Worth the money - if you have the muscle...... (Britax Renaissance Si)

Member Name: roverp5b

Product:	Britax Renaissance Si
Date:	08/09/04 (2236 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Safe, Comfortable looking (!!), Easy to recline

Disadvantages: Very heavy, Cumbersome

At just over £130, this is not a cheap car seat. However Britax do have a reputation, stretching back many years, for producing quality, safe car seats. My parents tell me I had one when I was a bit smaller than I am today!

The seat sits the child up high, which enables them to get a better view of their surroundings. The cost to this though is that it is not very easy to get the child out of the car without hitting their head on the car roof on the way out. A lower car seat would leave more room for error. My child is only 10 months old and I cannot see how we will get them out of this seat in 2 or 3 years time without the need for some form of head protection!

The ability to alter the recline position easily (even whilst driving) is very helpful and means the child must be more comfortable on longer journeys. (No more sleeping with their heads at all sorts of odd angles)!

The covers come in a range of different patterns and colours - most of which are acceptable and they can be easily removed for washing.

The childs safety belt (within the seat) is a 5 point device which seems to hold them comfortably. It can be altered as the child grows, so the straps are always just above their shoulders.

The seat seems to fit very well in the car when you use the new "foot" device, which makes the seat more secure by exerting greater pressure against the car seat belt. The only down side to this is that if you leave the car seat in the same car for a while you are left with a very obviously mis-shaped back seat. I worry that over time this will change the shape of the back seat and affect long term comfort and possibly even the cars resale value. I am told this also makes it inadvisable to use this car seat in a car with leather seats.

This is the only car seat we have and so it is moved fairly regularly between our cars. Fitting the seat is fairly simple, though the size of it can make acessing the seat belt anch
or from the pavement a challenge. However by far the greatest problem we experience with this seat is its weight. It is a very heavy car seat and transfering it between cars is a physically demanding task - certainly not advisable for any mother expecting another child.

On the whole, it is probably worth the premium you pay for the extra safety - just as long as you don't want to move it once it is fitted, and as long as you aren't to attached to the current shape of your back seat...............

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