Essentials by Britax Allegiance convertible car seatPrice: $180 on Walmart.com;  $200 on Amazon.com

Type: Convertible seat.

Limits: 5 to 40 lbs. rear facing, 20 to 65 lbs.
forward facing. Height limit: 49″.

NHTSA ease of use rating: Not yet.

Pros: Affordably priced Britax quality.

Cons: Scaled down from the regular line so omit some features like enhanced side impact protection.

Comments: Convertible Car Seat review: Britax Allegiance. In an effort to lower prices for brand that can top $300, Britax has released a couple new convertible seats as part of a new line called Essentials by Britax. The Allegiance is their first offering, available for sale for as little as $180 on Walmart ($200 on Amazon and Target). (See the new Emblem review here.)

The Allegiance works up to 65 lbs. and features a 10-position, no-rethread harness and headrest, as well as a foam-lined shell for basic side impact protection. The cover can be removed without rethreading the harness as well—that’s a welcome feature to any parent who’s had to deal with a diaper blow out.

The seat has three recline positions and push button latch connectors with built in lock-offs.

Feedback from parents is mostly positive although the seat is fairly new to the market.

As far as crash test go, Consumer Reports and BabyGearLab.com both crash tested this seat and gave it a favorable rating: a “better” on Consumer Reports’ three-tiered scale and in the top five out of 15 in BabyGearLab’s tests.

What’s not to like? Well, this seat omits the enhanced side-impact protection seen on its sibling, the Emblem. Yet that seat runs $20 to $40 and we realize seats at or above $200 can push the budget for folks. Also missing here is the “ClickTight” base seen on Britax’s regular seats that makes belt installs easier.

Bottom line: this is a good, basic car seat for under $200. Rating: A