October 11, 2016 Dana

Convertible car seat comparison: the new Nuna Rava vs. the Peg Perego Primo Viaggio

While manufacturers are continually improving the look of their products year after year, some baby gear items are simply nicer looking than others, and the Peg Perego Primo Viaggio Convertible Car Seat has been a longtime favorite for its sophisticated European style. Blogger Mommy to Max describes this gorgeous Italian-made seat as “the Ferrari of car seats,” and Car Seat Answers praises it as “one of the nicest looking seats out there.”

The Primo Viaggio is also loaded with safety features and easy to install, making it steep competition for the similarly stylish Nuna Rava Convertible Car Seat. They’re both tremendously high-quality seats, so the differences are in the details – and honestly, they’re not going to be easy to choose between!

SAFETY FEATURES

Given that all car seats on the market in America pass some pretty stringent safety tests, any seat you get is going to provide your child with solid protection on the go. Of course, since your kid is your most precious cargo, we prefer seats that up the ante with additional safety features, and the Peg Perego Primo Viaggio has plenty:

Side Impact Protection built into the adjustable headrest, to protect your baby’s head, neck, and spine; the headrest has 10 positions, for an excellent fit.
EPS foam in the shell and head panel, to absorb crash energy;
A contoured steel back plate;
A top tether hook; and more.

The Primo Viaggio also has a Shock Absorbing Foam Element (SAFE) below the shell, which crumples on impact to absorb more crash energy.

The Nuna Rava Convertible Car Seat has an equivalent 10-position height-adjustable headrest, plus energy-absorbing foam and Side Impact Protection pods. However, it adds one important advantage: as we’ve emphasized again and again, rear-facing is safest, and the Rava can rear-face for longer, up to 50 pounds (compared to the Primo Viaggio’s 45 pounds). The Rava is also designed to make rear-facing more comfortable for your child, with a pop-out “laid back legroom” leg rest.

INSTALLATION

The Peg Perego Primo Viaggio can be installed with the safety belt or with LATCH, and reviewers have praised ease of installation: Car Seat Answers says “It’s as easy as I’ve ever seen for LATCH and still one of the best if using the vehicle’s seat belt.” BabyGearLab liked how the LATCH storage does a great job keeping the anchors out of the way when they’re not needed.

The Nuna Rava is more tailored to be installed with the vehicle safety belt, and as we’ve said before, the installation system is definitely the most exciting feature about the Rava – it utilizes a belt tensioning plate to get an easy, rock-solid install every time. Just open the True Tension door, thread the belt through the color-coded guides, and click the door shut, and that car seat won’t be going anywhere anytime soon. It’s really terrific! You can see the installation at 16:05 in this video.

The Rava also has really terrific recline angle guides that make it super easy to confirm the perfect riding angle for the car seat – no level indicators. It’s great.

WEIGHT

One feature that we really like about the Peg Perego Primo Viaggio Convertible Car Seat is that at only 21 pounds, it’s one of the lighter weight convertibles in our assortment. Ideally, a convertible car seat will only be installed twice in your car (once when you initially install it rear-facing, and once when you turn it around to forward-facing), but there are any number of reasons you might want to move it around – for instance, if you get a new car, or if you’re traveling far from home. Having a less unwieldy seat may really pay off in that case!

The Rava weighs 27.2 pounds, which is quite a bit more. Granted, the superb ease of installation may balance that out, but it’s worth considering how much you anticipate moving the seat.

OTHER FEATURES

Many reviewers have praised the Primo Viaggio’s Fresco Jersey performance fabrics – not only do they feel great, but they’re also easy to clean and really breathable, so your child won’t overheat. The Rava also has breathable fabrics, and ventilation panels to let some air flow through and keep kids from getting sweaty.

The Rava also has really nifty pop-out cupholders on both sides – flip them out to hold sippy cups, snacks, or toys, or tuck them back into the seat for a more streamlined look!

As you can see, both of these car seats are loaded with great features that any family would want, so your decision will probably come down to which one you like better when you see them in person. Come into your nearest Magic Beans store, and we’ll help you compare the seats – we’ll even see how they fit in your car if you need us to! Our mission is to make your life easier and less stressful by pairing you with the baby gear that’s perfect for your lifestyle, and we’re here every day to help.