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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.
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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 ProtectionTM and Versa-Tether for Peace of Mind
The Companion also gives you additional peace of mind by featuring engineered True Side Impact ProtectionTM. 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 Onyx.
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 Excellent choice for small cars or moms of multiples |
| Review Date: January 14, 2008 |
| Reviewer: Jamie A. Neidig-wheaton, Ashburn, VA |
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!
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| Review Date: September 14, 2007 |
| Reviewer: Leo's Folks, Boston Area, MA, USA |
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
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| Review Date: November 21, 2007 |
| Reviewer: Sherry M. Noud, Burke, VA USA |
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.
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Thank Goodness!!! Finally!!
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| Review Date: November 4, 2007 |
| Reviewer: Alia Anthony, |
| Ok, I had been searching frantically for our next car seat as my 11 month old daughter was on the verge of popping out of her Infant seat. I have a smaller car, a VW Jetta and my husband has a larger car. So, when we started looking we wanted a car seat that we felt 100% comfortable with having our daughter in (since we live in LA) and one that both my husband and I liked as far as color. We were set on getting the Brittax Roundabout until I went to the store and found this one. Without hesitation I purchased 2, both in Taylor and then my mom went out and bought the same one. I have to say that I love it!!! My daughter is in the 20-25% percentile so I want her rear facing for as long as possible and I can do this with this seat located in the middle of the back seat. She adjusted to this seat so easily from her infant seat and has no problems falling asleep in it either. If your looking for a car seat that has top saftey ratings, is easy to install, has a fantastic design, and has subtle clean line fabrics than look no further. My only advice is this, if your child is over the 50% percentile than buy the Boulevard, but if your child is under that then this would be right for you. Yes it is a bit pricey, but if ever there was a place to spend money it's here!! This is one place where skimping could be costly!! |
Great for small cars - lives up to description
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| Review Date: October 6, 2007 |
| Reviewer: First time mother, West Hartford, CT |
| We have a small car, and ordered this based on descriptions that it would be a smaller Britax that would fit in smaller cars. The car the seat is installed in is a Saab 92-X (wagon), which is built off the Subaru Impreza, and we have learned from several online car seat sites as well as in person from car seat sales people that Subarus are a tight fit and that many car seat models cannot be safely installed in these vehicles without losing use of the front passenger seat. We were able to fit this seat in rear-facing on a passenger side very nicely (seat works rear-facing to 35 lbs, up to 40 lbs front facing). If you are not inclined to change your vehicle -- and possibly give up use of your front passenger seat -- just because a car seat cannot be properly/safely installed, look into this seat! Disclaimer: We have not yet had the seat installation inspected by a traind car seat installation expert (such as local police), but I can tell based on how this seat compares with our previous one that it will be a good fit even if we need to tweak the installation for added safety. |
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