Evenflo Chase vs. Evenflo Maestro: Which Evenflo Car Seat Is Best For Your Family?

Evenflo makes some of our favorite go-anywhere baby and kid products, from the brand’s vast range of bottles to the Pivot Xplore All-Terrain Stroller Wagon, which has made this mother of two toddlers transition away from strollers at home entirely.

So it’s no surprise that the brand has the whole scope of car seats covered, too, with everything from infant car seats meant to be used rear-facing during the earliest months to convertible seats that can be turned forward-facing, too, and booster seats for the later years.

Once your baby tips the 22-pound mark is when you’re eligible for two of Evenflo’s most popular car seats. This is also the point that parents ready to buy the next Evenflo car seat waiver between the wildly popular Evenflo Chase and the Evenflo Maestro.

Evenflo Chase Car Seat vs. Evenflo Maestro Car Seat: What’s the Difference?

For starters, you’re only looking at a price difference of roughly $10 between the two already-very-affordable car seats (the Evenflo Maestro is the pricier one)—so economics only factor into the decision-making-process minimally. The big thing to consider with the seats comes down to how long you want to be able to make use of it in harness mode (In other words, up to what weight of the child).

The Evenflo Chase and Evenflo Maestro are both forward-facing car seats (read: no convertible option with either) that have harnessed booster and seat belt booster features and are remarkably—as in, nearly indistinguishably—similar. The difference comes in the fact that the Evenflo Maestro can be used in harness mode a bit longer, for kids up to 50 pounds, while the Evenflo Chase caps out at 40 pounds in harness mode. In seat belt booster mode, both seats work for kids up to 110 pounds, which is a more than ample upper limit to segue into riding like an adult without any booster at all.

Both car seats are nice and light, so both are great contenders for travel both in the plane and at your destination. But do note that the Evenflo Chase is ever so lighter (roughly a half-pound) than the Evenflo Maestro, which makes it that much more appealing for lugging along on your travels, when every fraction of a pound counts.

Users on Amazon and Facebook groups are fans of both of these car seats, for the most part. And the affordability and safety conscious factor get mentioned a lot (what more could you want, right?). 

It’s really hard to go wrong with either of these seats, which intersect at inexpensive and great-quality in a most appealing way. If your child is at the upper limits for height and weight for his or her age at the 22-pound lower weight limit, it might be worth spending a bit more for the Maestro to get the most time out of the booster harness function before you ultimately transition to the seatbelt function.

Read on for the ins and outs and what to expect with the Evenflo Chase Car Seat and the Evenflo Maestro Car Seat.

Car Seat Specs

Evenflo Chase Car Seat

• Price: $64.99
• Car Seat Weight: 9.14 pounds
• Dimensions: Width: 18.5 inches; Height: 29.5 inches; Depth: 18 inches

Harnessed Booster

• Weight Limit: 22 to 40 pounds
• Height Limit: 28 to 50 inches

Seat Belt Booster

• Weight Limit: 40 pounds to 110 pounds
• Height Limit: 43.3 inches to 57 inches

Evenflo Maestro Car Seat

• Price: $74.99 to $89.99
• Weight: 9.6 pounds
• Dimensions: Width: 9 inches; Height: 27.5 inches; Depth: 17 inches

Harnessed Booster

• Weight Limit: 22 to 50 pounds
• Height Limit: 28 to 50 inches

Seat Belt Booster

• Weight Limit: 40 pounds to 110 pounds
• Height Limit: 43.3 inches 57 inches

Car Seat Pros

Car Seat Cons

Car Seat Reviews

Evenflo Chase Car Seat

One grandmother on Amazon points to the ease of installation and removal of the Evenflo Chase car seat and the price as a win-win combo, and says she owns three for all three of her grandchildren.

Another Amazon user is an overall fan of the Chase car seat, too, but laments that it doesn’t come with shoulder pads to give her son a more comfortable ride.

And over on a Facebook moms group in Florida, another mom says she loves to travel with the Evenflo Chase because it’s “super lightweight and easy to install.”

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Evenflo Maestro Car Seat

The fact that the Maestro also doesn’t come with shoulder pads is another complaint often cited in user reviews. But an Amazon user applauded the “very tall slots” of the booster mode that allow it to accommodate children even past the five-year-old mark.

Kids in the Maestro are apparently graced with an abundance of legroom, too, according to one mom on Amazon with a Volvo sedan who says her little one, “enjoys plenty of space between the front passenger and him,” and makes use of the sizable cup holders for storing snacks and toys on road trips.

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Related: Graco 4Ever vs. Extend2Fit: Which Graco Car Seat Is Best For Your Family?

Longtime travel writer and adventurer Terry Ward lives in Florida with her husband and young son and daughter. She’s constantly on the lookout for the next Scandinavia Airlines Kids Fly Free deal to save money on flights to Norway, her favorite place to visit both in the winter (Northern Lights!) and summer (Midnight Sun!). A travel writer since 2001 (read: long before the kids came along), she’s written for such publications as Endless Vacation Magazine, Conde Nast Traveler and Scuba Diving Magazine, among many others. Find Terry on her website, Terry-Ward.com.

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