5 Best Rotating Car Seats, Tested by Experts
Being able to buckle your child in right keeps them safest in their seat, and this new gear option helps.
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Have you heard that there's a new kind of car seat? A rotating car seat is the latest iteration to consider when shopping for the best car seat. At the Good Housekeeping Institute we recommend starting with an infant car seat because it snaps off the base with your child inside, making it easy to carry your young baby around. From there you have options for your growing kid: all-in-one car seats turn into boosters and have longevity, while other toddler car seats might be particularly great for travel, small cars or long road trips when comfort is key.
A rotating car seat, however, is a great choice for families who are loading a baby or toddler in and out of a car seat every day. The seat turns to face you as you stand at the side of the car. You can buckle your child into the seat while they look at you (versus, as one Reddit poster wrote, dumping your child in sideways like a sack of potatoes) and only once they are safely strapped in do you spin the seat so your child is ready to ride.
There are downsides. Rotating car seats are big, heavy, and some can be a bear to install. They're all fairly new, without tens of thousands of reviews to offer reassurance. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) does not yet list them as a car seat "type" but lumps rotating seats in with convertible car seats. Finally, you'll want to pay particular attention to whether a seat has a 360-degree rotation or a 180-degree rotation. Those that spin all the way around offer the rotational feature when your child faces either direction, rear or forward. Seats with only a 180 turn only have the rotation tool for the rear-facing years. Scroll to the end of our piece to read more about how rotating car seats work, plus their pros and cons.
Pros
- Turning feature works for rear- or forward-facing
- Tight and easy one-time installation via seatbelt
- Buckle and harness clips move out of your way
- Large range of headrest and recline positions
- Unique and useful accessories
Cons
- Not extended rear-facing
- Will not become a booster
At the time of our review this is the newest rotating car seat and it impresses us with a base that easily installs with a seatbelt through a system Chicco calls LeverLock. You open a hatch in the backrest of the base, thread the seatbelt through and then shut the hatch for a tight installation. (Watch this video for all the installation tips, including parking your car on a level surface, using the attached key to pop the seat off the base and using the top tether in both the rear- and forward-facing years.) One installation is all you need and then it's good for either seat position. We gave it one of our most recent Parenting Awards.
The Fit360 has a 360-degree spin so you can use the turning feature whether your child rides rear- or forward-facing. Your child can only face rear to 40 pounds; the brand's NextFit has extended rear-facing to 50 pounds. The Fit360 also does not have a booster mode; that's the brand's OneFit. How do you decide your priority: extended rear-facing, longevity or easy loading? When we asked one of our consumer testers who chose a rotating car seat, she said, "Once our son became old enough to not be constantly carried in the infant seat, I became incredibly frustrated at trying to put him in the car seat sideways. We kept the infant seat in one car (though I hate it) and chose a rotational seat for the other."
Multiple features on the Fit360 make it simple to get your child strapped in. The buckle at the crotch tips forward and the harness clips can be stored out of the way so you don't accidentally sit your baby on the buckles. The harness snaps closed with the help of a magnetic chest clip and there are 15 headrest/harness positions and six reclines.
No rotational seats is slim but the Fit360 is a smidge more narrow than the others on this list. A QR code printed on the seat takes you to videos that will help you use all the features. On the brand's website you can buy a unique, crash-tested baby mirror that mounts to the seat in the rear-facing position — it's popular and keeps selling out. This is also the only rotating car seat we know that will sell you an extra base so you can move the seat between two cars; that's also on the brand's site.
Rotation: 360 degrees | Rear-facing limit: 40 lbs | Forward-facing limit: 65 lbs | Headrest and harness positions: 15 | Recline positions: 6 | Dimensions: 20" x 18.25" x 25.75" | Seat weight: 31 lbs
Pros
- Price has dropped into affordable territory
- Becomes a booster that holds a child up to 100 pounds
- Extra plush infant insert
- A few fun colors
Cons
- Rotational feature is only for rear-facing babies
- Will need to reinstall the seat for forward-facing
Graco consistently makes car seats that impress us. The SlimFit3 LX won one of our Parenting Awards and Graco's Extend2Fit is our pick for the best overall toddler car seat. The Turn2Me, their rotating car seat, has much of the same look and feel as those, and it also becomes a booster seat for big kids, meaning you can use this seat from birth until your child weighs 100 pounds.
This seat costs about $100 less than it did when it first came out, and it's now a great affordable pick. It's important to know, however, that this seat has a 180-degree turn. You can spin it toward you for easy loading only as long as your child is riding rear-facing, which is up to 40 pounds. Once they turn to face forward you lose the swivel.
You can get a tight, safe installation using a seatbelt with the Turn2Me, but the Graco SnugLock system is under the seat rather than in the backrest of the base. That means you'll have to reinstall the seat when your child moves from rear- to forward-facing. (There are helpful videos on the Amazon link.) The harness straps can be tucked out of the way during load-in and the harness and headrest adjust to any of 10 positions while the seat has four reclines.
