Car Seats

Best Car Seats

Overall Score

Cybex Aton 2

Infant Car Seats

Featured in

Load Legs Give Child Car Seats Improved Safety in a Crash

One of multiple seats offered in the U.S. by Cybex.

CR's Expert Take

How did it perform in our expert lab testing?

Overall Score

The Overall Score for this model is derived from our expert lab test results.

This product is not in active testing. The score may be based on earlier methods.

What goes into the Overall Score?

EXPERT LAB TESTS

Ease of use

4 / 5

Fit-to-vehicle LATCH

5 / 5

Fit-to-vehicle belt

3 / 5

Fit-to-vehicle carrier-only

3 / 5

Maximum weight (lbs.)

Crash protection

Better

Pros

Excellent crash protection with load leg
Push-on LATCH connectors
Tension plate can help provide a secure installation

Cons

Tension plate can be hard to close with too much tension in the belts
LATCH strap can interfere with closing the tension plate when installing with vehicle belts
Handle position is restricted in the vehicle

CR's Take

A seat better suited to an installation with LATCH than with a seat belt. The "tensioning plate" technology that aids in getting a secure fit works well at times, but can also make some installations more difficult. The addition of a load leg on this seat makes it one of the top performers in our crash protection tests. Consumer Reports ratings for this model are based on installation instructions that came with the seats we purchased and required the use of the load leg. These instructions prevented installation in the center position of some vehicles with floors that are raised. On June 26, 2013, Cybex changed its instructions, retroactive for all Aton 2's, and now strongly recommends but does not require the use of the load leg. Consumer Reports has not tested the Aton 2 without the load leg, and our test results for crash protection and fit-to-vehicle do not apply without its use.

Detailed Test Results

Consumer Reports’ car seat crash test, developed in 2014, provides comparative performance information on which car seats could provide an additional margin of safety. All child seats sold in the United States are required to meet government safety standards, and Consumer Reports’ tests are not designed to test compliance with those standards. Rather, we evaluate the seats’ performance under conditions designed by our experts to simulate certain crash scenarios, and rate them on a scale ranging from “basic” to “best.” The test conditions have been carefully designed to simulate the interior environment and forces encountered during a crash in contemporary vehicles. For more information on our crash test protocol, please click here.

About

The Cybex Aton 2 is part of the Car Seats test program at Consumer Reports. In our lab tests, Infant Car Seat models like the Aton 2 are rated on multiple criteria, such as those listed below.

Maximum weight: The maximum weight of a child that a model will accommodate.

Ease of use: Includes the clarity of instructions, installing the seat, adjusting harness positions, placing a child in the seat, securing the harness, and removing the child.

Fit-to-vehicle LATCH: A rating of how easy it is to securely and correctly install each seat using the LATCH system in a variety of vehicles and how well the seats fit each vehicle once installed.

Features & Specs

Features

Load leg

Yes

Flame-retardant-free options

Rotating seat

LATCH connections

Push-on

Harness height adjustment

Rethread

Harness tension adjustment

Single Pull Front

Base recline level indicator type

Ball / dual range

Base recline level indicator position

Under Carrier

Carrier recline level indicator type

Line

Carrier recline level indicator position

Both Sides

Adjustable base

Yes

Belt lockoff

Yes

Adjustable crotch strap

Handle restriction

Yes

Carrier use without base

Yes

Spanish language instructions

Included

Specs

Weight range (lbs.)

4-35

Height range (in.)

30" or less

Carrier weight (lbs.)

Seat/base weight (lbs.)

Base width (in.)

Carrier width (in.)

Overall length (in.)

Good small car fit

Yes

Price & Shop

Cybex Aton 2

Price

Description

CR's Expert Take

Overall Score

What goes into the Overall Score?

EXPERT LAB TESTS

CR's Take

Detailed Test Results

About

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