Britax Marathon Vs. Britax Boulevard

The Britax Marathon and Britax Boulevard are car seats, and they are quite similar. They both are for children who weigh between 5 and 65 lbs., with a height of 49 inches or less and both seats offer many of the same features. The main differences between the two are the Boulevard has a couple of features that the Marathon doesn't, while costing about $30 more.

Function

1. The Marathon and the Boulevard are convertible car seats, which means you can use them for both rear-facing infants and front-facing toddlers. American Academy of Pediatric (APA) Guidelines say all infants should ride facing the rear until they are at least 1-year-old and weigh at least 20 pounds, but that it's best for them to ride facing the rear as long as possible.

Potential

2. Because you can use the Marathon and Boulevard for babies and children weighing between 5 and 65 lbs., you can potentially use either for a long time, depending on your child's height.
   The rear-facing limit on both is 35 lbs., so depending again on your child's height, you might be able to keep either seat rear-facing well into his second year, which the APA says is safest. Once your child's legs get long enough that she cannot put them straight comfortably, you'll want to turn her around.

Features

3. The Marathon and Boulevard have rear- and forward-facing recline, high-density foam for padding, five-point harness system, a front button that lets you easily loosen the harness, a plush cover available in many prints and colors and harness holders to keep straps out of the way while putting a child in the seat.
   Other safety features include an energy-absorbing, small, contoured base meant to absorb impact in a crash and ensure a snug installation in all vehicles and a foam liner that absorbs and distributes crash forces, according to Britax.
   Both have the Harness Ultra Guard System, meant to cushion a child's chest and reduce forward head movement during an impact.
   The Boulevard and Marathon also have push-button lower LATCH connectors. These connect to the LATCH (Lower Anchors and Tethers for Children) system required in most vehicles made since Sept. 1, 2002. These are anchors between the seats and a tether anchor in the ceiling that let you install a car seat without using seat belts.
   Both car seats also have the Versa-Tether, a strap attached at two points to the upper back part of the seat, with a hook that attaches to the tether anchor in your vehicle.
   If your car is older and you must use the seat belts, both the Marathon and Boulevard have a feature to secure the belt so the car seat doesn't move more than an inch front-to-back or side-to-side, according to Britax.

Differences

4. The Boulevard does have a couple features the Marathon does not.
   While the Marathon offers what Britax calls side impact protection, the Boulevard has true side impact protection.
   The main difference between the two is that the Boulevard has an adjustable head restraint with walls that extend on each side of the child's head. Both car seats have the rigid shell, deep side walls and energy-absorbing foam that Britax says offer protection in a side-impact crash.
   The Boulevard also comes with an infant body pillow, which can be helpful in positioning younger babies.
   You also can adjust the harness shoulder height on the Boulevard without having to take the harness apart and re-thread it through the seat.
   The other major difference is in price. The manufacturer's suggested retail price for the Marathon is $279.99, while the Boulevard retails for $309.99.

Ratings

5. The Boulevard and Marathon meet Federal Safety Standards and strict crash performance standards, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
   The NHTSA rates car seats on four "ease of use" categories using a system of one through five stars, with one star designating "poor features" and five designating "excellent features."
   The NHTSA gave the Boulevard and Marathon overall ratings of three stars for both rear-facing and forward-facing use.
   Consumers typically rate both car seats highly. On the Babies 'R' Us Website, for instance, users gave all Boulevard and Marathon models average ratings of four or five stars, out of a possible five.