We own two Britax Marathons, one for our daughter and one for our son. I did my research when my daughter was born in 2003, and this was the best car seat. One of the pros to it was that it stated that it could hold a child up to 65 lbs. My daughter is tiny, in the lower percentiles in weight and height, very petite. She is just about 40 lbs now, and is having trouble fitting in the seat, the buckle is too tight in the crotch area. When I phoned Britax, they had no explanation, and no suggestions for getting any more use out of her seat. This has also happened to three other children in her playgroup. If you want the seat to be able to grow with your child past 40 lbs, DO NOT BUY THIS SEAT!! Otherwise it is a good seat for babies, and did make me feel safe.