Looking for a quality, Italian made car seat? The Peg Perego Primo Viaggio 4-35 rear facing only car seat might be the seat for you. With 2 included infant inserts, deep seat pan, and adjustable no-rethread head support and harness, it is a viable option for both small and large children.
CSFTL Quick Stats
- Weight range: 4-35 lbs.
- Height range: up to 32″
- Shell height: 18″
- Lowest harness position: 4.5″ (both inserts)
- Handle position: any locked except by child’s feet when using the base
- 7 year expiration
Features
- Built-in anti-rebound bar on base
- No-rethread harness built into adjustable head support
- Dual stage infant inserts
- Harness restrainer strap
- UPF 50+ canopy
- Quality fabrics over fully lined EPS foam shell
- Storage compartment for manual
- Infinite recline positions on base by just turning a knob
- Tri Zone level indicator
- Push button lower anchor connectors
Unique Features
Anti rebound protection on both the base and with a baseless install. The base has a built in anti rebound bar that must be attached after unboxing. It can only click into place when it is correctly installed. This anti-rebound bar helps with cocooning which can happen when a rear facing seat rebounds after a collision. They also require the handle to put moved to an anti rebound position when installing without the base.
No-rethread harness built into the adjustable head support. This allows you to easily adjust the harness straps without needing to take the seat apart. There are 6 different height settings to fit a variety of children. The head support also provides extra support for an infant’s small head.
Dual Stage infant inserts
Stage 1
- Must be used with the stage 2 insert.
- Attaches to the adjustable head support via a button on both sides.
- Can be used from birth to about 8 lbs or when the child’s diaper reaches the crotch buckle with just the stage 2 insert.
- Provides a cushion to fill excess space.
Stage 2
- Can be used at any weight/age.
- Helps bump the child to the bottom harness position.
- Provides a bit extra thigh support.
The harness retainer allows the user to hold the buckles back making it easier to put the child in the seat without having to dig buckles out from under them.
The UPF 50+ large canopy is another popular feature on seats helping protect children from excess sun exposure.
Under all of the quality fabrics, you find a fully lined EPS foam layer covering both the seat shell and head support. This EPS foam adds extra impact protection.
Storage compartment in the back of these seat provides a place to store the manual, an access door to adjust the head support, as well as an extra way to check the angle of the base once the seat is installed.
The recline foot features a knob that allows the foot to be put in any position.
The Primo Viaggio 4-35 also features their unique TriZone level indicator. There are 3 sections to the level, each one with a weight range. When installing, make sure the bubble is in the correct weight range for your child. This is one feature that can cause some issues, and we are working with Peg Perego to straighten it out. In some vehicles, the recline either isn’t enough with the foot all the way out or not inclined enough for the bigger kids with the foot all the way in the base. When we get an update, we will update this post.
Installation
With Base
Start by putting the base on the vehicle seat and adjusting the recline so the bubble level is in the correct position for your child’s weight. Once the bubble is in the correct position, either install with the lower anchors or seat belt. With either installation method, begin with unlatching the blue lock off. Then, either put the seat belt through the guides, tighten, and latch the lock off OR attach the lower anchors to the vehicle anchors, tighten, and latch the lock off. A correct installation will have 1″ or less of movement at the belt path.
The car seat handle can be in any locked position except the position by the child’s feet. This position is to only be used when doing a baseless install. Peg Perego prefers the handle to be in the position right above the child’s head for the highest level of safety though.
Baseless
To install without the base, push the grey buttons on either side of the handle to move it down by the child’s feet. Then, set the seat on the vehicle seat and thread the lap belt through the belt guides on the handle. There are 2 positions the shoulder belt can be put in. This seat allows European belt routing where the shoulder belt is threaded through a blue clip on the back of the seat, which can help with stability. If the shoulder belt isn’t long enough, leave the shoulder belt against the vehicle seat back. Once the seat is tight, lock the seat belt, make sure the red level line is level with the ground, and verify that there is 1″ or less of movement at the belt path.
Child fit
Preemie Huggable Images Doll, 4 lbs, 17″
Due to this doll’s small size, she’s modeling the Primo Viaggio 4-35 with both the Stage 1 and Stage 2 infant inserts. She fit very well with her shoulders just barely above the bottom harness position. The Stage 1 insert has a an extra support that sits behind the crotch buckle to fill the room between her diaper and the crotch buckle.
Newborn Huggable Images Doll, 7 lb, 17″
Our newborn doll also fit very nicely in this seat. This first picture of her is with just the Stage 2 infant insert. With the harness in the lowest position, her shoulders are just over the harness position. Without the Stage 1 insert she has quite a bit of room between the crotch buckle and her diaper.
Here she is modeling the seat with the Stage 1 and Stage 2 infant inserts. The harness was one click up from the lowest position with her shoulders just over it. As you can see, the Stage 1 insert helps her fit behind the crotch buckle much better. Either fit is fine, but I liked her better with both inserts.
4 months, 16 lbs, 26″
I really like how my little guy fits in this seat. Due to his size, both infant inserts were removed. Even with good head control his head still falls to the side when he sleeps. In previous seats side head slump has always been an issue. The head support in this seat is in perfect position and is shaped well for complete head support for him.
16 months, 19 lbs, 29″
This model fit very nicely with plenty of growing room. She’s modeling how nice the anti-rebound handle is to rest her feet on when installed baseless.
16 month Huggable Images Doll, 20 lbs, 31″
Our toddler doll also had a nice fit. He was quite a bit closer to the top of the seat than our live model, but still fit with 1″ or more of shell above his head.
Overall thoughts
I really like the Peg Perego Primo Viaggio 4-35 rear facing only seat. It has high quality materials, it will accommodate a wide range of child sizes, and the baseless install was incredibly easy. For me, the biggest drawback was the manual. I found it to be poorly worded and had to clarify several stipulations with Peg Perego while completing this review. A confusing manual increases the potential for misuse, especially for a brand new parent.
Now comes the best part, the generous folks at Peg Perego provided this Atmosphere Primo Viaggio 4-35 for us to review, and they would like to give one away to one of our readers.
**Contest is now closed. Congrats to Michelle N!**
If you don’t win, don’t despair! Find the Peg Perego Primo Viaggio 4-35 
Peg Perego provided the Primo Viaggio 4-35 rear facing only car seat for this review, but CSFTL was not otherwise compensated and opinions, as always, are all our own. Originally written by Angela Tastad. Edits maintained by CSFTL.
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