Customer Reviews

Sunshine Kids Radian XTSL Convertible Car Seat, Eclipse

5 star:		(55)
4 star:		(29)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(11)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

My daughter is 16 months old. She is already 32 pounds and 34 inches tall. I really want to keep her rear-facing as long as possible, so I was in the market to buy a new car seat when I came across this one. I am very impressed with it so far. She previously rode in a Evenflo Triumph Advance, which was extremely wide and took up most of the back seat, even when it was placed in the middle. This seat is very narrow and provides her with much more leg room when rear-facing. It has a nice low profile, which makes it much easier for me to get her in and out of the back middle seat in my civic. She seems very comfortable in it. I haven't been able to use the "superlatch" feature because my car was manufactured prior to September 2005, so I installed the seat with the seatbelt and it honestly couldn't have been easier. It is in VERY securely too. I am confident that this seat is as safe as any seat could possibly be in my car. I know that people have reviewed other Radians in the past and seen it as a "negative" that the seat is so heavy, but I don't have a problem with it...of course it is heavy, it's a steel frame! Besides, the fact that it weighs 23 pounds is not hidden in the description of the product, so no one should be taken by surprise. It is a very big seat. My only "con" really, is that I had to move my front seats up to fit it in the back of the civic. I can still fit in the driver's seat with no problem, but I'm closer to the steering wheel than I'd like to be. The trade-off, though, is that my daughter has so much more leg room in the back, so it is worth it to me. I'm glad I made the purchase.

This seat is the new edition of the old XT seat and has many of the same attributes. It is very narrow compared to other convertible seats and it is much heavier than other seats. Mine came with one shoulder strap but another one was easily purchased (thru amazon) enabling me to carry it like a backpack.

We recently took a cross-country trip with our ten-month-old, and the car seat went with us through two airports and a different model of car than we have at home. In an airplane, it fits forward-facing beautifully but does NOT fit in a rear-facing orientation. It is very easily installed using the forward-facing belt path and doesn't require a seat belt extender like other car seats might require. It also folds to fit in an overhead storage bin if you are so inclined. There are a few steps required to fold the seat but it becomes quite easy after a few tries.

Rear-facing installation in many different vehicles (Honda Accord, Ford Explorer, Dodge Ram) is a snap even if you don't use LATCH and use the car's seat belts instead. When properly installed, it seems to have about a 28-inch pitch, so it may be a squeeze in smaller vehicles. It may be difficult to thread the seat belt through the belt paths if you have large hands, though.

One thing I did find a bit problematic is that when rear-facing, the seat requires you to install a little boot/foot/wedge thing to maintain the proper angle. It is easily removed for forward-installation or folding, but there is no good place on the seat to store it. I ended up threading it through the strap of my carry-on bag so as not to lose it. If my child were big enough to be forward-facing I would have just left it at home. Another problem is that with the LATCH system and the other built-in tethers there can be quite a few belts flopping around. If you're traveling I would recommend gathering everything up with a few zip ties first.

All in all, it's a very good seat, easy to install, easy to travel with (if quite heavy), and suitable for a long time.

I LOVED this seat. I have both a Radian XT and a Radian XTSL and purchased the XTSL in order to keep my son rear facing to 45 lbs. The problem is that the "super latch" is failing in many cars now. Sunshine Kids has been notified of this and there have been more than 100 reports filed with NHTSA; however Sunshine Kids refuses to recall the Super Latch. I can't recommend a seat from a company that dismisses so many car seat technicians installations. Check out you tube for videos of 2 year olds moving the Super Latch with very little force. This seat needs to be recalled...at least the Super Latch. So many parents out there will not know about this problem without checking (I didn't).

We bought this after doing MUCH research on carseats, like most parents. We've had it for a month. We decided on this one over any Britax b/c of the steel frame, weight limits, leg room, size of carseat & height limits. Our daughter is now 6 months, 22 pounds & 28 inches, so we wanted a seat that would last w/ her. She HATED her infant seat, but seems to enjoy this one. The infant head support isn't quite right w/ her (she's a little too tall for it), but it's necessary right now. Her head falls a little forward when she naps in it. This seat is HEAVY, but you know your little one is secure. Putting the seat together was tricky & took both of us. I would have been very frustrated having to do it by myself. I bought the extra strap (it comes w/ one) for travel purposes, but it's not as heavy duty as the original & it doesn't fit onto the seat like a symmetrical backpack. The extra strap fits onto the seat @ an angle, but it's still worn fine. I highly recommend the extra strap, if you must travel, b/c it's HEAVY! The seat is plush & the straps are nicely padded on the shoulders & crotch. The crotch strap is tricky to adjust b/c you have to reach your hand b/t the bottom plastic & the seat (not pictured in the manual!). I don't have floor hooks in my car & I chose to use the seatbelt for strapping & feel she's secure. There's still plenty of room in the front seat, while she's rear-facing behind the passenger seat. She's high enough to enjoy the views in our car (Pacifica). I bought the Nitro, so stains won't show from future juice spills b/c the fabric in NOT machine washable! Good luck in your choosing!