This seat comes in the standard gray and black but also some fun color options, like a maroon and a blue. It's got an extra-plush infant insert that you use until your newborn's shoulders are above the lowest harness setting.
Rotation: 180 degrees | Rear-facing limit: 40 lbs | Forward-facing limit: 65 lbs | Booster limit: 100 lbs | Headrest and harness positions: 10 | Recline positions: 4 | Dimensions: 24.4" x 19" x 24.4" | Seat weight: 30 lbs
Baby Jogger City Turn
Pros
- Can stay rear-facing until your child is 50 pounds
- Easy installation, though you have to reinstall for the forward-facing position
- CoolMax fabric is comfy, especially in warm climates
- Easy to rotate
- A touch lighter than other seats on this list
Cons
- Only swivels from the rear-facing position
- Most expensive on our list
NHTSA asks parents to keep a toddler rear-facing as long as possible, ideally to age 3, 4 or even 5. But most rotational car seats have a rear-facing weight limit of 40 pounds. We like that the City Turn can stay rear-facing until your child weighs 50 pounds. Since this only has a 180-degree turn, only rotating to face you for loading and unloading while your child is using the rear-facing position, it's helpful that at least you can keep it rear-facing longer than many other seats.
You thread your car's seatbelt through the base of this and it locks tight with the brand's RapidLock system, which we find easy to use. (Here's the video.) You will have to reinstall the City Turn when you're ready to make it forward-facing; there's a different belt path for that.
The fabric on this is unique; Baby Jogger calls it CoolMax and it's kind of like cooling sheets in that it won't add to your passenger's body temperature. The rotating mechanism is among the smoothest ones and though this is heavy, it's the lightest on our list by a pound or two. It's the priciest pick on our list, though there are rotating car seats on the market that cost even more.
Rotation: 180 degrees | Rear-facing limit: 50 lbs | Forward-facing limit: 65 lbs | Headrest and harness positions: 10 | Recline positions: 6 | Dimensions: 22" x 19" x 23.5" | Seat weight: 28 lbs
Pros
- Rotates for both for rear- and forward-facing riders
- One installation for all seat configurations
- Becomes a booster
- Gorgeous fabric choices
Cons
- Turning the seat might take two hands and some strength
- Heaviest on our list
Like our best overall pick, the Emme only has to be installed once and then you're done, even when your child starts to ride forward-facing. That's because of the way a seatbelt threads through the base. A difference is that this seat is made to intentionally stay attached to the base, even during installation. It's attached via a safety cable which makes installation awkward because you have to do it with the seat flopped to the side. (Here's the video that walks you through it.) The good news is once you've done it, you're good for years.
Like our best value pick, this becomes a booster seat, so there's longevity. With the Emme's 360-degree swivel you can use the turn feature during both the rear-facing and forward-facing years. Some online reviewers write that they struggle with the turning mechanism but our Lab experts have not had that problem, though we concede it might take two hands and more finger strength than others.
What stands out for us with the Maxi-Cosi brand is its signature plush fabric and attention to comfort. Padding around the harness, where it might hit your baby's neck, is thicker on this than most. The magnetic chest clip makes buckling fast and easy. The crotch buckle can be moved to accommodate a bigger baby, but you must rethread it through a new hole to do so. This is the widest and heaviest seat on our list; the width can help a large child stay comfy.
Rotation: 360 degrees | Rear-facing limit: 40 lbs | Forward-facing limit: 65 lbs | Booster limit: 100 lbs | Headrest and harness positions: 10 | Recline positions: 5 | Dimensions 19" x 22" x 23" | Weight of the seat: 41 lb
Pros
- Swivel feature works forward- and rear-facing
- Load leg for extra stability
- Additional linear side impact protection
- Can connect to an app for more safety features
Cons
- Lots to learn for installation and use
The Sirona S has lot of bells and whistles, which we love (as car seat geeks) but recognize might complicate things for parents looking for simplicity. For instance, the base has a load-leg, an added safety feature that requires a little more fussing with installation. The chest clip connects to the Cybex SensorSafe app and will alert you if your toddler unclips themself, if the back seat is too hot or if you leave your child behind in the car (assuming you keep the app running and keep on notifications).
Cybex was the first brand to bring its European rotating-seat design to the US market. "I chose the Sirona S back when it was the first to offer the feature," a tester told us. "It made life so much easier when my son was an infant. We have a lifted SUV, and I am 5'2", but the seat made it effortless to get him out. My only complaint is the size — I don't think it would fit in my sedan and still give the front passenger enough legroom."
Like the Fit360 and the Emme, you only need to do the seatbelt installation once with the Sirona S. The mechanism that locks the belt in tight is called EasyLock, and it's in the base. (Here's the video. Because Cybex is such a global company, there are a lot of Cybex videos for many products, including those sold overseas, so be sure you are watching the right one!)
The installation video shows one other Sirona S feature that the others lack: linear side impact protection (LSP). If you have some space between the seat and your car door you can pop out the LSP device for a little extra side protection.
