Customer Reviews

Recaro Young Sport Child Car Seat, Shiny Charcoal

5 star:		(70)
4 star:		(11)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

First of all, after a thorough searching you realize that the most important features should be considered in your decision are:
1) Baby's Safety: 5-point harness, side head supports, side body supports
2) Baby's Comfort: body and head room, cushion material, seating position, neck pads, easy locking/unlocking of belts
3) easy of installation: LATCH system, good guidebook
4) Adjustability: Height, harness level, tightening of belts
5) Convertibility: car seat <-> booster seat
6) Material quality: Cloths, plastics, belts, cushions, locks
7) Price

I bought this car seat a month ago so bear in mind that my experience with the longterm outcomes is limited. I have a 2 1/2 year old kid who is in the upper limit of a normal weight and height range for her age. I bought this car seat online and picked it up from fedex. It took me 5 minute to install it in my car which was easy and fun with LATCH system. Its head side supports are the most important feature of this seat and they really serve their purpose. When my kid wear her jacket and hat, room for her head becomes a bit tight but it is still comfortable and actually it is helpful when she falls asleep. 5-point harness is a great feature and I highly recommend to buy a seat with harness if your kid is under 4 years old. I will try to use the harness as long as I can. I have not used this seat as a booster yet but it seam it will be ok because the slots for car seat belts are well positioned. Its head support and harness level can be adjusted and easily but you have to do it before installing the seat because the releasing button is in the behind and unreachable when seat is tightly pressed to rear seats. you can tighten belts in the front and it is quick and easy. The quality of material is good and I really like the texture of the cloths. this product is one of the priciest car seats in the market. The average price for a descent car seat with most of the above features is around 120- 170 but if you consider buying a safe car seat with high quality I think it worths to spend more. Overall, I am very happy for choosing this car seat and I give these scores (out of 5):
1) Baby's Safety: 5
2) Baby's Comfort: 4 ( a bit tight head room)
3) easy of installation: 5
4) Adjustability: 5
5) Convertibility: 5
6) Material quality: 5
7) price:3 (pricey)

1yr Follow-up:

It's been 1 year since I wrote my review and my experience is still a good one. Off course, after one year of covering the seat with all kinds of food and snacks, it is time to wash the clothes but so far the seat has been great. So far, no wear and tear and locks are still working good. Overall, I would say I am happy with my purchase but it is still a one year experience and considering how much I've paid for it, I am planning to use it much longer and I will keep you updated!

3yr follow-up:

It has been a while I posted this review. I was searching for another purpose and saw this post is hear and people are still reading it and decided to add a few lines. My daughter is turning 6 in a couple of months and she is still using the car sit. I raised the head support two times and we switched to booster mode about a year ago. I have not complaint about using the car seat in the booster mode besides that it is bulkier than regular booster seats and takes up more space but I am willing to compromise on that in the expense of safety. The cover has some food staining but the dark color hides them very well. all and all, nothing have changed about things I had posted before.

We've moved up from the travel system pumpkin seat (chico), and I was not looking forward to this. The Chico was so good, and I didn't like what I saw in the next step up.

I bought the Recaro more as a joke than anything, but I know the name from my driving days, and respect their products. I figured it had to be better than the Britax Boulevard we bought. I was right.

The latch is second to none, very easy to install and secure. The front elevator for the base works great, exactly as needed. The fabric is soft and comfortable, my son loves is. He actually LIKES being in the seat, amd doesn't want to get out when we stop! That is a first. The straps are very sturdy and secure, with positve latching buckles that have a secure feel. The sliding pads on the shoulder straps protect my son from being irritated by the straps.

I also happen to be a mech engineer, and I am very impressed with the sturdy design and construction of the seat. The side protection is first rate, and provides a comfortable headrest for my son as well. An excellent design, and very well executed. A flawless seat.

I have installed it in an Acura MDX, BMW 335 (4 dr) and a Nissan Titan King Cab (2 door) - it fits perfectly in all.

I have had this product for over an year now and could not be happier. The seat back adjusts as your child grows taller. Looks very safe. This seat fits in all of our 3 cars without any trouble. I have had a great deal of difficulty in installing our Britax Marathon forward facing in our cars that meet the 2009 headrest standards. The top of the Marathon digs into the forward angled car headrest, leaving a huge gap between the back of the baby seat and the car seat, with all of the weight and tension resting on the headrest alone. No problem for the Recaro though. Bottom line, it is very easy to install securely. The Britax, while rated safe, in unacceptable in our newer cars with the 2009 standard forward angled, non-removeable headrests. My daugter also likes the Recaro more than any of our other car seats.

Also, for those that like to fly with a car seat, like we do, the Recaro is a perfect fit for an airline seat. The Britax is just too large, and will not be allowed on board, as the front edge of the car seat must be flush with the front on the airplane seat.

This car seat is the best and the worst.

Pros-
- The most comfortable of the 4 child seats we've owned.
- Head restraints keep my daughter's head from rolling, or nodding forward. No other seat gave this sort of protection while the child was sleeping and relaxed.
- Side bolsters keep her from reaching the door locks, levers and window controls
- Very adjustable harness and head restraint height, to keep up with her growth.

