Recaro Young Sport Child Car Seat - Shiny Charcoal

This car seat is of great quality and design. My 2.5 year old seems to be very comfortable in it. This car seat can be compared to the Britax Boulevard, which is unquestionably the top pick of most. I like Recaro's design a little better, although I would add some things to it: a retractable side snack tray and a better designed fabric piece on the buckle in between child's legs - it always falls off when you take the child out of the seat and we've already lost ours. Overall, a great product.

I purchased the "top of the line" Britax Marathon for $300. There were two major flaws with the seat:

1.) Not enough side support -- When my son fell asleep, his head would droop over the side of the seat. I found myself stopping the car to get out and put his head back into the seat!

2.) Buckle position/flexibility were terrible -- The tension of the buckle was tight up against his crotch and there was no slack on it what-so-ever.

The Recaro seat overcame both of these flaws. The side support is amazing on this seat. Now when my son tilts his head when sleeping, it's well supported by the side bolsters. The side bolsters are big and deep and very comfy. The buckle is long which allows greater flexibility in positioning it in a comfortable way as not to be crammed up his little family jewels.

In addition, the Britax had these rubber strap guards above the chest clasp. In theory, it's a nice feature I suppose (although I wouldn't find a rubber pad on my seatbelt comfortable so I don't see how it would be for a child). The problem was, my son (like many other 1 year olds) likes to chew on things and he loved chewing on these rubber pads which were right below his chin and in easy reach. By comparision, the Recaro seat has a simple strap design with a chest clasp and comfy pads which I adjust up top -- nothing for him to bite on.

Also I'd like to add that on the first day of use, he happened to vomit all over the seat and cleanup was easy thanks to the microfiber fabric design of the seat cover. Another plus.

All this for $50 less than the Britax Marathon, which I returned the same week I got it.

I'm not much of a writer, but I can tell you that I'm very satisfied with this seat. It certainly has style, looks really cool and is built very sturdy. I did a lot of reasearch as far as which seat is best before I purchased this one and found out that they all have to pass the same federal crash tests. Some seats will be easier to install than others and may have extra cushion but it all boils down to one thing: the best car seat is the one that fits your vehicle, your budget, your baby and that you will use properly each time your baby rides in the car. With that said, instalation is easy as well as putting my 1 year old in and out of it.

I bought this seat because it was one of the few that would fit in the narrow rear seat of a BMW convertible. And yes, I did also buy it because of Recaro's racing history. But in the end, it did not live up to the reputation of the name.

The materials, fit and finish are mediocre. The materials feel cheap and you can see the backing at the seam edges. The real problem comes with the fit and finish of the plastic. Because of a large seam between the bottom and the back, the yoke (the piece of metal connecting the two belts with the center strap) gets stuck. It can give you the impression that the belts are tight, but they are not. This is very dangerous in case of an accident. The other problem is the A-lock (the center strap lock). Due to loose tolerances, the center strap gets stuck between the lock and the edge of the lock. This prevents the lock from releasing when you need to loosen the belts. Now you have to struggle to release the belts trying not to hit the poor kid stuck in the seat. Plus that the center strap gets fraid.

My car was too small for the alpha omega that my son was quickly outgrowing (because of my compact car...). He just didn't fit with the chunky base under the car seat, so I looked into new car seats for him with a flatter base. He was fitted by a fireman and put into this seat. He is 4 years old, 40 inches tall and 36 lbs. I am keeping him in the harness as long as possible, because he knows how to get out of the lap belt on a booster. The fireman said that I should keep him in the 5 pt. harness at LEAST until he hits 40 lbs. I LOVE this seat. The safety features are amazing and as soon as my other child is old enough, I'll buy Recaro again! The only thing is the very first time I put him in the seat, he begged for his old seat and I thought...oh no! Well that only lasted less that a week. Plus when he sleeps he is upright and his head is nicely supported, he is NOT slouched over like in the regular booster that we have. I HIGHLY recommend this seat, plus getting it in and out is a breeze with the latch this comes with. This seat is the best!