We didn't want to sell our Pontiac Vibe even though we were needing to fit three children in the back seat. We seemed to have made it with a Radian 65, Fisher Price Safe Voyage Booster and this Combi Connection. The base is both narrow and tall, so the other seats sit well with it.
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I got this infant car seat for my first daughter who was 8 lbs and 19 inches at birth. It was really too big for her and I had to use the infant positioning support and the additional GoldBug 2 in 1 infant head support when we took her home from the hospital. Our car was latch compatible so installation was easy. She grew quickly and we eventually bought a Britax Decathalon (the best convertible ever!) and I loaned it to my friend who had twins. She already had a Graco Snugride from her first child. Anyways, I noticed a lot of differences between the two carseats:
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br /Pros:
br /Very well padded and washable cover. There was an extreme difference between the Snugride and the Connection padding and overall quality.
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br /Security straps are well-constructed and didn't twist at all.
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br /Seat is deep and narrow, which is good for small infants and somehow seems safer.
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br /Installation of the base using LATCH in the bucket seats in the outboard (as opposed to the center) position was super easy and very secure. My husband and my friend's husband struggled with the Snugride base which didn't fit well except in the center position of the backseat. It kept tipping up and seemed loose. I think it was because of the bucket seats since they didn't have that problem with the first child and it was the same car (Acura TL).
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br /Putting the carrier in the base and removing it was super easy.
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br /Carrier has shorter handle which is a plus for shorter parents.
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br /Cons:
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br /Connection doesn't fit in the shopping cart upper area.
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br /It's a bit expensive.
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br /If you have the Combi Savvy Soho stroller, it was often difficult to tell if you snapped on the carrier since it would "snap on" and the carrier would indicate it was locked, but then one side wasn't attached. We usually would lift up on the carrier handle to check and then really push down hard to get it locked on.
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br /The canopy is a bit small and doesn't provide enough sun protection in the stroller...it was also confusing to remove it to get the seat cover off.
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br /All in all, I loved this car seat and felt it was safe and good enough for my friend's babies. She also informed me that she uses it a lot and puts the smaller twin in it since it was deeper.

I purchased this carseat for baby number 3, but I would not recommend it. It actually seems smaller than most, my child is now 6 months old, and she has almost grown out of it. The most impractical thing, however, is that you can not use it on shopping carts. I actually wish I would have purchased a less expensive brand just for that reason. I have three children, and with this type, the only option I have with the carrier is to put the baby in the back of the shopping cart, leaving no room for groceries or supplies. Not practical at all, and it doesn't fit normal travel strollers either. Would not recommend at all.

This product received great reviews from people, but our experience has not been so bright.
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br /Installation: I thought that I had the carseat latched perfectly until I had it checked at a highway patrol office. The first thing CHP officer told me was that this was one of the hardest carseats to use. First of all, I cannot use the latch (Acura MDX)... that may be because of my car. Installing the base was very difficult at first but then it becomes easier with practice. I've also had to install the carseat without the base, that wasn't too bad.
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br /Baby installation: Putting the baby in the seat is the easy part, putting the seat belt harness around the baby was tough. First of all, it is very hard to loosen / tighten the seat belt using the adjuster because there's a stitch on the belt in the back, and that hangs and snags (hard to explain). So we really don't adjust it and just try to squeeze the baby in. I'm not sure how we're going to do it when she gets bigger (she's 3 months now)... Second, there's only one slot for the belt level. Right now, the belt start from the level below her shoulders, which is the recommended position. But when she gets bigger, I can imaging the belt starting from the level of her mid-back, and I don't think that would be safe.
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br /The appearance of the carseat is nice, and it's fairly light.
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br /But given the difficulty in using it, I would not recommend it to anybody.

I did my research on this carseat. The two notible factors that lead me to confidently select it were consistant remarks about it's comfort and padding, and it's excellent safety/ease of use ratings. Afer having used it for 6 months now with my rather petite daughter here is how I feel:
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br /Pros:
br /- Very sturdy and well made. I always feel that she is extremely safe.
br /- Easy to install
br /- Easy to insert and remove from base
br /- Easy to clean and reassemble cusions
br /- Fits great into the Kolcraft Jogger stroller
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br /Cons:
br /- My daughter hates being put into it. Maybe she would be that way with any carseat. I don't know, but she is great in her stroller seat.
br /- Doesn't provide much shade cover at all. It is almost pointless.
br /- Doesn't fit into the front/upper part of shopping carts, making it very hard to shop because it takes up almost all of the room inside the main cart.
br /- Hard to keep the straps out of the way while putting her into the seat.
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br /*Additional note: The "EggShock" pad is a small "T" shaped insert(about 6" x 6"). I'm sure it is a great addition and I'll take all the protection I can get, but I think the description makes it out to be a much more significant feature than it really is.

Admittedly, this was for our first child so we don't have a point of reference other than the shopping we did in the store. I definitely appreciate a feeling of quality. Most baby products, however, seem to be very cheaply made. The Combi Connection stood out of the crowd though. The handle is molded all of the way around unlike some on the market and the lining was easily the highest quality of anything typically sold in the US.
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br /The seat has worked flawlessly with the base and adjusted well to growth.
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br /The only negative I can think of is that it is that most products (such as strollers) with a seat connection are not going to accomodate the Combi. You can always buy a Combi stroller, but in our case we bought a Bob Revolution for longer walks around the neighborhood and to the store. Its adapter only accomodates the "mainstream" connection style of the graco/peg/britax. We were able to get the seat to work anyway, but with a workaround.
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br /With the decision to make over again, I would still purchase the Connection.

Very convenient carseat, can be placed in the combi double stroller, which is the only side by side stroller that I have seen that you can attach an infant seat into. (and I've searched a lot) The carseat is comprable to the Peg Perego Primo Viaggo (whichI also have) but you can;t connect that one into the Aria twin, the peg perego side by side.
br / The seat itself is lightweight and easy to manage, and VERY soft with the foam insert. It's easy to get into the car with or without the base. Only complaint would be that the straps could be a little longer because you can't have both a baby bunting bag and the foam insert otherwise the straps aren't long enough to comfortably get the baby in and out.
br /Also, our daughter was extremely colicky from 5 weeks to 12 weeks and would only sleep in this carseat, so it must be pretty comfortable!