The Graco 4ever Vs DLX – Why The 4ever DLX Is Definitely Better!

*40 pounds in Canada

** 40 inches in Canada

Graco 4-ever and 4ever DLX has four modes you can use from infancy to preschooling years. Graco designed them to be ideal for infants weighing 4 pounds and up to preschoolers of up to 120 pounds.

This, however, does not apply to all mothers, especially those who gave birth prematurely. The fit of the newborn infant insert to a newborn seems to be “okay” though especially that the head and the body support can be separated and therefore adjusted to fit the head and body nicely.

As you can see from the comparison table, the rear-facing and forward-facing weight and height requirements haven’t changed.

The high back booster weights are also still up to 100 pounds and still up to 120 pounds for the backless booster mode. Both of them are good until 57 inches.

Both seats have six recline positions with the first three positions designed for infants and the last three positions for toddlers.

Both seats have the same dimensions. We can reduce the width to 19 inches without the cupholder. However, this should not be done, especially that Graco requires the installation of the cup holders before using the seat.

Graco claims that these products have been tested in a variety of cars  - compact, mid-sized, full-sized, and SUVs. They have been proven to fit in most cars.

Nonetheless, they are quite bulkier compared to other slim seats for a 3-across setup.

At most, 2 of these seats can be placed side-by-side in the back seat of a car.

Everything is color coded in the Graco 4ever DLX seat just like the classic version. Use these color codes in installing the seat from rear-facing up to the backless belt position.

Color coding is especially helpful as it can indeed guide parents in installing the seat and making sure that installation is correct. For instance in rear-facing, the level indicator should completely be within the blue range.

The 4ever seat’s manual repeatedly mentions consulting with the car user manual for many reasons. One is to be able to set up the seat in the required and most appropriate location. As an example, if the middle seat of the car has a lap belt only, then you cannot use this product in booster mode.

Some parents say that the length of the LATCH strap is NOT ENOUGH. Because the latch strap can get so short, it would sometimes not reach the hooks. This is because you have to make sure that you are inserting the LATCH straps in the slot for rear-facing if you are installing rear-facing and putting it in the forward-facing slot if doing a forward-facing install.

If your car is huge, you might find the attachment straps short. Call Graco customer services to send you longer straps.

The classic 4Ever has no seatbelt lock off, the 4ever DLX has.

The LATCH belt can be used for up to 45 pounds. It was only up to 42 pounds previously. Once this limit is reached, the LATCH system should be stored accordingly within the seat.

4ever DLX is frontal-impact tested, side-impact tested, rear-impact tested, 2x acceleration car seat tested, roll safe tested, and tested for extreme car interior temperature. It is therefore more advanced in terms of safety tests.

While certified for airplane use, you cannot use them in booster mode in an airplane because it would require shoulder belts but an aircraft do not have them.

With the breathability of the seat cover, Graco Consumer Services stated that the lighter colors are more breathable than the darker covers. The Matrix color* of classic Graco 4ever seems to be made of unbreathable fabric, which can make your child sweat a lot as reported by some parents from the seat’s Amazon reviews.

If you ever purchase one with the said problem, Graco can send you a replacement chair with a different fabric that will immediately solve the problem. Just don’t be hesitant to contact Graco customer service as they are highly regarded as prompt and have excellent customer service.

If you need to often transfer them from one car to another, note their weights - around 23 pounds on average.

Unlike some seats that are strictly for a hand-wash only, we can throw Graco 4ever and 4ever DLX into the washing machines for washing.

Note that some parents say that putting back together the classic 4ever seat cover after washing can be time-consuming.

One of the four noted differences between the 4Ever DLX and the classic 4Ever is the Rapid Remove cover that allows parents to easily remove the seat cover for cleaning in just one minute.

Unlike the classic version, taking off and putting back the cover of the Graco 4ever DLX version would be highly favored by the hectic working parents.

We can adjust the headrest in any of the ten positions with a simple pulling of a lever.

The harness storage (the new feature for 4ever DLX) will make it easy to place the child in and out of the car seat and ensure that no straps and buckle tongues are in the way as you place your child in the seat.

The cup holders are a great addition. Some seats will need you to pay extra for it.

One thing to note is that the drinks in there can get it the way when strapping your child in the seat. The location of the cup holders is also a bit too far for younger kids, and they might have difficulty reaching their drinks.

The cup holders sure are also easy to remove. Even a child can remove them and possibly throw them in the car or outside the car when the window opens, LOL.

With a ten-year expiration, it would be great if every part of the seats remains in their best forms despite being handed down to other siblings in the family or relatives.

Any parent knows how things can get messy with children around. Thus, the cover and other appropriate parts will go through frequent washing. Padded components are bound to get tattered so replacements will be necessary.

Graco offers these replacement parts, but you have to provide the exact manufacturing date and model number for your seat.

Ordering a replacement part can be more complicated than other brands like Peg Perego Primo Viaggio Convertible where you can just choose the replacement part and the colour of the car seat you are replacing.

For the same price, you can probably buy a cheap rear-facing, front-facing, and booster seats separately. But some cheap seats aren’t as safe as steel-reinforced frames all-in-one seats like the Graco 4ever and 4ever DLX.

While the car seats have six recline positions, they are still not adequate to give children, especially the younger ones, neck, and head protection.

I feel that they are great to use once your child has learned to support their head (around eight months plus) since just by looking at the fit to newborn recline; it is way too upright.

Also, the headrest might also be not deep enough to support the head of the child, so some parents reported they got worried when their children’s head fell while asleep in the car seat.

The promise of accommodating a child until they have reached 120 pounds and 57 inches (booster) is not something that you can ignore, though.

The 5-star verified reviews on Amazon are amazing about how the car seats proved their worth.  

One father said that their car rolled over five times, with the baby daughter ended up 50 feet from the car while still strapped in the car seat. Although with some injuries, it is still amazing that the car seat (and pure luck) made the child survive.

Another review told about their car resulting in an upside-down position, but the son remained unharmed in his Graco chair. The seat served its purpose.

In terms of a car collision, these seats could probably serve as the cradle of safety for the young ones, provided that we install them correctly.

Maybe I could purchase a more suitable car seat for my younger child, like an infant seat, and use any of these seats when my child gets bigger/older, but that beats the idea of these products being the car seats I would forever need.

The LATCH straps of some of these car seats were reportedly stiff and hard to tighten. The focus word here is “some.” Surely not all of those parents who bought the car seat experienced such a problem.

A reviewer claimed that they have 4 of these car seats and the straps of two seats work fine, but not the straps of the other two. The main issue is quality control.

The Graco 4ever and 4ever DLX car seats surely seem promising with their features.

But between the two, I’d choose the improved version, Graco 4ever DLX.*

What do you think?

Cheers!

Pitin