Joie Basil

The Joie Basil is a lightweight highback-to-backless booster seat designed for use with kids who are at least 4 years old, weighing 40 lb. to 110 lb. (when used as a highback booster) or 50 lb. to 120 lb. (as a backless booster). In CR’s tests, the Joie Basil was fairly easy to use and offered some kid- and parent-friendly features, like padded armrests, two hidden cupholders/snack storage compartments, and lower anchor hooks to keep the booster in place when the seat isn’t in use. (Lower anchors in booster seats are for convenience only and not for crash protection.) We found the Basil offered good seat belt positioning in highback mode, but our expert testers had less success with proper seat belt positioning when using the booster in backless mode. 

This seat may be a good choice for: 

• Families looking to switch from a harnessed car seat to a booster seat
• Families looking for a booster that can transition from highback to backless
• Families looking for a booster seat with lower anchors
• Families looking for a lightweight booster seat to travel with or move between vehicles

Ease of use: The Joie Basil is generally easy to use, but it’s important to read the manual to get proper seat belt positioning: both the lap and shoulder belt need to run underneath the buckle-side armrest, for example, and in highback mode, the bottom of the head support must be at or just above the top of the child’s shoulders. 

Booster fit: As a highback booster, the Joie Basil offered very good seat belt positioning in our tests. In backless mode, we had some issues with the seat belt slipping off the shoulder or closer to the neck, even while using the belt guide. We also found that our test dummy’s knees didn’t bend at the edge of the Basil seat, which meant the legs may stick out straighter and cause your child to slouch due to discomfort. A booster seat should allow your child’s knees to comfortably bend at the seat’s edge.

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

Booster fit (with back): A rating that reflects a booster seat's ability to correctly position the lap and shoulder belts in various test vehicles using a child-sized dummy, when used as a highback booster. Additionally, it includes an assessment of the booster's compatibility with vehicle seats and interior components.

Booster fit (no-back): A rating that reflects a booster seat's ability to correctly position the lap and shoulder belts in various test vehicles using a child-sized dummy, when used as a backless booster. Additionally, it includes an assessment of the booster's compatibility with vehicle seats and interior components.

Ease of use: Our evaluation of how easy each seat is to use, including items such as the clarity of labels and instructions, the ease of achieving an appropriate belt fit, and the transition between highback and backless modes where applicable.