car seat can be installed in a forward-facing or rear-facing position with a LATCH system or belt. The seat also needs to have versatility because LATCH can only be used up to a certain height.  

Safety

When it comes to traveling with babies, you cannot compromise on safety. A minor safety issue can also make things difficult.

Most of the car seats are not certified before the sale. Purchasing such a travel car seat can put your kid in a difficult position. When upgrading, try getting a car seat that has NHTSA certification because such seats are crash-tested.

User-friendly

A car seat needs to be functional so you can easily use all the features that it comes with. Common questions you can ask yourself include: are the car seat straps easy to adjust? Can kids easily get in and out of their seats? Is the seat comfortable? Are the buckles easy to use? Do Car Seat Bases Expire? And more.

Purchase a car seat only after you get a satisfactory response to your question. If the seat fails to meet the requirement, look for another option.

FAA Approved

If you want your kid to travel with you on the flight, get a car seat with FAA certification. A car seat with no FAA certification might not be allowed further security checks.

Conclusion

Purchasing a car seat for a 2-year-old can be difficult and overwhelming, but you can take the load off your shoulder by selecting one of the car seats listed in this post. I have recommended only the best car seats for 2 years old, so your little munchkin stays safe during the journey.

Sarah here, mother of two here to guide you on your parenting journey. I know motherhood isn't easy, but I'm here to share my wisdom and experience so that you can make the most out of this amazing adventure. Linkedln

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