Disclosure: The car seat featured below was sent compliments of Graco.
One of the most important purchases you make when shopping for a new baby is their car seat. You need to find a seat that is small enough for a newborn to fit in- typically parents buy an infant seat. Infant seats are made for infants. They rear face only, come with padding designed for a tiny baby and make transporting baby to and from the car easier. However, there are also lots of reasons parents skip bucket seats. For us, when we had Emmitt it was cost. I did not want to buy a bucket seat and then turn around six or so months later and buy a convertible seat that he could continue to rear face in.
The My Ride 65 can be used rear facing starting at just four pounds, which means for the majority of babies this can be their first car seat (it comes with an ultra plush insert too). Your child can remain rear facing till they reach forty pounds or their head is less than one inch from the top of the car seat . Emmitt is 28 pounds and fits rear facing in the My Ride perfectly. Carlee is 37 pounds so fits the weight, but the top of her head is to close to the shell of the seat to be rear facing. (She can however forward face, more on that below.)
Installation was a cinch with the color coded latch straps (Gray belt is for rear facing and black belt is for forward facing.) however to get the proper angle I had to use a rolled towel in the seat crease, which I would consider an “advanced installation technique”. I knew when I had the proper angle because Graco stuck a nifty level on the side of the My Ride with a green area highlighted for correct angle. As long as the ball of the level is in the green area, you’re good. If you have this seat and you can not get it level rear facing you can find a Car Seat Technician near you by clicking here.
The image below is the My Ride 65 rear facing in my Toyota Corolla.
Emmitt meets all the requirements to forward face in the My Ride 65. As his parent I have made the decision to keep him rear facing till he out grows the car seats rear facing limit, but I wanted to flip it forward facing to try it out and see how Carlee fits in it.
Graco has made making the switch from rear facing to forward facing very simple. There are two ‘feet’ under the seat that stay flipped in when rear facing. When forward facing you just flip them out. Forward facing requires harness straps above the shoulder, verses the rear facing below the shoulder requirement so I also had to move them and remove the harness covers because those are for rear facing only!
Both Emmitt and Carlee fit in the My Ride 65 perfectly forward facing. Carlee still has two slots above the one she is in now and Emmitt still has three. Carlee did not fit in it rear facing as I mentioned above, however forward facing in the My Ride she does fit. She will outgrow the My Ride once she reaches it’s 65 pound weight limit, becomes 50 inches tall or her ears go over the top of the seat.
The My Ride 65 will last for a very long time, no matter which of my kiddos uses it. I also want to point out the amazing natural recline of this seat when forward facing. This makes nap time in the car so much more pleasant because their heads don’t flop around at all and makes the My Ride a great choice for parents of special needs children.
The images below are of My Ride 65 forward facing in my Toyota Corolla.
Graco really focused on safety and easy of use on this seat, but they didn’t forget about awesome features. The My Ride 65 is equipped with dual cup holders that are perfect for sippy cups, hot wheels, dinosaurs and anything else my littles tote around with them!
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To Buy: With it’s high harness weight limit, 7 year expiration, super cushy padding and 50 inch forward facing height limit you should be able to use this seat the day you take baby home from the hospital till you have the need for a booster seat- no problem at all. The specific model above is not available from Graco anymore, but a similar My Ride 65 can be purchased for $101.95..
Or Not To Buy: The My Ride is not the only car seat you will ever need, if you are looking for one seat from birth to booster- the MyRide can not do that. Also, if you need a narrow seat, you need to keep looking. The My Ride’s base is very slim, only 12 inches across actually. However the cupholder area is double that, coming in at just under 22 inches! There is almost no way you will be able to use the My Ride. When rear facing, the height limit of the My Ride will most likely be exceeded before the weight limit. Keep that in mind if you have a tall child!
I would love this for my 6 month old!!
It for sure would be a great seat for a 6 month old. He or she will probably even be small enough to use the amazing infant inserts still!
I don’t know about that…..she is 20 pounds haha!
Love the cup holders :}
Me too! They are a great addition to the seat and provide nifty cubby holes my kiddos love!
I’ve even continplaiting this seat for months
You should go to your local babies r us and look at it in person! I promise you wont regret it!
I have four MyRide seats already, but I still need two more! We love the seats we have, so I see no need to look further. Thanks for the review!
I am expecting my second child, and kept nothing from my first, since he is 4 now. I could definitely make good use out of this seat. My sister has two MyRide65s for her kids, and they are awesome!
I would so love to win this for either my 5 month old son or my 2 year old daughter. They both are needing seats and wanting them to be able to use them for a very long time. I bought Kaitlyn a carseat that suppose to grow with her but it didn’t and I want to keep her in a 5 point harness as long as I can.
We just bought one of these just a couple days ago! It is a big seat, but Luke seems to like it!
I like the fact that switching from rear facing to forward facing you just have to flip the “two feet” out. I think the cup holders is an amazing feature!
This would be great for my 25 pound 2 year old. We are needing a new car seat since the one he is in now will be expiring at the beginning of next year. I love the weight limit on it.
I love that a newborn could use this from the day they go home from the hospital all the way to forty pounds. That not only eliminates the need to purchase additional car seats but it also makes it easier to transport baby without a heavy infant carrier seat.
I love the ease of the Graco to get into a vehicle big or small. The LATCH system is easy to figure out and I love that this model has cup holders. Yes, they aren’t a necessity, but for kids that are in the car a lot for traveling or commuting, they’re a lifesaver!!
Love that both your kids look comfortable in the seat even though they’re much different sizes.
