REASONS TO BUY
Better crash test results
Lots of padding
Canopy/handle perfection
Easy belt threading
REASONS TO AVOID
Harder to install LATCH
Difficult buckle
Itchy fabric headrest/insert
Peg Perego Primo Viaggio 4-35 Nido Review
Better scores in crash tests with lots of comfort padding, but the headrest fabric and LATCH are a disappointment for the price
Credit: Abriah Wofford
By Wendy Schmitz ⋅ Senior Review Editor ⋅ February 21, 2025
Contributions From: Juliet Spurrier, MD
Our Verdict
The Peg Perego Primo Viaggio 4-35 Nido is a higher-end Peg seat with a load leg and a nod to comfort and quality. We like the better crash test results, and it has easy belt threading for certain types of installation. Unfortunately, it has a harder-to-use LATCH install, and the fabric is itchy on the headrest and infant insert. Given the higher price, it would be nice if the features were easier to use and the design gave more consideration to everyday functionality. While it isn't a bad seat and is the recommended infant car seat if you want to pair it with a Peg Perego stroller, we think there are better seats in this review for most families.
Our Analysis and Test Results
In 1949, Peg Perego launched a baby carriage created by Giuseppe Perego. The founder continued the company's growth through the 1960s with various strollers and an adjustable high chair. Peg Perego strives to design and create innovative gear, including options in our high chairs review and a variety of car seats.
Crash test video of the Peg Perego Nido with a load leg and anti-rebound bar. You can see how they help limit the movement of the seat.
Credit: GearLab & MGA Research
Crash Testing
The Nido performed well in crash testing, and our analysis of sensor results gave it a respectable result. This seat offered lower (lower is better) sensor G forces than many of the head and chest sensor competition.
This seat has a lower sensor result for the HIC sensor, which is better than many competitors. The chest clip result is also low and better than the average. While all of the seats in this review meet federal guidelines and are considered safe, we ran a faster test on a more modern sled to see which options excelled in a somewhat “hotter” test. When the sensor results are combined and analyzed, it has one of the better results in the review, making it one that likely offers a higher margin of protection than the average seat.
The LATCH installation for the Nido was difficult to tighten and juggle the load leg and anti-rebound bar, and these issues hurt its overall score in this metric.
Credit: Abriah Wofford
Ease of Installation LATCH
LATCH installation of the Nido is the second easiest method for this Peg Perego seat. However, it wasn't easy compared to other seats. It has an anti-rebound bar and load leg.
The installation experience includes a sub-par lock-off and a wonky load leg. The load leg was so bothersome and strangely designed that we wondered if ours was broken. The design requires pressing a button while you pull out the leg, and doesn't slide out on its own or provide a color change so you know you did it right.
Credit: Abriah Wofford
The LATCH connectors push in easily enough; you can hear the click when they reach the anchor point. The strap connecting the two goes across the base much like a vehicle belt, and the lock-off helps hold it all in place. Tightening the strap was hard because it was on the closest side during installation. Also, our lock-off wouldn't stay locked and offered no tensioning.
Installation of the Nido seemed more difficult to us than is should be trying to juggle the anti-rebound bar and the load leg length.
Credit: Abriah Wofford
Getting it tight was challenging because the anti-rebound bar kept shifting while tightening. Our first attempt was too wobbly. Overall, tightening and stability were better in the small SUV than in the sedan, perhaps due to the padding and seat contouring.
Leveling to get the right angle on the base took time and precision, thanks to the turning knob and the anti-rebound bar. We had to keep making minor adjustments to get it all dialed in.
The Nido has push-style LATCH connectors with a small red release button that was harder for us to use than some other similarly styled connectors.
Credit: Abriah Wofford
Removing the LATCH connectors requires pressing a small red button. It isn't as easy to use as some, but it is better than the clip-style connectors.
Recline Adjustment
The Nido has an infinite number of potential level adjustments. The level indicator is a bubble style that settles quickly and is easy to read. The recline is a knob-twisting adjustment that is easy but requires repeated turning. Depending on how much adjustment you need, it takes forever.
