Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1123 in Baby Product
• Color: Onyx
• Brand: Britax USA
• Model: E9L6669
• Dimensions: 18.50" h x 20.00" w x 24.00" l, 24.50 pounds

Features

• 5 point harness with patented Floating HUGS system and True Side Impact Protection
• Built-in lock-off clips, Versa-Tether & Safe Guard LATCH Connectors
• EPS and Comfort Foam for safety and comfort
• Quick adjust headrest and recline
• Rear facing: 5 to 35 pounds. Forward facing: At least 1 year old and 20 to 40 pounds

Amazon.com Product Description
Specially designed for use in smaller vehicles, the Diplomat from Britax is a compact, convertible car seat that's comfortable for baby on long drives, easy for parents to work with and--most importantly!--safe. It fits children weighing five to 35 pounds in rear facing and one year and up to 40 pounds in forward facing, with both positions able to accommodate a standing height of up to 40 inches.

The Britax Diplomat offers: HUGS system for maximum safety. True Side Impact Protection. Light weight for easier transportation.

The HUGS system exceeds US safety standards. (Huntington color shown.) View larger.

Proper Positioning for a Safe, Comfortable Ride
Proper positioning helps keep your child secure in the car, and that's why the Diplomat is chock full of features that ensure your child is seated and strapped in at the safest angle. An easy-turn knob quickly adjusts headrest and harness height without requiring you to uninstall the seat, while the tangle-free, five-point harness ensures a snug and secure fit at multiple heights. There's also a rear-and forward-facing recline option and soft body pillow for child comfort and proper positioning. Convenient belt holders keep the harness to the side so you can comfortably place child in the seat, and premium push-button LATCH connectors provide a quick, simple and tight installation. Finally, built-in lock-off clips tightly secure the vehicle seat belt without the need for additional parts you could misplace.

True Side Impact Protection^TM and Versa-Tether for Peace of Mind
The Companion also gives you additional peace of mind by featuring engineered True Side Impact Protection^TM. Deep side walls and head support provide advanced shock-absorption and cushioning in side impact collisions, helping to reduce the risk of injury. Additionally, EPS (Expanded Polystyrene) impact foam lining around the baby's head and torso absorbs energy in side and rear impacts, cradles baby's head to keep it away from protruding parts, cushions violent side to side movements, and creates a comfortable resting spot. Secondly, the rear- and forward-facing recline allows the patented Versa-Tether, an energy management top tether, to anchor the top of seat to the vehicle in the event of impact, thereby reducing movement. Specifically, the Versa-Tether fastens the top of the car seat to factory installed automobile anchor points, minimizing the possibility of a head injury. This system also allows for rear-facing tethering to help keep the seat consistently stable.

HUGS for Optimum Safety and Support
When it comes to safety, the Diplomat truly delivers. First, the patented floating HUGS (Harness Ultra Guard) system exceeds U.S. safety standards by reducing forward head movement as it gently cushions the neck and chest with soft padding--a feature that's particularly important both in the case of an accident and during nap time. In addition, this system better distributes the webbing loads, reducing head movement and minimizing harness irritation on baby's neck in case of an impact. HUGS also reduces the chance of improperly positioning the chest clip.

Lightweight at 15 pounds, and measuring 19 x 25 x 23.5 inches (WxHxD), the Britax is also certified for air travel. The Diplomat comes with a 1-year limited warranty.

The Diplomat is also available in the following colors: Taylor and Huntington.

From the Manufacturer
The Britax Diplomat is a compact convertible car seat ideal for use with vehicles with limited rear seat space. The Diplomat features True Side Impact Protection with deep side walls and head support to provide advanced protection in side impact collisions. Easy-turn knob quickly adjusts headrest and harness height without having to uninstall the seat. Tangle-free, five-point harness ensures a snug and secure fit. Premium push-button LATCH connectors provide a quick, simple and tight installation. Unique features include the patented Versa-Tether for energy management, rear- and forward-facing recline for child comfort, and a body pillow for positioning. The Diplomat fits children rear facing from five to 35 pounds and children forward facing from at least one year old and 20 pounds, up to 40 pounds. The Diplomat is made in the USA with U.S. and global components.

Customer Reviews

Excellent choice for small cars or moms of multiples
We are very pleased with the Diplomat and it has many improvements over the original Boulevard. Foremost, it does fit behind the seats in the front of the car - and someone can still fit in the front seat. This is a must of you have multiple carseats in your car. The push button release to adjust the straps in an improvement over the "pull-up" bar on the earlier Boulevard. The button makes it very easy to loosen the straps, put the child into the seat, and then pull the harness tight. As with the Boulevard, the adjustable headrest/ harness movement is wonderful. You don't have to move the straps to a different hole (and the spend an hour trying to make sure the seat's put back together correctly) - simply turn a knob as your child grows. The recline feature is great because you don't have to uninstall the seat to adjust it. The fabric is soft, but not so soft that you worry about it absorbing every spill. Finally, the carseat is easy to install.

I've heard some children find the "wings" around their heads objectionable. None of my children have had any problems with the side impact protection, but none have ever been in a carseat without side impact protection, so they may just be used to it.

Because the carseat is smaller and more narrow than the Boulevard, I don't think it would be comfortable for a tall, husky toddler. Our 2.5 years old is very tall (about 3 feet) and thin (27 pounds) and although he fits in the Diplomat, he is clearly more comfortable in the larger Boulevard. Thus if you child is over 2 and over 25 lbs, I'd recommend the Boulevard over the Diplomat, especially considering that size isn't as much of an issue when the carseat is forward facing.

Outstanding car seat!
The Britax Diplomat Onyx car seat is outstanding! We had purchased a Britax Boulevard over a month ago and had a few pet peeves... also, the Boulevard was too big for our cars. We were sure that we wanted the beefy side-impact protection, though; so we were thrilled to hear that the Diplomat was coming out - a compact version of the Boulevard - and signed up. The car seat arrived today and we have noticed that none of our pet peeves were carried over to this model! We easily got the car seat installed, ordered another Diplomat Onyx for the second car, then took junior for a spin to return the Boulevard model.
Specifically... the fabric is fine, the headrest and straps are easy to adjust, the padding is superior, and the placement/length of the buckle and belly pad (which were problematic on the Boulevard) are very good. Although the seat only goes up to 40 lbs. max, its compact size (versus the Boulevard) should make it easier to use on a plane. We are entirely happy with this car seat, and are so glad the timing worked out that the Diplomat was introduced just when we needed it!

Britax Diplomat - great choice for a convertible seat
We bought the Britax Diplomat to replace the Britax Boulevard we had been using for our 15-month-old daughter. The Boulevard takes up way too much room rear-facing - our front passenger seat (in a compact car) was basically unavailable because it had to be pushed all the way forward in order to accommodate the Boulevard.

So far, we love the Diplomat. The LATCH installation was a breeze. The seat is a few inches shorter than the Boulevard, so we were able to move the front passenger seat back and resume using it. We like the side impact protection feature, the fact that it is one of very few convertible seats that you can tether rear-facing, and the fact that you can adjust the harness without uninstalling the seat.

Also, the Onyx fabric is far more comfortable for our daughter than the Central Park fabric on our Boulevard. I didn't realize how hot the Central Park (velour) fabric would be in the summer. I would definitely recommend the Diplomat in the Onyx fabric.