amill

I really wanted this seat based on looks and price. My only issue is that after researching the seat, it's major downfall is lack of legroom for "taller" infants. My son was in the 80th percentile for height @ 6 months and wearing 12 month pants by 7 months. Does anyone with the Recaro performance ride convertible have any issues with a taller child and rear facing? I want to keep him rear facing as long as possible. I also read that since the recaro is a taller seat, it can be tough to get a child in and out of it without lifting them very high, almost to the top of the door frame. Any truth to this? Just looking for input as the Recaro looks the best by far and was what I wanted since I found out we were having a boy.

I'd like to get the Recaro for my car at least. We don't use it as much to haul us around due to lack of space. So we plan on getting a seat with more legroom such as the Chicco Nextfit, or possible a Clek foonf for her SUV.

Thanks.

echodigital

I have been using the Britax Marathon car seat. I have noticed that if the car seat is rear facing, it can limit how far the front seats can go back. If your significant other is 5' 9" or greater, it can be a tad uncomfortable. Britax is a pretty good company. If it's good enough for the royals, it good enough for us...

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/arti...king-home.html

Note: When installing, you need to take out plastic part (covering front seat rails at back) and connect it to the top tether of the car seat (Swedish RF Tethering).

http://carseatblog.com/12749/how-to-...facing-tether/

Hope this helps!

BDoggPrelude

I have the Recaro Euro seat and the height is my only complaint. We had to turn the seat around at 16 months because she was out of leg room facing backwards. In all fairness, we had to turn around the EvenFlo seats in my wife's TL and my Mom's Accord at the same time. We used to have the Recaro facing backward in the middle seat, (on the hump), and it rendered the back window nearly useless. Now that it's facing forward, I moved it to the driver side window seat and rearward visibility is MUCH better. I would prefer to have the car seat in the middle as it is the furthest away from a side impact, but I feel like it's the lesser of two evils. The safest option is the one that doesn't involve being in an accident in the first place and that requires having optimal outward visibility. Would I purchase the seat again? Probably. Would the height issues of the Recaro seat make me at least consider other options? Most definitely. Hope this helps.

speedsnice

I had Recaro seat in my 2014 TL, it's a tight fit. My daughter is 4 months old, in the rear facing position it does not recline enough. I currently have the seat stored at home and I am using a Graco seat for now until I can put the seat in a forward facing position.

amill

Thanks for the input guys. We shopped Britax for my wife's Grand Cherokee, but after reading on car-seat.org and some other review sites, it seems they have shortened the height of the shells in the last few years, meaning less time spent rear facing. Shoulder height is only 16.75 inches, and my son is already 13" shoulder height @ 8 months. I'm sure he's going to grow 3" before he's 2. lol. The Recaro, Chicco Nextfit and Maxi-cosi Pria 70 seemed to offer the taller rear facing heights. We got a Nextfit for the Cherokee and it is quite large. I tried it in my car and it took up too much room as the back is very curved, instead of straight.

I picked up a recaro performance ride and figured I'd give it a shot. Apparently it's fine for the kids to sit with their legs crossed or over the sides when they are older. Plus it seems most kids feet touch the back of the seat before they are even a year old.

The seat installed fine with one of those foam noodle spacers, to adjust the angle of the base, since the TL backseat is very sloped. The seat is tall, but I have it in the passenger side of the vehicle, so it doesn't interfere with my rear view much. As far as putting the seat in the middle, most manufacturer's advise against it as the latch anchors are spaced further apart since there isn't a dedicated set in the middle. The latch points also point away from each other if you use the middle instead of toward each other, which can cause issues with how the seat performs in a collision.

I think I've researched and found out more than I care to know about car seats in the last few days.

If anyone is shopping for one, I highly suggest www.car-seat.org for information.

C8N

My daughter was and still is at 90% in height.
We went thru Graco, Britax and now she is on boosters at 54 months.

Can't quite remember at what age but she quickly outgrew the Graco rear facing and she hated being rear faced which is when we switched over to Britax. I think it was about 3 and 1/2, when she hated being strapped-in in 3 pt seat and because of her height, we were able to get away with a booster since then.

I realize safety is of ultimate importance but within reason, you kind of have to adapt. When she is crying constantly when in the car, you just have to do something about it.

The reason why say this, every child development is different. Some develop faster and the important thing you have to consider regarding rear facing or front facing is the child's ability to handle the weight of his/her head. Having said that, rear facing is the safest position so weigh your circumstances carefully when deciding.

Sorry for going off tangent a bit here.

amill

Makes sense. I'm looking to keep him rear facing as long as possible. The seat we got for my wife's jeep, which we use most of the time we all go somewhere accommodates 40" height for rear facing. That should take us well into 3 years rear facing.