Installing with the base is one of the easiest installation methods for the Nido.
Credit: Abriah Wofford
Ease of Installation - Belt
The most complicated method for installing this seat is using the vehicle belt. It has a built-in lock-off but no tensioner.
The vehicle belt goes across the foot end of the base. The pathway is color-coded, with open slots and no holes or obstacles to worry about. The lock-off isn't our favorite, and while it is easy to use, it didn't seem to help; we could pull on the belt, and it popped right open. It was nice but less functional than competitors. We really struggled to get the vehicle belt tight. We had to pull the belt and engage the car retractor before using the lock-off to get it tight enough. This lock-off process hurt its score because we loved the simplicity of the belt pathway design.
It didn't feel as stable as other installation methods or compared to other seats. The load leg isn't straightforward, and there is no indicator when you get it right, which we have in some competition load legs.
Ease of Installation - w/o the Base
Installing the Nido without the base is the easiest method for this car seat. This is good for public transportation or frequent travel, but it's a bummer otherwise, given that the base has the anti-rebound bar, and the LATCH installation should be the easiest method. It uses the European belt path, and the slots are color-coded. The carrier has a decal with a level line for reference.
The Nido belt pathway for installation without the base relies on slots in the handle and this put them ore over the lap of the baby than the foot of the carrier.
Credit: Abriah Wofford
The carrier is wider than average, and you must bring the handle forward to access the belt pathway. This gives better access to the belt pathway, and the handle position is only allowed when installed without the base. The lap belt was easy to thread, but the shoulder portion was more of a struggle.
The vehicle belt in one car almost felt too short to wrap around, and it took some finagling to get it right. The shoulder strap needs to be guided into the slot on the back. Once both belt portions were placed correctly, it was easy enough to tighten. There wasn't much slack. The red level reference line was easy to see and use. The seat feels very wobbly.
Ease of Use
The Nido is harder to operate than most of the competition. While a few seats are harder to use, it is a disappointment, given the price.
The Nido buckle is hard to use and left our tester's thumb feeling tender. The chest clip isn't much better, and neither was preferred by users.
Credit: Abriah Wofford
Buckle
The main buckle is unbearably stiff, and our tester hurt her thumb enough that it felt tender later. The shoulder straps have retention webbing on the inside of the carrier that keeps them out of the way while you put the baby in the seat. The prongs slide down the webbing with no friction, which allows the side prongs to fall deep into the seat if you don't use the retainer.
The chest clip button is on the left instead of the center or right. This made our lefty tester happy, but could frustrate right-handers. The button is harder to press down to clear the mechanism that slides the two sides apart.
Harness Tightening/Loosening
The harness is easy to tighten, and the shoulder straps move smoothly without problems related to the shoulder padding or otherwise. The tightening strap is on the carrier foot and has plenty of webbing. There is a slit in the fabric further up on the carrier, closer to the crotch strap, for the release button. The button is easy to press and works well.
The harness height adjustment on the Nido is located behind the carrier behind a flimsy plastic cover that frequently fell off during testing.
Credit: Abriah Wofford
Harness Adjustment
The harness shoulder height adjustment on the Nido is a non-rethread style that does not require the user to remove the straps from a splitter plate. This carrier has a pinch mechanism on the back behind an access panel, where you pinch and slide the assembly to the desired position. It moves smoothly and offers five positions. The crotch strap has two positions.
The back of the Nido carrier has the release lever and the shoulder strap clip for the European beltpath.
Credit: Abriah Wofford
Carrier to Base Connection
Connecting the carrier to the base isn't too hard, but removing it is more challenging. You can tell it is connected when the back half slots go in place, and it is nice to have a visual reference point to go with the audible click.
Removing the seat requires grasping and squeezing the handle until you feel it disengage. It isn't ergonomic, and we experienced a pressure point on the palm while pressing down. The back of the canopy tends to slide down and get in the way of the release handle. It isn't an impossible task, but more arduous than most.
The Nido handle has dual release buttons on the back side of the joint and the clot for without the base installation is located nearby on the handle.
