Cosco Pronto/Safety 1st Crossover Booster Seat Review

Cosco Pronto/Safety 1st Crossover – 6 year old

The Cosco Pronto high back booster seat has been on the market since 2014 and has consistently been an excellent, low-budget booster seat option for tall kids who need the support of a high back booster (as long as the vehicle they are riding in has a headrest in their seating position). Dorel has released the booster seat into Canada under a new name – the Safety 1st Crossover, so we thought it would be a great opportunity to check out this solid booster seat with fresh eyes!

Crossover/Pronto – some assembly required

The Pronto/Crossover ships unassembled and requires assembly for high back booster mode. Here’s how to assemble the booster:

• Attach the backrest to the seat base (insert the backrest hook into the backrest opening at the rear of the seat base, ensuring the seat base pad does not get caught between the moving parts.
• Rotate the backrest up until locked (when locked, the backrest will remain upright).
• Tuck the flap on the seat base pad under the backrest pad.

To remove the back, perform those steps in reverse.

Crossover/Pronto shoulder belt guide

The shoulder belt guide of the Pronto/Crossover is nice and open, which makes it easy to thread for both children and caregivers, and allows the shoulder belt to slide freely in most seating positions.

Pronto/Crossover lowest headrest position

The main downside to this economical booster is that the headrest is a bit difficult to adjust up and down. While most caregivers will not be adjusting the seat’s height anywhere near as often as we do for our reviews, we did find that the adjustment was often more difficult than we would like.  We MIGHT have uttered a few swear words when figuring out how to adjust it the first time (the manual instructions were a bit confusing).The manual instructs:

“To raise or Lower Headrest

• Grasp the top of the headrest with one hand and push down on the headrest while pulling out on the headrest adjustment lock with the other.
• Raise or lower headrest to selected position. Release the headrest adjustment lock into one of the headrest heights.
• Check to make sure the headrest is locked by pushing and pulling the headrest up and down.”

Pronto/Crossover highest headrest position

Cosco Pronto/Safety 1st Crossover height adjustment

If only it were that easy! We found that releasing the headrest adjustment lock was much more difficult than it seemed because the plastic moves so easily that when you pull up on the lock release, the rest of the backrest starts to pull off the track.  This made the headrest stick. Three hands would have made the adjustment MUCH easier. Unfortunately, I have just two. We were always able to adjust it eventually, but were unable to discover any tricks to make this adjustment easier while writing this review.

Crossover/Pronto backrest recline

The backrest has two positions: upright and slightly reclined. The reclined position is only to be used to install the booster seat flush against the vehicle seat back (if needed).

To recline the backrest push firmly on the backrest release tab and rotate the top of the seat back about 1 inch. The backrest will lock into place and is now in the reclined mode.

Crossover/Pronto cup holder extended

Crossover/Pronto cup holder stored

The Pronto/Crossover includes an extendable cup holder that can be used or stored. In three across scenarios or other tight spaces, the cup holder may not get much use because it makes the booster seat a full three inches wider.

Crossover/Pronto – 5 year old

This model is 5 years old, weighs 49 pounds, and is 46 inches tall. He is testing out the Pronto/Crossover in a 2014 Hyundai Santa Fe XL. While he’s not *quite* ready for a booster seat full time just yet, he was willing to sit properly and test out this booster for us.

He needed help with buckling (which is not unusual for new booster riders) but the vehicle seat belt fit him very well – the shoulder belt was centered on his shoulder and the lap belt was low on his thighs, touching his hips.

Crossover/Pronto – 6 year old

This model is 6 years old, weighs 50 pounds, and is 49 inches tall. She has graduated to riding in a booster seat full time, and was eager to test out the Pronto/Crossover for us.

Like our 5 year old model, the vehicle seat belt fit this model perfectly. Again the Pronto/Crossover positioned the shoulder belt centered on her shoulder and the lap belt low on her thighs, touching her hips.

She tested out the Pronto/Crossover in the second row captain’s chair of a 2007 Honda Odyssey. Although the vehicle seat is not narrow, she struggled a bit buckling herself into the booster. That’s because the vehicle seat was so wide that it nestled the booster seat’s edge right beside the vehicle seat belt buckle. We were able to get her buckled in for a safe fit, but we wouldn’t want the vehicle seat to be any wider!

Crossover/Pronto – 8 year old

This model is 8 years old, weighs 68 pounds and is 53 inches tall.  Here he’s sitting in the back seat of a 2012 Dodge Ram crew cab. We will not get sick of telling you that the Pronto/Crossover yet again provided our model with an excellent vehicle seat belt fit (it sure makes our reviews easier when seats are consistent!). The vehicle seat belt is yet again centered on his shoulder and low on his hips.

While he is old enough that a backless booster could be an appropriate option, he prefers the support of a high back booster, and he enjoyed using the Pronto/Crossover and his mom loved that it will last him for many years.  It is very likely that he would be able to use the Pronto/Crossover as a high back booster until he is ready to sit in the adult seat belt alone.

Crossover/Pronto – 6 year old

Our 6 year old model remains 50 pounds and 49 inches tall. She has never ridden in a backless booster before but agreed to a short trip in the backless Pronto/Crossover (with the promise of treats, of course).

Even though the Pronto/Crossover does not have a shoulder belt guide for backless booster mode, the shoulder belt fit this model well in this 2007 Honda Odyssey. It is positioned a little closer to her neck than what would be considered ideal, but it is touching her shoulder and not falling off her shoulder so it would be acceptable for emergencies if needed. Ideally she would wait until she’s a bit bigger to take the back off this booster seat.

Crossover/Pronto – 8 year old

Our 8 year old model remains 68 pounds and 53 inches tall. Sitting in the outboard back seat position of a 2012 Dodge Ram crew cab, he would definitely benefit from a shoulder belt guide adjuster when using a backless booster seat.

Here we can see him leaning a bit to the side to improve the shoulder belt fit of the Pronto/Crossover. The lap belt fit is excellent, but since our model fits this booster in high back mode, we won’t be in any rush to remove the back in this seating position.

Pronto/Crossover date of manufacture label

Date of Manufacture: The date of manufacture label is located on the side of the seat

Pronto/Crossover National Safety Mark

National Safety Mark (Canada only): Located on the opposite side of the seat from the date of manufacture label

Crossover/Pronto expiration

Expiration: The Pronto/Crossover expires 10 years from the date of manufacture.  The sticker with the model number and date of manufacture is on the bottom of the seat.  The expiration information is moulded into the plastic on the bottom of the seat.

Crossover/Pronto manual storage

Manual Storage: There is a storage spot on the bottom of the Pronto/Crossover to keep the manual neatly tucked into the seat (warning: the tabs are tight so the manual takes a bit of shimmying to store and to remove from storage. The good part about this is that there is NO WAY the manual could fall out accidentally if it is stored properly).