Car Seats

Best Car Seats

Overall Score

UPPAbaby Aria

Infant Car Seats

An infant car seat offered by UPPAbaby that comes with a load leg.

CR 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 Infant Car Seats

What goes into the Overall Score?

EXPERT LAB TESTS

Ease of use

5 / 5

Fit-to-vehicle LATCH

5 / 5

Fit-to-vehicle belt

4 / 5

Fit-to-vehicle carrier-only

4 / 5

Maximum weight (lbs.)

Crash protection

Better

Pros

Lightweight carrier
Push-on LATCH connectors with automatic retractors that improve installation
Tightness indicator ensures secure base installation
No-rethread harness
Flame-retardant free fabrics and foams

Cons

Seat belt can be tricky to keep tight while closing the lock off
Carry handle must be in one position during car travel

CR's Take

The UPPAbaby Aria is an infant seat with a very lightweight carrier and a load leg on the base. Similar to UPPAbaby’s other infant seats, the Aria has lots of indicators to inform users if they are installing it correctly, including tightness, recline, and load leg indicators. This infant car seat also features DualTech soft goods, which are flame-retardant free fabrics and foams. The Aria has clear labels and instructions and scored excellent lower anchor installations in our evaluations.

Detailed Test Results

Consumer Reports has developed a new crash test that offers consumers comparative performance information on which car seats could provide an additional margin of safety when compared with other models within the same ratings group that have been subjected to the same test protocol. Our Crash Protection Ratings are based on injury criteria measured on standardized child-size dummies, contact of the dummy’s head with the back of a simulated front seat and a car seat’s ability to remain intact during the course of testing. Consumer Reports’ new crash tests are not designed to check whether a seat complies with current federal car seat safety standards. Rather, the purpose of our new tests is to differentiate the seats’ performance on a scale that ranks the performance of tested seats ranging from “basic” to “best.” Our focus on providing an “extra margin” of safety, rather than on determining whether a seat is safe or not, is based on the fact that any car seat sold in the U.S. already must provide an essential level of safety under the government standards. The new test conditions were carefully designed to simulate the interior environment and forces encountered during a crash in contemporary vehicles. Changes from the way that convertible seats were rated previously include using a test bench that better simulates the vehicle seat design from a contemporary vehicle, with more representative cushion stiffness and seat geometry and incorporation of a “blocker” to simulate a front seatback. The new test also runs at a higher 35mph speed, with other representative dynamic characteristics that better simulate the behavior of contemporary vehicles during a crash.

About

The UPPAbaby Aria is part of the Car Seats test program at Consumer Reports. In our lab tests, Infant Car Seats models like the Aria 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

LATCH connections

Push-on

Harness height adjustment

External

Harness tension adjustment

Single Pull Front

Base recline level indicator type

Bubble

Base recline level indicator position

Both Sides

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.)

4-30

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

UPPAbaby Aria

Price

Description

CR Expert Take

Overall Score

What goes into the Overall Score?

EXPERT LAB TESTS

CR's Take

Detailed Test Results

About

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