Credit: Abriah Wofford
Handle
The handle has dual-press joint release buttons on either side. It moves freely and only slightly interferes with the canopy during movement, but not in the upright position. The handle has five possible positions, with Position C (even with the top of the carrier) allowed when installing with the base, and Position A (all the way forward) allowed for installation without the base. Please read the manufacturer's directions for details.
Canopy
The Nido has a better-than-average canopy with a zip-out extension. It looks good and avoids the frumpy, one-side more taut than the other-side problem we often see. While the canopy is low enough under the handle to avoid rubbing when both are fully upright/open, it struggles in other positions to get past the handle.
The Nido manual storage is on the back of the carrier, which is a nice place out of the way of messes but still on board if you travel without the base. This is also the location of the pinch assembly for moving the shoulder height up and down.
Credit: Abriah Wofford
LATCH and Manual Storage
The manual fits in a storage compartment on the back of the carrier. This location is convenient, allowing you to take it when you travel without the base, and offers easy access after installation and away from potential messes. Well done, Nido. Well done.
The back of the base has a compartment for the LATCH connectors. The door to the compartment is flimsy and didn't stay in place during testing, which was a pain to replace. Luckily, most families will install the base and forget it.
The Nido comfort and quality aren't terrible, but it doesn't stand out in this competition of infant car seats.
Credit: Abriah Wofford
Comfort/Quality
Comfort and quality are where we'd expect a Peg Perego to shine. However, compared to the group, the Nido failed to impress and struggled to keep up.
The Nido has dense EPS foam for impact absorption, much like most of the competition has.
Credit: Abriah Wofford
Fabric and Padding
The fabric on the Nido feels breathable but is rougher than most when we rub it on our cheeks. The head portion and the infant insert are the roughest, which is a bummer, given the rest of the fabric is more skin-friendly.
The seat has a dual-stage padding system with an infant insert for additional support for tiny bodies. Stage one is more adjustable for newborns, with customizable crotch padding. The main seat padding is only okay, and we wish it were as nice as the insert. The Nido has soft padding for the shoulder and crotch straps.
The canopy on the Nido is larger than average and the handle only collides with the canopy if you try to fold it all the way down when the canopy is open.
Credit: Abriah Wofford
Handle and Canopy
The handle is pretty basic and has a flat design that is not ergonomic for grabbing or holding. It gets narrower at the handle. The canopy is larger than average, with the potential for greater coverage if you unzip it. The fabric is thinner than most, but the canopy stays in the three planned positions. It has sun protection of UPF 50+. There are side vents for airflow, and some light still gets past the main canopy.
Shell
The outer shell is smooth, with no nooks for gunk to hide. If you install it directly on your vehicle seat, there are no sharp edges that could damage your car.
The Nido shell is a little more contoured than some of the competition.
Credit: Abriah Wofford
Weight/Size
The Nido weighs 10.6 lbs, which is about average. While some seats are as heavy as 17+ lbs, others are lighter than 8 lbs. If you plan to carry your little one in their car seat, this is something you might want to pay attention to.
Should You Buy the Peg Perego Primo Viaggio 4-35 Nido?
The Nido earned a lower score overall than much of the competition, and while we loved the better crash test results, it isn't enough to make up for the harder-to-use features and the trouble we had during installation. Overall, it is somewhat expensive for something that struggled to keep up in most performance metrics. While the Nido is our Peg seat of choice, we think there are better options with lower prices in this review and recommend considering other possible seats with good crash test analysis results.
What Other Infant Car Seats Should You Consider?
The Britax Willow S is a standout seat with good crash test results, a lower price, and higher performance in most metrics. If budget isn't a concern, and you want the highest crash test results or the highest scoring seat, then the Nuna Pipa RX is one for your shortlist. It has load-leg and rigid LATCH connectors that are easy to install. While it costs more, we think it is worth the price given what it offers. Want better crash test analysis and an easy installation? The Romer Juni has an economical price and one of the best crash test results we've seen.
Manufacturer Video
Side-by-Side Comparison
Compare Peg Perego Primo Viaggio 4-35 Nido versus top competing products:
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