Customer Reviews

Recaro Signo Convertible Car Seat Midnight Desert

5 star:		(31)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

When I first started my research about car seats, I though that Britax was the best car seat on the market. Then I started to do more research on crash tests, read tons of reviews of car seats, and found people stating European car seats were far superior to our American made. Many people recommended purchasing a European car seat.

I researched the European market and found that Germany had the best car seats on the market, England's cars seats were second and American car seats came in third. All German cars seats must pass a crash test of 45mph, England 35mph, American 30mph standards. Since Britax was sold in the UK, I thought they must meet the UK standards, but they don't. They have completely different models and one study proved that Britax American car seats failed the Britax England crash tests studies (they have to because of the different crash test standards 30 vs 35mph). If you have time, research the English car seat market, and look how different their car seats look compared to our American versions (britax.co.uk). Their crash features are far superior to our car seats, All have side impact protection and many have a boot in front of the car seat that keeps the car seat in place during a collision. I tried desperately to buy a car seat from England, but was not able to. I called a ton of private shops, even tried ebay.co.uk and could not get a seller to send me a car seat. I called Britax UK to see if they would send me one, and they could not do it legally.

The next option was to try a German car seat. After much research I found Recaro car seats were not only sold in Germany, but the same car seats (and models) were available here, meaning if they are good enough to pass their standards (45mph vs our 30 mph), they are the best available here in the US. From what I could gather Recaro was not the best car seat sold in Germany, in fact, when I did my research a year ago, depending on which study you looked at, they came in 4th or 5th (it is difficult to read German or find an Amercian article written about German car seats). I happen to find a co-worker who knew German and who was able to read these articles for me. My conclusion was that this was the best car seat I could legally have here in America.

I was still torn between Britax and Recaro because it's safety features were still very similar (and they look very similar in pictures on the internet). I was determined to purchase one Britax car seat and one Recaro (we had two cars), but we went to USABaby to actually see both car seats side by side, this settled our dilemma once and for all. Recaro won, hands down. There is no comparison. The Recaro was so much more sturdy, solid, better side impact protection, superior features than the top of the line Britax (both were essentially the same price.) We purchased two Recaro's. The sales person stated that this was the best car seat available for purchase.

I had a smaller car, so I was concerned that it wouldn't fit, but it did. I had to push the front seat up a bit, but it worked fine. We have had it for over a year and we still love it. I have baby #2 in the Britax infant seat, (they no longer make) which was the top of the line at the time (2007). I was planning on purchasing a Recaro infant seat for baby #2, which was due to come out, but hasn't yet, so we kept the baby in the Britax. Now we are looking into purchasing another two Recaro's for our soon to be one year old. I look at other people's car seats and mine is just so much better than any other car seat I have seen available to purchase. I know they say it's not what car seat you purchase, it has to be the right car seat for the car, and it has to be installed correctly. My theory, you purchase the best car seat available, and you make sure it's installed correctly.

Do your homework and take a look at what is available at Babiesrus, and then look at USABaby or your local retailer who carries Recaro, and make the comparison yourself. There is none, but you have to see if for yourself. I am satisfied that I did my homework and I chose the best car seat that is available for my child. Car seats makers here in the U.S. are just now starting to catch up on the technology that Recaro has had for the past 5 years, which I am pleased to see, but is still not 'up to par', to Recaro's or current European standards. Every child deserves the best chance of survival if 'god forbid' you get into a collision. Recaro's are expensive, but it's worth every bit of sacrafice you need to give up, to purchase the best car seat available for your precious child, here in the U.S.

I hope this will help other's out there who are researching this topic as extensively as I was, because I was not able to find any article or personal review answering my question of which car seat is the best available, and why.

I already knew about Recaro from their history in racing seats, Porsches and airplanes. So when I saw they were making child seats, I figured they were worth looking into. I found a store that had floor models of the competing Britax and the Recaros and got in the car to go look. Side by side, it was no comparison. Though both companies list that they have side bolsters and protection, the Recaro's is so much more obvious and padded. It isn't even close. The shop owner and I spoke for about 15 minutes about his opinions on the seats. He said basically the same thing I was thinking. He stated that many people buy the Britax because of a suggestion from a friend or family member. He said if they are willing to look at other brands as soon as he puts the Recaro next to the Britax Marathons, people were choosing the Recaro 2 to 1. It is a superior product.

As I drive smaller cars (and plan to have more kids) I was very focused on having the proper side impact protection. The seat fits easily in my small coupe and hatchback without any trouble. My son is comfortable and can see easily out the front of the car. He has never whined about going into the seat, and has been on three trips that required us to drive over 10 hours in a day, and the seat didn't interfere with our travel (we stopped a few times, but that's expected.)

