I've been looking at the Recaro "Start" child seat for Leon. It looks expensive, but it says it's suitable from 9 months up to 12 years, so it may work out cheaper in the long run.

Does anyone have any experience of this seat? Is it really as good as they say it is?

Think someone asked a smiliar question on Scoobynet an someone pointed to a Which? test or similar which basically said it's all looks and not very good in side impacts. They recommended one of the Britax ones.....

Let me try and find the link for you

Chris

Here it is

Chris

I've been looking at the Recaro "Start" child seat for Leon.

Leon ..............ah well at least it's within the VAG Group !

I hope your next child is a girl , .......which of course you can call Octavia

Ask Jon (TaviaRS)....as he has one.

Yes...they are expensive circa

Yep, got one in my car. Mine was free normal price is

Does the vRS have ISOFIX fittings? What do they look like, and where are they?

Pretty sure the vrs had ISOfix fittings at the base of the back rest in the rear seats - I think they're shown in the manual.

Yup the Octy RS has ISOfix fittings. Look between the rear seat and backrest and you'll see what I can only describe as D-rings welded to the body of the car - two each for the left and right seats.

I've just bought the Britax ISOfix Duo Plus (new version of the Duo) for my little one. The seat fits nicely onto the back seat and is rock solid. The seatbelt securing mechanism is fairly straightforward for non ISOfix cars too.

My only slight concern is the seat comes with two plastic "guides" which go between the fixing points and the seat, the aim of which is to protect your upholstery from the ISOfix grab mechanism. The outside guide digs quite harshly into the leather so I think I'll abandon that and just be ultra-careful when installing the seat.

All I need now is for the little one to reach the regulation 9kg - she'll get a big kick out of travelling forwards.

Zooty (first post in, oooh, 9 months of fatherhood - finally getting some time back for other things!)

Don't know how they rate safety wise though. Anyone a member of Which? and call pull out the baby seat reviews?

The only which report that included the Recaro "start" was in June 2002 where it rated it as quite good on most aspects except for frontal crashes - as a result it was not recommended.

The latest which report has just come out and recommends different seats for different ages / weights. Best buys were:

Birth to 18 months(or 13kg) : Britax Cosy Tot premium (

Has anyone tried any of the ISOFIX seats available in the Skoda Accessories catalogue?

Having gone through this sort of dilema years back (thankfully) the one thing I would always suggest is to forget about long term with car seats/boosters. The makers will have guide ages and weight ranges but if your precious is anything other than average you will have further dilemas later on.

KNowing what I know now, I would have a chlid seat that fits the child now, and for a short time coming. I would not bother with worrying about too long in the future as there are so many variables to consider.

As for brands, we always found Britax to be excellent child seats and very easy to fit properly (major reason child seats dont work in accidents)

It might do upto 12 but will it last 12 years I doubt it!!! Buy according to size and work with that. My six year old just uses a booster now with a sparco pad and dark shades From the crash reports Ive seen most of the seats do a good job, and yep britax always comes out well.

The main thing with child seats is that they are fitted correctly. I trust a Maxi Cosi one with George.

Steve

Ollie my 3 year old has one & I have to say they are brilliant !!

I saw a test in Germany (where the DIN Standard is much higher) & the start came out Head & shoulders above the others.

Make sure you buy the reducer pack for the 9 month old !!

Halfords seem to offer them for about

Does the Fabia vrs have ISOfix things in it or can I use a normal child seat.

Not very up with these things due to being blonde.

Does the Fabia vrs have ISOfix things in it or can I use a normal child seat.

Not very up with these things due to being blonde.

I would be suprised if it didnt.. isnt is mandatory these days anyway? :confused:

i had a look at the recaro for my daughter ,15 months old and i felt it was no good.

For a start you need a booster pack which was just xtra padding{halfords did'nt even know what it was}, in an impact i could'nt see it doing much, so in the end opted for Maxi Cosi as it is very easy to fit and solid-no sideways movement when fitted. Great seat and also reclines, although i must admit my little girl can- and does slip her arms out of the chair, 15 months going on 15

Steve