Rotation: 360 degrees | Rear-facing limit: 40 lbs | Forward-facing limit: 65 lbs Headrest and harness positions: 12 | Recline positions: 12 | Dimensions: 24.4" x 19" x 24.4" | Seat weight: 30 lbs
How we test rotating car seats
We've evaluated dozens of car seats in our Good Housekeeping Institute Parenting Lab, looking at the installation guides, fabrics, harness and recline adjustments, quality of the hardware and overall size and weight. But our best data comes from our consumer testers who use car seats with their children and share their experience with us. We also have parents who work in our Lab who test car seats for us with children of various ages and in a rang of vehicle types.
Rotating car seats are still new and so there's not a lot of data on real-world use or even guidance from car seat experts. That's in strong contrast to, for instance, infant car seats, which our Lab has been collecting data on for nearly a decade. As of press time, NHTSA only has "ease of use" ratings for the Cybex Sirona S in its search by brands tool. (The Sirona gets five stars overall for rear-facing and four stars for forward-facing.) We expect more opinions to come out in the next few years while we're collecting more data of our own to share in our next update.
What about the Evenflo Revolve360? It has the most Amazon ratings of all rotating car seats and is in our previously published list of best all-in-one car seats. We've had consumer testers use it for several years now with no trouble. However, we've recently become aware of consumer complaints that NHTSA is investigating, so for now we have left it off this list.
How to shop for the best rotating car seat
We recommend that you pay attention to these two things:
✔️ Rotation: A rotating car seat with a 360-degree swivel means the turning feature works in both the rear- and forward-facing positions. If you buy a seat with a 180-degree swivel, that one will only turn as long as your child is riding rear-facing.
Realistically, those baby years can be the toughest, so only having the seat rotate from rear-facing might be okay by you. But if you're considering a rotating car seat for a 1-year-old, we recommend buying one that turns 360 degrees so you can use it through the preschool years.
✔️ Longevity: Some of these swiveling car seats turn into booster seats, which can then last into your child's school-age years. But that's not a total dealbreaker; the truth is booster seats don't always cost a ton of money to begin with.
Are rotating car seats safe?
A rotating car seat has to pass all of the same safety hurdles as any other car seat, including crash testing. People within the industry are hopeful that rotating car seats could, in fact, prove safer than traditional seats if they make it easier for parents to buckle their child in correctly.
Joshua Dilts, Chicco car safety product manager and a Child Passenger Safety Technician (CPST), told us that his company's survey of more than 1,300 parents showed that getting a child into their car seat and buckled was a significant hurdle in everyday life. "Parents are securing their child into their car seat multiple times a day with many opportunities for misuse. By making it easier and less stressful to secure infant and toddlers within their car seat correctly, children will be better protected in case of an accident," says Dilts, a father of three.
"What I found, personally and anecdotally and in our studies, is that a rotating seat makes not only makes the process much easier for both parent and child, but also it’s also more enjoyable. When the harnessing process is more natural, and when the child and parent face each other, it becomes much easier to secure a baby correctly."
How does a rotating car seat work?
The seat swivels on its base so your child faces you when you're buckling them in or taking them out. Rotating car seats can work either behind the front passenger seat or behind the driver seat — regardless of which spot you choose, the seat will swivel to face the car door. It wouldn't make a lot of sense to install a rotating seat in the middle of the back seat, as then you'd be leaning way over to use it, but theoretically you could.
We strongly urge anyone who buys a rotating car seat to study the owner's manual and watch the brand videos. The installation and daily use is different with these versus traditional car seats. Not only does the seat rotate, but every brand has that rotation mechanism work a bit differently. Get to know the one that you buy.
Pros and cons of a rotational car seat
Pros: Being able to turn your child to face you makes buckling them in a whole lot easier. Leaning in and buckling your child sideways is not just tough for tall or small parents, or parents with a bad back. It's tough for everyone! Rotational car seats can make the whole experience of getting your child in their car seat easier on you, and perhaps both safer and more pleasant for your kid.
Cons: These seats are big. If you have a very small sedan, a rotational car seat might not work in it. Rotational car seats are not slim, so there's not a lot of hope of fitting one of them on each side of your backseat with an additional car seat in the center.
If you're a new parent and what you're looking for is a car seat stroller combo, we get it. It's so easy to attach an infant car seat to your stroller! But there is no travel system that takes a rotating car seat, or any convertible car seat. These are meant to stay in your car and are not highly portable.
Why trust Good Housekeeping?
The experts at the Good Housekeeping Institute have been known for thorough, honest product evaluations for more than a century. We recommend the best family cars and also help families with our annual family travel awards.
Contributing writer Jessica Hartshorn works out of the Parenting and Toy Lab and writes many of our baby gear reviews. She's a journalist who has been covering the juvenile-product market for years, first for American Baby magazine and then for Parents magazine before joining the Institute. Hartshorn helps judge the JPMA Innovation Awards and has appeared on television to walk parents through the best baby registry products.
Jessica (she/her) is a freelance writer with several decades of experience writing lifestyle content and evaluating home and parenting products. A mom of two teens and two cats, her previous work can be seen in American Baby and Parents.
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