Question Recaro? What's the draw?

aunt83me02 · Jan 11, 2015

I was wondering how many people here have Recaro seats (particularly convertibles) and why you chose them. I don't understand the draw other than aesthetics. They don't have seatbelt lock-offs, anti-rebound features, special LATCH features. They appear to be narrowish (in the seating/shoulder area) without a lot of leg room. I think they're fairly expensive considering they don't seem to have anything "special". Is there something I'm missing? I'm seeing more of my irl friends with them but none of them are particularly car seat savvy, so I thought I'd ask here!

Hazelandlucy · Jan 11, 2015

aunt83me02 said:
I was wondering how many people here have Recaro seats (particularly convertibles) and why you chose them. I don't understand the draw other than aesthetics. They don't have seatbelt lock-offs, anti-rebound features, special LATCH features. They appear to be narrowish (in the seating/shoulder area) without a lot of leg room. I think they're fairly expensive considering they don't seem to have anything "special". Is there something I'm missing? I'm seeing more of my irl friends with them but none of them are particularly car seat savvy, so I thought I'd ask here!

I think Dads love them, lol, because of the race car affiliation and the assumption they must be safer since the company specializes in keeping drivers safe at 200 MPH. The harness is easy to use when playing with it in the store. The majority of parents still don't even rear face until 2 so don't care about the leg room, don't have a clue about rebound, and just use latch! It's kind of a bubble on car seat forums - my friends are all pretty educated, smart moms and would not know what rebound is or even latch limits. I have one friend who is also ERF and the rest were turned before 2!

jess71903 · Jan 11, 2015

Yeah, I agree with the above. I am a big Recaro fan for combo seats and boosters, but their convertibles aren't anything special IMO. I think it's just the name that draws them, and maybe the price tag. If it is so expensive, it must be better, right?

CMeMeC · Jan 11, 2015

aunt83me02 said:
I was wondering how many people here have Recaro seats (particularly convertibles) and why you chose them. I don't understand the draw other than aesthetics. They don't have seatbelt lock-offs, anti-rebound features, special LATCH features. They appear to be narrowish (in the seating/shoulder area) without a lot of leg room. I think they're fairly expensive considering they don't seem to have anything "special". Is there something I'm missing? I'm seeing more of my irl friends with them but none of them are particularly car seat savvy, so I thought I'd ask here!

My vivo is my favorite seat so I would try a combination seat or convertible by recaro. My kids are thin, so the narrow-ness works well for them. I like the fabric as well. I also like our proboosters, but they don't fit as many cars as the vivo. It's unfortunate for me that they no longer make it.

thepote · Jan 11, 2015

I loved the Como (pretty much the same as the perf. ride) for forward facing outboard in DH's sedan with no side airbags. My kid was skinny and thin shouldered so he fit great and those deep sides were great. He also slept all the time and the bit of recline was perfect.

And that's about it

I bought it a few months after they came out, before we had given them the official thumbs-down

Eta- oh I forgot, that thing was up so high you could get a same-way-facing Radian about 6" under it so it was great for three across.

sunnymw · Jan 11, 2015

1. Super super plush. Very comfy. Quality fabrics. That's what so many parents are looking at, in person, in a store. "Is my baby going to be comfortable in it? Is it padded well?" Yes, yes it is. I want Recaro to make me a chair for my living room.

2. The narrowness/support would be good for special needs or extra skinny kids (like my older ones were). IIRC it also installs a little reclined FF, and soooooo many parents want that.

3. The name brand, as discussed above.

4. The harness. One, smooth as butter. Two, the white stitching so you know if it's twisted.

I LOVE my performance sport, it has all those things but lots of bum and shoulder room

and fits ALL my kids well as a booster (yes, I even tested it on my 40lb 3yo--not moving, of course).

abigaylebelle · Jan 11, 2015

I loved the signo so much. It was so easy to use and install. The legroom really wasn't a problem for my kids. I am so sad that it expired. I considered getting a performance ride to replace it and chose a Coccoro instead just for variety.

