Peg Perego Primo Viaggio Convertible Review

Italian-born Peg Perego makes baby gear, including car seats, strollers, a high chair in our best high chairs review, and ride-on electric toys. The company was started in 1949 by the Perego family, and the family continues to be a part of the design and development of the company, from ideas to production.

Performance Comparison

Crash Test

The Peg earned a crash test analysis result that is just below the average, which makes it not a standout but certainly better performing than some seats. However, some options performed better with higher overall scores and lower prices, making this one uninspiring.

All safety seats in this review passed the federal minimum guidelines and are considered safe. We ran our tests faster than the federal guidelines with a crash sled that more closely mimics properties in modern-day cars.

As a result, we expected seats to have a broader range of sensor data so we could pinpoint options worthy of additional praise. The Peg is not one of those seats, though it did perform better than some. The HIC and chest clip sensor data are higher than about half the group (lower is better), so while it did better than about half overall, it isn't a favorite.

Ease of Install - LATCH

With one of the lower results for LATCH installation, this metric does not offer a compelling reason to purchase the Peg. While not the worst in the group, it is near the bottom, with only a few performing worse. The Peg does not have a lock-off, which is a big miss when it comes to installation. It has push-style connectors that work well, and the level indicator is a line on a decal.

The recline handle is tough to use, in our opinion. We had to take the seat out of the car to make the adjustment, and the recline still wasn't much. The LATCH strap slides up and down a bar depending on if you are installing rear-facing or forward, and while not super smooth, it works fine. Tightening the strap is a pain with no great ergonomic pull direction.

We had to sit on the seat to get the slack out, and we still couldn't get it tight enough. The seat bottom is wider than the LATCH anchor points, making access and tightening more challenging. As a result, it straddles the line of passing and failing the wiggle test. A lock-off or even a tensioner could have gone a long way in making it more stable and easier to tighten. Depending on the test car, we used 1-2 towels to install the Peg properly. Overall, it was easier and more stable in our second test car, indicating that vehicle design will play a significant role in your experience.

Forward-facing installation of the Peg also has no lock-off and no leveling indicator. The LATCH strap slides up and down a back rail, and the recline handle is still hard to use. While the LATCH system seems easy enough, the difficulty we had getting it tight enough ruined the experience overall. It felt snug and stable once we got it tight enough. Forward-facing was more difficult in test car 2, unlike the rear-facing configuration experience.

Ease of Install - Belt

Installing the Peg using a vehicle belt is even harder than the LATCH method, with a score far below the average in the group.

The Peg has a line on a decal for leveling purposes and color coding but no lock-off. Sigh. With a seat in the higher price range, it is a bummer that there is no lock-off to help get the seat tight without significantly more effort.

Rotating the seat is somewhat of a nightmare. We struggled to get the seat properly oriented and had to really yank on the handle. The reference line is at such an angle that we used 1-2 towels to align the seat (test car dependent) properly. The pathway is under the seat, and the design led to twisting the belt for us. However, threading in rear-facing was easier than forward-facing. Pulling the belt is awkward, so tightening was near impossible. Once installed, the seat passes the wiggle test, but it is poor and barely passes. Only one tester achieved a passing result, and the seat looked a little crooked. It is such a pain and so frustrating that our gut feeling makes us want to avoid this seat.

While the forward-facing installation of the Peg includes a lock-off, it was a terrible threading experience, especially if your hands are larger than average. Because the pathway was behind the seat, we had to pass the belt from one hand to another, necessitating getting in the car or wrapping our arm around the seat.

The lock-off wasn't as helpful as most, and it was more of a hindrance than a help; we couldn't get it tight even using the lock-off, as the belt kept moving inside the lock-off.

Only one tester got it to pass the wiggle test in the second test car. Overall, it feels like such a gamble on whether this seat will work in your vehicle if you can get the belt tight enough, or if the lock-off is functional. It doesn't seem worth it, given better options are out there that offer more for a lower or similar price.

Ease of Use

The everyday features on this seat are easier to use than more than half of the group, with a better score than average. While you won't find anything here frustrating, there isn't much in the design to be truly easy or better than most.

Harness

The harness buckle and chest clip aren't as nice as much of the competition. It is a standard buckle with a square push button and prongs that go in easily enough. The crotch padding gets in the way and can't be pushed aside in any way we could see. It does have harness retainers on each side, consisting of flexible webbing you shove the prongs through. The chest clip is bland, and no diagram shows where it goes. It has resistance, both pushing it together and pulling it apart.

Tightening and loosening the harness is easier than the average option. Tightening is easy with a smooth pulling strap, and the button for release is easy to push to pull the harness loose.

The shoulder strap height adjustment on the Peg is below average in our tests. It is non-rethread, and pulling it up works well, but pushing it down to a lower level is harder because there really is nothing to grasp for this maneuver. The entire assembly does move smoothly, both up and down. It has ten height positions but only one crotch position, which isn't a deal-breaker but could make it more challenging to find a snug fit.

LATCH Storage

The Peg LATCH connectors are stored between the underside of the seat and the base with easy access. The fact that they slide along a rail on each side makes it a quick and straightforward process. very good

Cover

Removing the cover for cleaning on the Peg is very good compared to others with no hook, loops, buttons, or zippers. It would be the quickest of the group if you didn't have to unthread the harness. Despite not liking the harness part of the process, it is easier to do this than trying to finagle tiny loops onto hooks we can't reach with normal adult fingers.

Comfort/Quality

Comfort and quality for the Peg is about average, with a result just below this for the group. While it isn't the most expensive option in the competition, it is priced in a range where we would expect more in this metric.

The headrest fabric is a bit rough, but it looks breathable. We'd still like for it to be softer. The remaining seat fabric is softer and much better, which seems odd since the face is likely the most sensitive and exposed. The edge of the seat is a leatherette that looks easy to wipe clean. The infant insert is a booster-like pad for the bottom area and nothing for the headrest or back.

The seat has nice padding down the center where most pressure from a toddler's body will be applied. There is somewhat less on the sides. The padding feels comfy and offers a good loft with adequate support. The headrest has additional foam on top of the impact foam for more comfort and a cushiony feel.

The shell is pretty standard, but it does look like gunk could collect here and be more challenging to clean. It has no cup holders.

Weight/Size

The Peg is lighter than a lighter-than-average seat with a weight of 21.5 lb compared to 24.3. The Peg seems pleasantly lightweight, with the heaviest option coming in closer than 33 lbs. 18.5

The width of the Peg is close to average at 18.5 compared to 18.6. This width means it isn't the best for a narrow-fitting situation, but it might work better than others.

Should You Buy the Peg Perego Primo Viaggio Convertible?

Besides an easy-to-remove cover and quick-removing LATCH connectors, there isn't much to love about this generally average Peg Perego offering. This seat looks and feels dated with a bare-bones style approach on a higher-priced seat. Regardless of the method, this seat is more complex to install, and its crash test analysis results are just below the average. So, while still safe, we think there are better seat seats in this review that cost less and offer a potential additional margin of safety over the Peg based on crash test results. All of this makes the Perego one we don't love foremost families.

What Other Convertible Car Seat Should You Consider?

The best all-around seat in the group is the Graco 4Ever DLX convertible seat with dual cup holders and non-rethread harness adjustment. It has a longer lifespan than much of the competition and boasts some of the best crash test results in the group. It also has a lower list price than the Peg Perego and is much easier to install using either method. If your budget is tight and you still want the best crash test results you can afford, the Graco SlimFit 3-in-1 should make your list of potentials, as it also has impressive crash test results and is easy to install with better comfort than the 4Ever or the Peg Perego.