Cons-
-Harness has occasionally loosened while driving. Literally gone slack. The only fix we found was yanking on the harness to set the locking mechanism, after retightening the pull strap. The pull strap doesn't activate this locking action, only pulling the harness does,
-HEAVY! I carried this thing from long term airport parking to the plane, a bit much on one arm. I had a screaming 37 lb, 3 yr old in the other arm. My wife simply can't install, uninstall or carry this thing.
- Harness straps are too wide for buckles and are getting gnarled.
The straps are roughly 1 1/4 inch wide, going through buckles with slots 1 inch wide. This mismatch is putting wear on the straps, to the point where I may contact Recaro.

We purchased two of these seats for use in a 2004 Volvo XC-70 and a 2003 Ford F250 crew cab. I was concerned about the overall size of the seat, considering the back seats of both our vehicles is not overly big. My husband is 6'3 and has the seat all the way back. On the other hand, I am 5'6 and have the seat forward a bit more. Doesn't leave much room behind him for a child seat. I was also concerned w/ not hearing much about Recaro. Other, more well known seats, have great reviews, but I wanted to try something different.

We have had them for about 2 weeks now and I think they were a great buy. They don't recline as far as other seats, true, but they do go far enough back that our daughter's head will not flop forward when sleeping. They are VERY easy to hook up (LATCH for the Volvo and seat belts for the Ford) and even easier to put a child in and out of. They appear to be built very well and seem sturdier than other seats we looked at. Overall , I would highly recommend these Recaro seats and think we will get much use out of them!

In response to the other review....

Federal law and Recaro required your child to be AT LEAST 1 year old for the forward facing Recaro Young Sport (along w/ weighing at least 18lbs and has reached a height of at least 27 inches).

Recaro even states in their advertisements that there is a "minor adjustment" for the sleep position, and as I stated in my review of these seats, our 1yr old daughter's head does not flop forward at all while sleeping in this seat.

Versitility is better than any other seat on the market actually. While in "harness mode" the child can go up to 40lbs and 40" in height, then in the "booster mode" up to 80lbs and 59".

Excellent chair! This is a very sturdy seat. I use the LATCH system in an Xterra and it doesn't budge. I thought visibility would be a problem but I would estimate the baby gets 135 or so degrees of forward view. We can take longer trips without the baby squawking in discomfort. It is molded from a heavy plastic(?) and it doesn't twist or tweek. I'm confident it'll survive a severe collision or rollover. If you're major concern is safety, you can't go wrong with a RECARO.

I never thought I'd be saying that after having a Roundabout for 3 years, but after my little girl had outgrown her favorite seat, a new search had begun. She is petite but at that difficult in-between stage...she just fits in a Britax highback booster but at 32 pounds, not safely enough for our peace of mind. Then she's too big for the Marathon. So, 1 returned car seat later (the Eddie Bauer Summit which slid around in our van's latchless captains chairs like a hockey puck on ice)we started looking at the Decathalon, the Boulevard and the Recaro Young Sport. Other reviewers are right--my little girl complained immediately that the Boulevard's center crotch buckle piece was hurting her and the Decathalon didn't leave her much height to grow. As soon as we put her in the Recaro, she said "I want this one! I love it!" The seat depth was perfect, and the padded buckle was soft. Some adjustable height boosters have padding that pushes the kids' upper back forward and cause them to slouch forward but Recaro's seat back padding is thick and flat. After one try of installing it by myself, it was in tight and wouldn't budge! The shoulder strap actually crosses the frame of the seat and holds it in tight. The side impact molding is surprisingly hard and sturdy and I feel so secure knowing that her head and body are protected. I am so glad we can keep her in a harness till she gains more weight. I would recommend this seat to anyone whose child is in that transition stage! The store told us to keep the tags on in case we wanted to return it but my little girl said to me.."mommy lets take those tags off--I never want to return this seat!"

We've had a Recaro Young Sport since they came out two years ago. Having raced cars, I am very familiar with Recaro, and trust their engineering and crash safety knowledge, so I gave the seat a try.

It is actually better than I had anticipated. The side protection is superior to all, and gives both good head and torso protection. And, unlike some others, it has enough room for our kids to move their heads all around (and is great for sleeping). The padding is soft and, while not as easily removed as a Britax, it is easily washed in a machine.

I liked the first one so much, we bought 3 more (after our second child switched to forward facing), and gave away the inferior Britax Roundabout. I have no significant issues, but the recline knob is worthless. This is an expensive seat, but it will be useable as a booster, so you really get two seats in one.

I just ordered this seat and am looking forward to installing it.
FYI- C. Sawtell who posted below, apparently tried to install this seat rear-facing. It is NOT approved for rear-facing use- which is stated clearly in Recaro's description and every other site that I saw. It is not a convertible seat in that sense- just forward-facing for infants who meet the minimums and toddlers.
Just wanted to post this as I know my kids and their safety are number one!!