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Best Car Seats

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Best Infant Car Seats Best All-in-One Car Seats Best Convertible Car Seats
CR Recommended

Joie Chili Spin SI

Harnessed Car Seats / Convertible Car Seats
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Chili Spin SI

The Joie Chili Spin SI is a rotating convertible car seat that can accommodate babies from 4 lb. to kids weighing up to 65 lb. The seat rotates a full 360 degrees, but requires separate installation when transitioning from rear-facing to forward-facing use. While the Chili Spin has plenty of parent-friendly features and luxe finishes at a reasonable price, the seat also has several layers of padding, much of which is required for use, and which need to be removed before installation for proper belt routing. 

Price

$340.00

Description

The Joie Chili Spin SI is a rotating convertible car seat that can accommodate babies from 4 lb. to kids weighing up to 65 lb. The seat rotates a full 360 degrees, but requires separate installation when transitioning from rear-facing to forward-facing use. While the Chili Spin has plenty of parent-friendly features and luxe finishes at a reasonable price, the seat also has several layers of padding, much of which is required for use, and which need to be removed before installation for proper belt routing. 

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Joie Chili Spin SI
PRICE $340.00

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.
Current Range of Tested Harnessed Car Seats
What goes into the Overall Score?

EXPERT LAB TESTS

Ease of use
4  /  5
Forward facing fit-to-vehicle
5  /  5
Rear facing fit-to-vehicle
4  /  5
Booster fit
N  /  A
Rear LATCH
5  /  5
Rear belt
4  /  5
Forward LATCH
5  /  5
Forward belt
5  /  5
Harnessed crash protection
BEST
Good small car fit
Yes

Pros

  • Excellent crash protection in CR’s rigorous crash testing
  • Seat rotation simplifies harnessing 
  • Includes a tensioning and lock-off bar to help increase installation tension
  • Harness can be adjusted without rethreading
  • Uses push-on LATCH connectors
  • Has a recline bubble indicator to check the incline level
  • Seat pads are machine-washable

CR's Take

Joie Chili Spin SI is a rotating convertible car seat designed for use from birth (4 lb.) to the early school years (65 lb.). The rotation feature makes child buckling and unbuckling easy, but it has a major limitation: Even though it spins 360 degrees, you’ll still need to reinstall the seat when it’s time to switch from rear-facing to forward-facing. Overall, the seat is easy to use, though it’s somewhat heavy and bulky and uses a lot of additional padding, some of which is required for use until the child weighs 40 lb. The Joie Chili Spin features a no-rethread harness, two cupholders, push-on LATCH connectors, and a seatbelt tensioner and lock-off. CR’s child safety experts found that in rear-facing position, the seat may be too upright in some vehicles for an infant, even though the recline indicator says the position is in range. The Chili Spin SI scored very well in our rigorous crash tests, offering a high level of crash protection.

 

This seat may be a good choice for: 

  • Families looking to upgrade from an infant car seat
  • Families looking for a rotating seat to simplify harnessing
  • Families who don’t need to move their car seat between multiple cars

Detailed Test Results

Ease of use: CR testers rated the Joie Chili Spin SI as very easy to use, with clear labeling and instructions and a straightforward installation process. The lock-off arm built into the base makes tightening the tension easier, for both LATCH system installation and seatbelt installation. 

Fit-to-vehicle LATCH: The Chili Spin SI offers excellent fit-to-vehicle in our tests for both rear-facing and forward-facing LATCH installations, which means you’re likely to get a secure fit across a range of vehicles when installing with the LATCH system.

Fit-to-vehicle Belt:  The Chili Spin SI offers excellent fit-to-vehicle in our tests for forward-facing seatbelt installation, and very good fit for rear-facing seatbelt installations, which we perform on a range of vehicles in our testing fleet. 

Crash protection: In CR’s crash test protocol, the Chili Spin SI performed very well and did not exhibit significant structural integrity issues.

About

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

Ease of use: Our judgment of how easy each seat is to use including the clarity of labels and instructions, adjustments of clips and buckles, the transition of the seat between modes and installation features such as LATCH connections, belt paths, top tethers and booster guides.

Forward facing fit-to-vehicle: A rating of how compatible, easy and secure a child car seat can be correctly installed in the forward-facing direction. This rating is a combination of the LATCH system and belt ratings that are available individually on the model page.

Rear facing fit-to-vehicle: A rating of how compatible, easy and secure a child car seat can be correctly installed in the rear-facing direction. This rating is a combination of LATCH system and belt ratings that are available individually on the model page.

Additional Information

Good to know: All child car seats sold in the United States are required to meet government safety standards. 

About our testing: Consumer Reports’ child car seat tests are not designed to test compliance with federal standards. Rather, we evaluate car seat performance under conditions designed by our experts that go beyond the required federal safety standards. 

Consumer Reports’ independent car seat crash test program has been carefully designed to simulate the forces encountered during a crash, while replicating some of the real-world factors that might impact a car seat’s performance. Our testing aims to determine which car seats could provide an extra level of safety when compared to other models in the same category. 

Basic, Better, or Best: CR rates the child car seats we crash test on a scale of Basic, Better, and Best, based on the additional margin of safety they may provide. Read about how we test car seats to learn more about our crash test protocol.