Car seat safety the sporty way

Recaro are trusted manufacturers who have been making seats for over 100 years. They brought out their first child car seat in 1998 and pride themselves on their top safety standards and the comfortable ergonomic designs of their seats. In particular, Recaro car seats are popular choices with Lad-dads and parents who want a car seat that fits in with the sporty look of their cars.

Recaro car seats can be split into three groups: the convertible seats, the toddler seats and the high-back booster seats. All of the Recaro seats have excellent side protection and are lightweight and easy to install.

The Como and the Signo come under the convertible group. These weigh around 22 pounds and are LATCH co-ordinated with top tethers to give extra stability and reduce the likelihood of head injuries, and are fitted with adjustable five-point safety harnesses. The seats have removable covers for easy washing, adjustable head-rests for superior comfort and are FAA approved for use in airplanes.

The Como and Signo are suitable as rear facing car seats for babies weighing between 5 and 35 pounds and can be used in the forward-facing position for children over the age of one who weigh between 20 and 70 pounds; this is a brilliant capacity which many other convertible models are hard-pushed to beat. The seats are not reclinable which is a bit of a disappointment but they are angled enough to allow your child to sleep comfortably regardless of this and the head rests are effective for keeping their heads from flopping forwards..

The Young Sport is Recaro’s toddler model and is one of the most popular seats in their range. It is a front-facing model and can accommodate kids weighing between 20 to 80 pounds up to the height of 59 inches. It is LATCH co-ordinated with top tethers and has the standard features common to all Recaro seats as described above and is fitted with a 5-point harness but can also be used with a three-point standard seat-belt. The down-side is that the harness is only adjustable in three set positions which can be a bit of a problem if your child happens to be between settings.

The Vivo and the Vivo Lite are part of the High-back booster collection and are super light-weight. They are front-facing and suitable for kids between 30 and 100 pounds. They have aluminum reinforced structures and boast three reclining positions and 6 headrest positions. They do not have a safety harness; the standard three-point car seatbelt is used to secure both the seat and your child, hence the absence of top tethers or a LATCH system. This can mean that the car seat feels a little less stable but the added weight of your child usually tends to balance this out.

The Recaro Start is also a reclining High-Back booster seat and it overcomes some of stability issues of the Vivo and Vivo Lite by having top-tethers. It also has an adjustable shoulder width feature as well as 11 adjustable head-rest positions and armrests. It is foldable for easy storage and boasts the Recaro sound-system. It does have a smaller capacity of only up to 80 pounds but this is generally enough to seat a child of around 12 years of age.

Retailing from $100 to $350 Recaro car seats will appeal to people with a range of different budgets. Although slightly on the large size, these lightweight seats offer maximum comfort and safety and are an excellent choice if you want to give your child the benefits of superior side-impact protection for as long as possible.

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