I don't normally write reviews, but I felt like I had to write something for this product. This car seat is awesome, and dealing with Sunshine Kids is even better!

I ordered the car seat from Amazon, and it arrived quickly and in great shape. Unfortunately, while I was unpacking it I did not realize that energy-absorbing (EPS/EPP) foam is basically Styrofoam, and I tried to pull out a piece of it that was underneath the seat base. When it snapped and I saw that the rest was glued on, I realized that it was structural to the seat.

I emailed Sunshine Kids to ask what I should do, and even though it was completely my mistake they sent me a new piece of foam with instructions on how to install it. If you're going to drop several hundred dollars on a car seat that you plan to use for 5-6 years, it's very nice to know that you're dealing with a company who will stand by their product and provide excellent customer support.

Great customer service aside, this seat is very nice. The cover is soft and comfortable, and I love how narrow the base is. We have it installed in the center back seat, and an adult can comfortably sit on either side of the carseat, which would definitely not be the case with most of the other convertible seats out there. Best of all, our daughter loves sitting in it. Every time we strapped her into her infant bucket seat (Chicco Keyfit 30) she would cry and try to get out after a few minutes, but she doesn't mind sitting in this seat at all, and we're actually able to drive for more than a few minutes in the car without tears.

As some of the other reviewers have pointed out, this seat is very long, and you may have to push your front seats up quite a bit to get it installed correctly rearfacing. We've installed it in the center back seat of a Honda CRV, and while the driver has plenty of room (because the center backseat is slightly off from center, the carseat actually isn't behind the driver's seat at all), the front passenger seat doesn't have a whole lot of legroom. However, it's not terrible by any means, and my 6'2" husband is completely able to sit up there, although for long road trips it probably wouldn't be that comfortable. For smaller cars, this probably wouldn't be a good choice, maybe something like the Cocorro would be a better seat for extended rear-facing installation. We haven't installed the Radian front-facing, but I imagine if it were installed front-facing there would be no problem with the length in any sized car.

We did not find installation (with a seatbelt, our vehicle doesn't have LATCH in the center) to be difficult. At first, all the straps on the back were a little overwhelming, but after we'd done it once it's been very easy to take it in and out of several different vehicles. So far we've installed it without difficulty in a Honda CRV, a Subaru Legacy, and a Dodge Grand Caravan. If you're having difficulty with the installation, I'd recommend taking it in to a CPS technician (professional car seat tech), who can give some tips on getting a solid install even with just a lap or lap/shoulder belt. It really is very easy to do once you know how!

The one real downside to the seat is that it really is very heavy. We bought it largely because we wanted it for air travel, and even bought the extra strap so we could carry it like a backpack, but after one plane trip with it we've vowed to never carry it through an airport again. It's a beast! That's great when it's installed and is protecting your kid, but as far as hauling it through an airport, no thanks. We picked up a cheap ($35) & lightweight (8 lbs) Cosco Scenera and we'll be using that as our travel seat and keeping the Radian for use at home.

Overall, I am very happy with this seat and with Sunshine Kids. I highly recommend their seats to anyone who's got the lengthwise space in their back seat, and who doesn't want to use the seat for air travel.

It was not easy to install the first time, but it will be from now on if it needs to be moved. It is narrow enough to fit in my Jetta and still allow room for two adults to sit comfortably in the back seat. It is tight on leg space for the front passenger when rear-facing, but not impossible. Baby loves being able to see out of the window better. She sleeps much better in the car now, as I suspect she is far more comfortable. I would recommend it to anyone.

We bought this seat when we needed to move our 3rd child out of his infant seat into a convertable car seat. We chose the Radian after owning 2 different Britax models (two Boulevards and one Roundabout,) as it was narrower and we hoped it would allow us to sit comfortably between the two seats installed in the 3rd row (something we couldn't do with 2 Britax Boulevards there).

I tried to install the Radian XTSL in the outboard 3rd row seat of our 2009 Honda Odyssey with the shoulder belt (there are no LATCH anchors in that position) and was unable to get the seat secure. After several attempts (most involving bracing my body against the roof of the van to force the seat down and and one involving adding two layers of rolled up towels under the seat), I couldn't get it installed with less than 2 inches of movement. All 3 Britax convertables we've owned have installed and held like they were part of the van with very little effort. We posted to a local parents list serve for help and found that others had had similar problems with this seat.