I need a good one, to replace my son’s old one.. The one he has he’s growing out of, and being tiny, but tall for a special needs 5 year old!!! Thanks
Wow, this has a really high weight limit. I plan on keeping my almost two year old rear facing longer than “required” as well. Looks like a great seat that isn’t impossible to use.
I love the color codes straps and the level is nice to know when you have it in the right position! I never had a problem with the kids being to small my first 2 kids weight 10 + pounds! 🙂 I love this seat it is so nice!
I really wish I had invested in a high-quality grow with me kind of seat when my two children (now 3 & 6) were little. This looks like a wonderful seat! Thank you for the detailed review.
This seat looks so safe!! I have a baby on the way and would love one of these!
The seat looks so comfy and looks like it would protect my daughter well. 🙂 I’d love to win this for my 2 year old daughter 🙂
Love the cup holders! I also love that it goes down as small as 4 lbs!
wow i like the weight versatility and the amount of side protection!
I love the rear facing limits on this carseat (4-40lbs) and love the ease of changing it from rear to forward facing, looks like an awesome seat all around!
would love this for my 2 year old…he needs a new one!
My daughter is obsessed with car seat safety, I would have have her read the reviews but it looks like this would fall into her safety category. Thanks for the introduction.
I love that it has a high weight limit & the cup holders!
I like that it has a super cushy padding and 50 inch forward facing height limit
I love that you can use this car seat for the entire childs car seat life
I like how wide it is- seems more comfortable for the child. I have bucket seats, so width would not be a problem
I love the high weight limit
I like that it is cushy. I have been looking at so many different car seat reviews for my little one, this one is perfect.
I like the sound of this car seat. I had the graco snugride infant car seat but just didn’t like it for baby she would sweat like crazy! Now I know what fabric to get my little hottie 🙂
BEST.SEAT.EVER. for such a decent price I love this seat. It is big, especially in my little car but it just feels safe and comfortable. I love that it rear faces to 40 pounds great for my erf 2 year old.
Very sleek looking.. I love the cup holders and the side impact protection!
I’m loving this. Everything from the look to the 7 yr exp on it. It would definitely be worth the money because the child can grow for a long time in it.
I love that it has cupholders. It also looks really comfy. The car seat we currently have is really hard.
I would love to win this for my grandson.
I love that this is affordable and that it is comfortable with lots of padding. It makes a big difference on long car rides.
The pros definitely outweigh the cons!! This is so perfect!!!
I like the weight limit and style.
I love that this seat will get my short daughter to 4 rearfacing! which is the recomendation!
I love how comfortable it looks.
I love the cup holders and the fact that it reclines a bit so when they fall asleep their little heads won’t bob forward!
I would love this for my son. The height/weight limit is great.
Money aside, it is safe and easy to get an infant in and out I wish I would have skipped my peg preggo
All of that padding looks so supportive. I love the protection this ensures.
I like that it has a 65 lb weight limit and 50 inches tall limit. I also like the padding that looks comfortable and protective.
Like that it has a level to indicate proper angle and the built in cup holders.
I really like how the car seat has a cup holder and I like how big it is.
Nice review of the seat. I like the overall look and the safety features a lot.
The seat looks comfortable and secure!
I think this looks like a good idea for some parents- but you are right about if the child has long limbs it will most certainly need to be turned to front facing before the weight limit. We do like the cup holder feature.
I like the color coding of the straps. To many times seats are put in incorrectly.
Even though this seat is extremely large, It is worth it for all the safety features.
That looks so cushy and I love how the cup holder are incorporated.
The Graco My Ride 65 car seat looks very nice. Thanks for sharing!
love the higher weight limit
What is the max height?
Thanks
i like the cupholer
I’m glad they make them for babies that are as small as 4 pounds!
I love that this has an angle indicator because that’s one of the things i find most difficult when installing car seats, and the most important thing about any seat is that it’s installed properly. Thank you also for showing this fits well in a Toyota Corolla. We have a Sienna too, but there aren’t a lot of seats that fit in the Corolla.
The level indicator is great for an easy install!
I have one and love it! The 65 pound weight limit is a big seller. It is HUGE, though!
I like the weight limits.
Wow! What a great car seat! I’m due in October and with 3 other kids in car seats this one would be great to have! Thank you for the wonderful review!!
Here at Real Mom Reviews- we recommend best practice.
Best practice means your child should ride rear facing till they out weigh the rear limits of the car seat or at least two years of age.
The national law is age one, however one is NOT a magical age. No one year old should be forward facing.
This looks awesome, my little girl is in need of a bigger and better car seat, and I think this one might be the one.
I love the Graco MyRide, It still rearfaces my 2.5 yr old brother. Hes 34lbs & 38 inches. I love the color coding straps, Its very easy to install with LATCH and the seatbelt (I don’t do both together). I can get 3 across with it sometimes. I highly recommend it! The only thing I dont like it how the feet flip and how you have to thread the straps under that gray thing in the back, Most parents don’t pay attention to that so it could be installed wrong. Overall, I love the seat!
Thanks for the great review! I’m looking to put this seat rear-facing in my 2006 Corolla. Did the front seat have to be pushed way forward to fit the seat? This is our family’s only car, so we need to be comfortable in the front seat on long car rides.
Great review. Thank you!
Did you find that you needed to remove the backseat’s headrest? I’m just turning my son around in my Rav4 and it seems to fit funny with the headrest still on the seat.
This car seat looks like such a good option for the money. Love that it can be used from new born until it’s time for a booster, and it doesn’t expire for 7 years! Perfect for families just starting to have kids!