If I owned huge vehicles and could put him in the middle seat of both of my cars (coupe is a 4 seater) I might have been open to other seats, but that wasn't the case, so I needed to know this was the safest seat I could get. The higher cost versus some seats was easy to spend when it came to the safety of my child.

The infinitely adjustable straps are key too. The Como and Signo are basically the same seat, but the turn-dial adjustment is so easy, it'd be silly to waste you time on the Como. I immediately put the seat on the list to purchase. We bought it from the small shop and not here on Amazon, but I am in the market for another Signo and felt I would share my opinion.

I have since recommended this seat to every friend/family member that has/is having kids.

After lots of research we chose the Recaro Signo over all other brands and models. The fact that Recaro also makes seat and restraint devices for Nascar made me feel extrememly secure that I was buying a safe product. My 20 mo. old son has been using this seat since he was 12 mos (and outgrew his infant seat). It's extremely comfortable for him - he sleeps great in it on long drives. When we learned we were pregnant again, we decided to buy a second seat - one for each car and then one for each kid when #2 was ready for a full-sized car seat.

My only gripe with the seat is that the buckles tend to twist around on the shoulder straps and you often have to spend a few extra seconds turing them around before you can buckle the seat. We've learned this doesn't happen as often if you stretch the straps out completely before removing your child, but it still happens on occassion. Still, I would recommend this seat to EVERYONE.

I appreciate the first reviewers insight to the carseat. My 4 year old son was in a Graco Booster seat for the last year and a half. It fit him well and was a very nice seat, but I wanted something a bit better. Since the Signo was such a good price I couldn't pass it up. It's the previous model of the Signo (not the G2) which would explain the price. You don't see many reviews on this seat for older children, so I was a little leary at first, but was happily surprised at how well it fit him. My son is 4 years old, weighs about 45 lbs, and is about 45 inches tall. The one thing to remember about carseats that support older children is the torso height. This seat will cover children up to about 18 inches from their bottom to the top of their shoulders. My son has a long torso, but still has about 3 or 4 inches to go before he hits the top strap height, so this should last us another year or so, at which time we may have another child to put in it rear facing. I can't imagine too many kids that weigh 70 lbs or are 8 years old that would fit in this, unless they're really little kids. The seat is very well made with plush material. It is easy to adjust the headrest with just a twist of the knob. No taking the carseat out, taking it apart, and putting it back in. Unlike most carseats the latch system uses 2 separate straps attached to a strong metal bar. One thing to note is that most cars only rate their latch up to 40 lbs. So really it's unusable for forward facing considering the seat itself weighs 20 lbs. It's very easy to install with a lap belt though too. My son had a hard time reaching the seat belt in his booster seat, so he really likes that he can buckle himself into this one with no help from mom.

In response to some of the negative reviews...
1. Yes, there was a recall on this model of carseat for seats that were manufactured from Feb. '08 to Sept. '08. My seat has a manufacture date of Oct. '08 so no problems there. I wouldn't think that Amazon would be able to sell any carseats that have been recalled, but don't know for sure.
2. It is pretty plush, so I would assume it will get pretty hot in the summer, but would you rather have your child hot, or safe? It does have small ventilation slots by the headrest, but I'm not sure how well the material would 'breath' through it.
3. The straps- Yes, the straps can twist on you. I've found that if you leave the pads on the straps (the ones that say Recaro on them) it helps. It also helps to loosen the straps before trying the put them on. I'm not sure how you could get a child in the seat without loosening the straps anyway. My 4 year old can put the straps on himself, without them twisting so I'm not sure why adults have such a hard time with them.
4. I could see how it could be cumbersome in smaller cars. We own a Kia Rondo and have him placed behind the passengers seat. With the front seat all the way back he can easily put his feet on the headrest and has just enough room to slide out of it to get out of the car. Not sure how it would be rear facing, but it looks like it would take up as much room as our Evenflo Triumph did.

Overall, I'm very impressed with the seat so far. I feel my son is much more secure and safer than he was in his booster seat and am looking forward to trying it out with any kids we have in the future.

UPDATE
I received a comment today that the recall has been extended to seats manufactured up to April 2009. It includes just the carseats with a gold belt adjuster, not silver (where you adjust the tightness of the seat). I know many people don't read the comment section on reviews, but in the comment they included the link to where to find more information on the recall (Amazon won't let me put it in my review).

I've changed my rating on this seat to 4 stars because of all the hassle it's been with the recall. Luckily, my seat was not included (it has the silver adjuster). I contacted Amazon to find out their policy about selling carseats that have been recalled. I didn't get a straight answer, but here's the reply:
'Please know that, Amazon has a large selection of suppliers and manufacturers, one of the benefits we'd like to offer our customers is convenience, and we have not met that standard in this case. Please accept our sincere apologies.'