Before we bought the Radian, the store which had sold us this seat told us that the Radian seat reviews were not published on Consumer Reports because Consumer Reports had been unable to install the Radian seats correctly, resulting in invalid failures of Consumer Reports' testing. When we tried to return the seat, we were told we couldn't and that the store would have either customer support or even the founder of Sunshine Kids (manufacturer of the Radian seats) contact us to help us install the seat. We were told the founder often came to one of their stores to help parents install the seats.

I've installed 3 different Britax convertables and two different infant seats and never had a problem. Indeed, when we'd taken all those seats to be inspected, no problems were ever found. I could see that, maybe, I might have done something wrong. However, if the Consumer Reports people can't install this correctly and we needed customer service or the founder of the company to get it installed correctly, how can this be a useable seat?

After a heated discussion, the store allowed us to return the Radian and we ordered a Britax Boulevard from Amazon to be overnighted. I just installed that seat (very securely) in less than 5 minutes.

I truely wish the Radian had worked, as it's small size and portablity would have been great. However, we just didn't feel we could trust that our daughter would be safe in the Radian if it was so difficult to install properly.

The Radian XTSL is having quite a few issues with their superLATCH coming loose during use. (You can search for the facebook group or Youtube for more information on this issue). Not only is Radian ignoring the problem and not issuing a recall, but they were extremely rude to me on the phone, talked over me the entire time, and called me a liar. Several people have been told to fix the LATCH with duct tape. Even though the seat is perfectly safe while using the seat belt, I cannot trust this company anymore. To think they are not notifying parents of a serious issue is sickening to me. I sent back my Radian and got a Britax Roundabout 55. Not only is Britax a more trustworthy company, but the seat is so much more secure in our car. Learn from my mistake and don't get involved with this company. I should've known better after the issues with the Mighty Tite severing seat belts. Sunshine Kids didn't issue a recall on that product, either.

Before buying this seat, I was a loyal Britax customer. Having used Graco and Britax seats, I saw how Britax was far superior and assumed they made the best seats. In hindsight, if I had purchased this Radian sooner, I would have never bothered buying any other carseat. This is literally the perfect seat.
-It has a steel reinforced frame, which is sturdier than any other seat I've seen (I've been on the market for a new seat for months, and have played around with display models of virtually every seat in this class. I was not impressed by any of them).
-It is very comfortable for my child. She is 34 inches and 24lbs and rides comfortably rear facing in the middle of the backseat.
-It rear-faces to 45lbs. My daughter has surpassed the percentile charts for her age and is the size of a child a year older than her. She was too big to rear-face in our Graco ComfortSport by 10 months old. Obviously, I would not put a 10 month old forward facing!
-This seat comfortably support a child from birth, yet accommodates up to 80lbs.
By researching on carseat.org, I found photos of newborns peacefully riding in this seat, and also photos of 4yr olds still rear-facing with no problem! The 45 degree angle rear-facing is plenty enough recline for a tiny baby.
-The crotch belt has multiple positions to accomodate bigger kids without them having to sit on the strap like in some inferior seats. You can even purchase a longer strap for especially large children.
-Easiest install of any seat I've tried!! In my experience you need an engineering degree to install a Graco seat properly, this Radian took me less than 2 minutes to install rock-solid! The Super Latch is completely fool-proof, extremely easy to adjust and sturdier than your average latch belt.
I cannot stress how much I love this seat. The headwings are the strongest on the market, properly reinforced to give true side impact protection- none of that "air bladder" nonsense you see on other seats.
This seat also takes up very little room in the car and could easily fit 3-accross in a sedan. In my Subaru Forester, you could fit 3 adults in the back seat around this carseat! (Or 1 adult and a ton of shopping bags as the case may be).
I am in love with this seat. There is no other car seat you will ever need. This seat will last you from birth right up until your child is big enough for a booster. AND its so much cheaper than a comparable Britax! About $100 cheaper depending on what sales are going on. A superior seat for less money, this is the best seat you can buy!!!

I wish we had started out buying these car seats from the beginning. We drive a Mazda protege 5 hatchback and boought three of these car seats to make room for baby girl #3. The price (not that high, really for how much we use them!) is a lot better than buying a crazy mini van. The lower profile seat makes it sooo easy for my 4 yr old and 2 1/2 year old to climb into, compared to us still lifting (oooww! my back! and ouch! bumping their heads!) them in and out of their previous Eddie Bauer seats. The buckles and snaps are a snap and "click" together with ease, yet they are secure, unlike one of our other ones that would sometimes come undone. I am concerned that this gray will show dirt and stains easily, so I'm buying the piddle pads too. I'm not sure how easy they will be to clean, since the fabric is "webbed" and looks like it may not be durable in a washing machine too often. I love that the seat strap covers are velcro and can come off(or be reversed) to keep things cleaner. Tons of safety features, easy to install. The rear facing car seat is on the passenger side and is the same length as our car carrier and is not as wide or bulky. Super!