Recaro YS vs. Radian vs. upcoming Recaro convertible

I'm still waiting to be approved, so if someone replies to my other post first, I'm sorry. Also, while I'm a librarian, I was a science major, so I'm all about the numbers. Apologies in advance if I'm overanalyzing this or just providing too much info, but I just have this feeling that I'll get a seat and then find the PERFECT one afterwards.

I'm looking for a new car seat for my daughter. She's close to 4.5, about 39 1/4" tall, 33 pounds, torso length 14".

My car is a Ford Focus Wagon, no head rests in the back. My husband's car is a Nissan Sentra with sort-of headrests ("extensions of the cushion", he says) but no upper tether. His car will undoubtedly need to be replaced at some point in the next several years.

In my car, she's in a Graco ComfortSport and has maybe half an inch or so until her shoulders are at the top level strap height. In my husband's car, she's in an Alpha Omega (HATE the puzzle locks), and has enough room, but if she's not going to be able to get to 40 pounds in it (likely), we're going to have to replace it eventually, too. She is and almost definitely will always be an only kid, so there will be no handing down of car seats.

If she stays on her current growth curve, she will be (approximately)

at age 6, 40 pounds and 43.5 inches
at age 8, 50 pounds and 48.5 inches
at age 10y 4mo, 65 pounds and 53 inches
at age 11y 10mo, 78 pounds and 57 inches

Of course, I want to keep her in a 5-point until 40 pounds, possibly longer, but height is more of a concern than weight. I think the Recaro YS might be the best deal for us financially--plus, those wings!--but I worry that she'd outgrow the straps height-wise before she reaches 40 pounds. I'd love to hear torso lengths of kids in the YS.

I know of one smallish kid (like yours, I think) who fit in the Young Sport harness till he was 7, and it does make a pretty great booster

Sentras can have top tether anchors added to them for about $15 (you basically just screw them in to pre-drilled holes in the back).

Young Sport only harnesses to 40 lbs, though. I just sold mine and bought a Radian because my 4 yo ds is 37 lbs and I definitely want to continue to harness him as long as possible. That and the Radian can be used for any subsequent children as a RF seat. I like multitaskers.

The YS is a great seat, though. But I only had it for about 6 months and it became clear to me that I'm not ready to use it as a BPB in just 3 pounds.

If you are looking for economical, the Radian is the cheaper of the 2. You may want to wait and see what happens with the Recaro convertible...not sure of the specs on it or the msrp.

Good news on both counts, there. Thanks! I'll definitely see about getting top tethers added to the Sentra.

brayg--very good point. What we're thinking about doing right now is getting the Radian for my car and then waiting to see what happens with the new Recaro, and likely switching the Radian to my husband's car (installing it twice, I know!) if we like the new Recaro. That, or we'll just have two Radians.

(I'm being slow here because of moderation.)

I WISH that Recaro made something like the Young Sport but with a higher harness limit. I'd be all over that. I mean, my daughter could probably get to age 6 in it--she's little--but I'd like to keep her in a 5-point a little longer.

FWIW, the radian installs well in the focus. We rented one and had no problems with latch or seatbelt installs.

jessadg said:

I WISH that Recaro made something like the Young Sport but with a higher harness limit. I'd be all over that. I mean, my daughter could probably get to age 6 in it--she's little--but I'd like to keep her in a 5-point a little longer.

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I agree! I really liked the YS. I'm surprised Recaro didn't just make it to harness at a higher weight limit to begin with. I'm sure there are good things to come, though.

brayg said:

I agree! I really liked the YS. I'm surprised Recaro didn't just make it to harness at a higher weight limit to begin with. I'm sure there are good things to come, though.

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i think it's because they had made it to euro standards, and just saw the marketing potential of selling it in the US with minor revisions.

I'm dealing with exactly the same issue. I've posted here several times (the moderators may be getting sick of me!!), but my DS is almost 4 (in 1.5 months), and approx. 30 lbs. (anywhere from 29.6-31, depending on the day), and about 37". Also, I don't have any younger kids to pass a seat down to. My car is non-Latch - 1995 Lexus GS300.

I am "trialing" the Recaro Young Sport, and he originally hated it because it is more confining than the RA, an. But now he OK in it after about 4 days. My guess is that he won't hit 40 lbs. until approx. kindergarten.

I also wonder whether I should get a Radian instead of the Recaro Young Sport. I sat him in the Radian, and he was "so so" about it, but I did notice that it is lower on the seat, and therefore provides him with less of a view out the window (at least for now), than the Radian. We initially had a problem beause both the Recaro and the Graco CarGo were too low - in his view.