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Best Child / Infant seats

oddspyke

oddspyke

Autocross Champion
Location
Delaware
Car(s)
2016 GTI, 2018 ZL1
Anyone have any best recommendations for something that both fits and looks cool? I love the Recaro seats, but since they have pulled out of the US market, that's a non-option. Same deal with the VW branded ones; Euro only, which is a shame because the Clark plaid GTI one is awesome.

Primary concerns are safety, ability to easily install and remove, and making sure it will fit in the back of a GTI. A fixed base that can stay installed so it's easy to swap between mine and the wife's car would be a plus too.
Thanks in advance for sharing your experience, thoughts and opinions. I know there are some other threads on this, but most of them are a bit dated.
 
ReadTheBook

ReadTheBook

Autocross Newbie
Location
Bay Area Smoke Hell
Car(s)
DVP Spektrm, MK4 R32
oddspyke said:
Anyone have any best recommendations for something that both fits and looks cool? I love the Recaro seats, but since they have pulled out of the US market, that's a non-option. Same deal with the VW branded ones; Euro only, which is a shame because the Clark plaid GTI one is awesome.

Primary concerns are safety, ability to easily install and remove, and making sure it will fit in the back of a GTI. A fixed base that can stay installed so it's easy to swap between mine and the wife's car would be a plus too.
Thanks in advance for sharing your experience, thoughts and opinions. I know there are some other threads on this, but most of them are a bit dated.
Click to expand...

We have 2 MK7s and first used the Britax B-Safe 35 seat and stroller combo because it was gifted to us when we had our son. The Britax system and bases were great and fit fine in the GTI and Golf. Britax is also very well rated.

He outgrew that seat so we have a Britax Marathon in each car now. Still rear facing (and will be until he simply can't because its way more safe). It fits fine and I have it behind my drivers seat. I'm shorter at 5'6" though so it may be hard to fit that particular seat if you are much taller and want to place it behind the driver seat.

On another note, check out my thread here for a good seat protector. It's held up really well so far and is a perfect match for our cars.
https://www.golfmk7.com/forums/showthread.php?t=40203&highlight=seat+protector
 
N

nabwong

Passed Driver's Ed
We like the Diono Radian rxt. We don’t swap it out often. It’s quite easy to install and we wash the cover every so often. Feels very safe but is quite heavy. There seems to be a new version called radian 3r which is also cheaper. One plus is that you can fit 3 in a row.
 
uberpolka

uberpolka

Go Kart Newbie
Location
Portland
Car(s)
2017 GTI
I've got the Clek Fllo and love it
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01NGTVMTT/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1


It fits well in my car in the reverse seating position.



Most of all, it looks awesome. The black version I got is nearly identical to alcantara and goes VERY well in my cloth interior.



Safety wise, it's one of the best. It's also one of the narrowest car seats you can get.

It is a bit on the taller side, but again, fits well in the back of my mk7.



It will also last for a very long time as my kid grows. Weight limit is something like 50lbs.




Though for an infant seat, that won't work...


I was using a cybex aton 2 before.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00VHVIKL2/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1


Actually it's in my garage waiting for someone to buy it locally.
You can buy extra bases for the cars.


I would say both of the above are on the higher end of car seats. Safety is important, but I mostly did it for the looks/design.
 
OliverMcW

OliverMcW

New member
Location
USA
Thanks for the recommendations and the links. I'll need a baby car seat soon too and I'm considering some options but it's quite hard. So, what are your thoughts on sites where there are various reviews on baby seats? If they are trustworthy then they ease the choice. Well, imho at least. Can you check these guys out and say if you can trust them or not?
 
D

Dameon

Go Kart Champion
Location
Los Angeles
For your infant seat I highly recommend one that has a base for the car and clicks into a stroller. They spend so much time sleeping. Then look into a second seat as they get bigger. We had the britax for infant seat. The two year old is in a recaro I still have from the first kid who just moved into a clek, which are pricey but slick looking. Install them before you lose that receipt. We bought a back up one that wouldn’t fit rear facing with the passenger seat all the way forward.
 
slow12s

slow12s

Ready to race!
Location
Phoenix, AZ
I have an Uppababy Mesa in mine behind the passenger seat and tbh, I think any rear facing infant seat is going to be a bit tight...when you move on to a convertible seat, there are a lot more options to save space, but for the first 1-2 years, your child will be rear facing and it'll be easiest to have an infant seat for that period of time so you can take them in and out of the car while they remain in the car seat (and with an infant seat, there are just bases in the cars that you click the car seat into...the car seat can also be clicked into a stroller)...some people just buy a convertible seat from the beginning, but then you are leaning into your car and buckling/unbuckling every time you go anywhere and they like to sleep (and you'll find that you won't want to disrupt that all the time)

I tried the car seat in the middle of the back seat area and it gave both my wife and I more legroom, but moved it behind the passenger side because technically the middle isn't allowed to be used with the LATCH system and when using the seat protector that I have for the car seat, both sides rear seatbelts are blocked so I wouldn't have been able to have rear passengers (and my wife wouldn't have been able to drive back from the hospital in the back seat)

So we have it behind the passenger side and my wife is 5'1" so it works ok...I would say someone could be comfortably a couple inches taller than that and have the rear facing infant seat behind them, but any taller and you will need to put it behind the passenger, in the middle, or be uncomfortable (or look towards a convertible seat)
 
M

mattkosem1

Ready to race!
Location
OH, US
We also use the Diono Radian RXT. Fits nicelyand keeps our kiddo safe and comfortable.

--Matt
 
Charlotte.:R

Charlotte.:R

Autocross Champion
Location
Charlotte
Car(s)
'18 Golf R 6MT
We had the Chico Keyfit 30 for a rear facing infant with the detachable base. It was nice having multiple bases for grand parents and stuff. Loved it.

My wife has Recaro seats that are good until something like 65 pounds, girls will be in those until they can transition to out of car seats all together.

I had Britax and they were nicer than the Recaro seats, but didn't have the same weight range. I liked that each side tightened where as the Recaro only tightened on one side.

I have boosters now, which kinda sucks because my kids can't buckle themselves in yet.
 
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