Folks around here don't love it but for my short, skinny kids it was fine to rf to 4 and ff to 7. My ds was 7.5 when it expired and he still had lots of room.

cookie123 · Jan 11, 2015

I have the Pro Sport, originally I purchased it for a 3.5 - 4 year old for ff in my car, the Prius, because he couldn't see out in the other seat he had. I chose it for the high base and the high top slots. He used it for a year or so and liked it. I held on to it and used it for Griffin rf as a 3 or 4 month old. I needed a pyramid of pool noodles to install it and wasn't really happy with the install on the leather seats. I had trouble getting him in and out between the head wings and the sloped door openings on the Prius. The seat is not deep, I felt I wasn't getting his butt back there good when I put him in there. I didn't like it so I passed it on to his dad, who uses it infrequently in his car. He insists Griffin doesn't fit in it. Lol.

Personally I feel like there's better choices for rear facing.

disbugsmomma · Jan 11, 2015

I had a Como and loved that seat. It was super easy to install and use. My dd rode rf in it until she was three. It's actually still in my basement even though it's expired because I just can't destroy it yet.

joolsplus3 · Jan 12, 2015

I think the Como was the only seat I've ever returned... well, also a Nania booster... but, yeah...
The boosters are super fantastic, IMO.
I find the convertible to be sort of boring compared to the seats on the shelf next to it. It's tall and deep-sided (generally making it harder to load kids in sedans without head-bonk), shallow legroom for RF, the headrest is harder to adjust the height compared to the seats next to it (slow dialing mechanism, not just a grab-and-raise).
I haven't run into a dad yet who must own it because of the brand name, but we sell them when I'm not working, so I guess they are popular enough, lol.

bnsnyde · Jan 12, 2015

Well they are my favorite brand. I love those seats, lol! So I am a fan.
We don't have a convertible, but we have the Prosport and the Performance booster. About to buy our 4th booster from them this Fall. The Prosport has an open belt path so it literally takes 3 seconds to uninstall or reinstall. Easy, and done! (With a few more seconds to connect tether).
Their sides are the deepest I've found, and the seats are sturdy and not flimsy.
My only complain is that I wish they were even bigger to last longer! Ours are wide, though. I wish they were narrow to fit more seats.

1mommy · Jan 12, 2015

I know a mom that loves it because Recaro "is the only one to have side impact standards in the US, while Britax adheres to Side Impact Standards in Europe." She has 2 convertibles for her tall but skinny daughters.

mfrasier · Jan 12, 2015

We have a Recaro proboster for my nephew because its the only highback booster we knew would fit the very bucketed seats in the eclipse without being at some weird angle. Which it does and its awesome and then they changed the design which threw me because I used to think the draw was that it fit the sporty type cars correctly where many dont.

Gidgetc13 · Jan 13, 2015

For my husband it is definitely the name and the race car affiliation. When we bought our ProSport he was complaining about me wanting to spend $100-150 on yet another car seat, but once I showed him the ProSport (which I got for about $200) he had no issues with me purchasing another seat, lol. He tells other people about the Recaro car seat he has in his car all the time. I love the ProSport because it is super easy to install, the harness is super easy to adjust, and I really like the side wings in DH's car which doesn't have side air bags. My 5 year old also loves her ProSport and says it is the most comfortable of any of the seats she has tried. I haven't used any of the other Recaro seats but would be interested in trying out their booster someday.

emensa · Feb 27, 2015

I have ProRide and Performance Ride convertables and love them FF. RF, not so much, as I can't get a good angle in my CR-V, and they don't leave much room between the seat and the doorframe. BUT--for FF I will use them forever. They're a great fit for my petite preschooler, they're very comfortable, and I can get a rock solid installation in about 60 seconds. The headrest/straps adjust by just turning a knob, which is awesome, and they do have built-in lockoffs for the seatbelt. But the absolute best thing is how easily the straps tighten. I've used a lot of other carseats over the past few years, and nothing compares. It's smooth like butter.

Question Recaro? What's the draw?

aunt83me02

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