To my complete surprise, they refunded my money for the carseat even though it wasn't even involved in the recall. That's what you call good customer service!

Very pleased with this car seat and for the price Amazon is selling it for (over 40% off), it is a no-brainer! Not quite sure what the first review is talking about. To find out if the seat is part of the recall, you look at the manufacture date (prior to Dec 2007). The seat is definitely black (not navy) and tan and looks great! It is so soft and sturdy. Great car seat (for safety and comfort) for the price!

I am a mother of 3 kids and have owned multiple car seats. I have never felt better about my purchase! I actually feel guilty for the junk I put my older kids in! This seat is incredibly sturdy and well built! No cheap plastic here, all metal bars and construction worthy of my children!! The seat is also very soft and comfortable. We just had a 14 hour car ride w/ 2 of my 3 kids riding in Recaro Signo seats and never once did they complain about being uncomfortable. (They complained about plenty of other stuff, but never the seat!) Look no further, this is the best car seat out there.

I own the Britax Marathon and now the Recaro CarSeats. I can't say that I'm in love with the Recaro carseat. When we had it RF I could barely get my son in and out of it. He had about 12 inches from the door openning to the seat. I was always bumping his head. Add a squirmy toddler and forget about it. The sides of it project out much further than the Britax. I'm sure this is the side safety, but wow, what a pain. We had to turn it around FF and it is much easier to get him in & out. The belts are ALWAYS twisted. No matter how hard I try to keep them straight they twist & turn. All in all, I like the Britax better than the Recaro. It's just easier to get him in & out of the seat.

I researched convertable car seats. I debated buying this car seat or Britax Bouleward for about a month. I finally decided to buy it and I am glad I did.

Easy to install. It took us about 15 minutes to install with LATCH.
(just read the instructions a couple of times and watch the video on-line if you think you'll have trouble)
The seat fits well forward facing in our car. (Toyota Sienna) It actually takes up less room then her infant carrier.
It is easy to adjust the positions. No loops, no straps to re-thread.
My child appears comfortable and the Side Flaps ensures nothing rubs on her.
The safety rating is the best!

LATCH system - easy to install. make sure to pull the straps TIGHT after install. Seat will wobble a bit but once you tether it down (or up) it's very secure. If you do tether it up, make sure the seat is still within the 30-45 degree requirement. It makes it hard to keep the seat secure AND at those degrees. When we tethered it up, it looked like the seat was being pulled upright.

Recline: If installing rear facing, MAKE SURE TO RECLINE THE SEAT before installing the LATCH system. It's very hard to reach once your seat is latched.

SEAT:
Straps: REALLY SOFT!! Harness is easy to use and unclip to get our baby out. Drawback is that the rubber part of the strap is too tall (it's longer than my son's torso. It irritates him and doesn't seem comfortable. Britax has a lot of extra padding to make the straps bearable, there's a padded cushion that is useful to make sure the strap doesn't dig into his neck. There is also another pad behind the buckle so it doesn't push onto his bits and his belly.

Padding: Infant inserts removes easily so as my son gets bigger, we can take the cushion off. There's a way to fold the flaps/sides in so it gives a snugger fit for smaller babies. Looks like there will be plenty of room to grow.

Headrest: Easily moves up and down. Wish the side flaps weren't so stiff. Seems like it will work with his large head.

Style: Good looking. Fabric is soft and feels nice. Color combination is attractive. Looks like a "big boy" seat and blends in well with my car.


Overall, it is a wonderful seat. It is easy to clean and I feel comfortable knowing my child is in a super safe top rated car seat.

This carseat is very safe and very well-made. I did a lot of research and this is the safest carseat available in the US. It has great side impact protection and is very very easy to install, I have done it myself several times.
Pros:
1. Super safe
2. Easy to install properly
3. Can be used for up to 70lbs!
4. Seems very comfortable

Cons:
1. Tall, which is good and bad (wont fit in my husband's TT) hard to look over (might block rear window a bit)
2. In rear facing position it is sometimes hard to get my baby over the lower (legs) side impact protection
3. The straps do get twisted, but if you loosen them a lot, you can drape them over the side of the carseat to prevent this.
All in all I would totally recommend this carseat, we will probably buy a second one.

My husband did a lot of research prior to deciding on the Recaro. We were more than willing to pay the almost $300 for the seat. When I found it on Amazon for less than listed currently it was a no brainer, especially with free shipping. One of the best features in my mind is how much padding there is. On the Britax (our second choice) there is a hard plastic on the underside of the head pads. Also the fact of the side impact protection is very comforting. Our baby is not due until November, having the seat this far in advance will give this first time mommy plenty of time to "practice" buckling and adjusting the straps.