RECARO Monza Nova Parent Review

I am an active, motivated mummy of 2 and a bump. I work as a teaching assistant and enjoy making a difference in peoples lives where I can. I like nothing more than family time - walking the dog on the beach, taking kids to soft play or cycling round our wonderful countryside. We are all eagerly awaiting the arrival of our new family member in May.

Quick Summary: Safety is the most important thing when we choose a car seat, and so we are very pleased that this car seat has such a high safety rating - we especially like the Side Impact protection as Jacob sits next to the car door, and so we can travel safe in the knowledge he is well protected.

Whats good?

• Really well padded
• Deep headrest for napping
• Speakers so child can listen to their own music

Whats not so good?

• No isofix so seat does move slightly
• No recline for smaller children

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First Impressions

Our car seat arrived this morning and we were very excited to open it up and have a look! Our first impressions were great! The colour is really vibrant and appealing, and the material feels almost silky smooth.

Gemma and Jacob both wanted to give it a try out, and we were pleasantly surprised by how roomy the seat was, comfortably seating a 4 year old and a 7 year old!

We will be having a go at fitting it into the car this weekend, and giving it it’s first road test!

April the 3rd 2013

After unpacking our Recaro Monza Nova car seat and the kids having a try in the seat, this weekend it was time to try fitting it in the car.

This could not have been more simple! We simply placed the seat securely on the back seat of our Ford Focus Estate and secured by feeding the seatbelt through the guide by the headrest, and strapping in!

Later in the week it was time for our first outing with the seat!

Jacob climbed excitedly into his ‘Racing Car’ seat, sat himself down and declared ‘I love this seat, it’s so cool and comfy’ – so I think he liked it! He also told us he loves the bright blue colour.

April the 12th 2013

This week we really put the car seat to the test as we were off on holiday! After loading up the car with everything but the kitchen sink (as you do) the children jumped in the car excitedly, and Jacob discovered a new plus point of his new car seat – he can pull the seatbelt round and plug it in himself! (obviously we check it too!). I think this is because the base of the car seat is a bit narrower than some so he has room to reach down and access the seatbelt socket. He loved this – ‘I am all grown up now mummy, I can strap myself in!’

On the journeys to and from our holiday destination, we got a real feel for how comfortable Jacob is in the car seat, as it was over an hours journey. He didn’t complain about wanting to get out once, which is a first so he must be happy! And he was definetley comfortable as he fell asleep, which is quite rare for him! We loved the fact that the deep ‘wings’ on the headrest meant that his head didn’t fall forward when he was asleep. but stayed back against the headrest the whole time.

April the 21st 2013

Gemma and Jacob have discovered another new feature of the car seat this week – it plays music! Gemma can attach her MP3 player to wire that is in the side pocket of the seat, and listen to her music through the built in speakers in the headrest! She loved this!

We have noticed that the seatbelt ‘guide’ slots in the headrest help the seatbelt to sit in the correct position over the child’s shoulder which is great. With some other car seats we have noticed that the seatbelt sits across the neck rather than the shoulder and is uncomfortable for the children. The Recaro Monza Nova seems to position the seatbelt in the correct position.

April the 30th 2013

This week the children went to their Nanny’s house for tea, and so we needed to swap the car seat from our car to my mums. This was really easy, simply unhook the seatbelt from the guide slot and lift from the car, then pop into the other car and re-feed the seatbelt through the guide slot again. Couldn’t be easier, and the seat is lightweight too, so no struggle at all!

With the weather being sunny one minute, then freezing the next, the kids are going from t-shirts to winter coats. This is no problem though, as the seat is wide enough to accommodate thicker clothes, it is very spacious, even for our bigger 7 year old!

May the 15th 2013

This has been a busy week for us, as baby Max decided to make a surprise early appearance! So the car seat has been busy too, with several trips to the hospital to visit me and Max, and then a trip to bring him home!

Much to our pleasure, we discovered that we can manage to fit 3 car seats in the back seat of our car, and I think this is partly due to the fact that the Recaro Monza Nova seems to have a narrower seat base than some other car seats we have tried.

Both Gemma and Jacob love the Recaro Monza Nova, and there are regular debates about whose turn it is to sit in it. This week has been Gemma’s turn, and she enjoyed riding in it to Brownies. We gave a lift to a friends daughter, who is also 7, and she had a turn too, declaring the seat was ‘really squishy for her bum, and soft on her head!’

May the 22nd 2013

Another busy week with our car seat. We have been looking at new cars, and so have taken our car seats along with us to try them in some different cars. The Recaro Monza Nova was the easiest, and lightest, of our 3 car seats to move from car to car. A big plus point.

It also continues to be the favourite car seat, and Gemma and Jacob take it in turns to sit in it. Never before have we had a car seat that the children fight to get INTO rather than out of!

May the 27th 2013

I know I have mentioned this a few times before, but being able to fit 3 car seats in the back of our car is a huge deal for us. This photo shows that we can fit the Recaro Monza Nova, a booster seat and an infant carrier in the back seat of our Focus.

Safety is the most important thing when we choose a car seat, and so we are very pleased that this car seat has such a high safety rating – we especially like the Side Impact protection as Jacob sits next to the car door, and so we can travel safe in the knowledge he is well protected.

June the 1st 2013

Beautiful sunshine here this weekend so I decided to take the covers off all the car seats and give them a wash. This proved really easy with the Recaro Monza Nova, as it was simply a case of unhooking some elastic straps, and then reattaching once the covers were dry. Really simple – big thumbs up.

We really are enjoying this car seat. It’s really comfortable for both children, and ever so spacious. Jacob pretty much sums it up with this grin!

June the 10th 2013

Gemma has had a growth spurt over the last week and so we have needed to adjust the headrest on the car seat.

This turned out to be ever so simple – there is a button at the rear of the headrest, you just push it in and pull the headrest to the required height. Gemma still has plenty of room to grow too.

There are small net pockets on the sides of the car seat. One holds the connections for your music player, and the other one has come in handy as a little pocket for toy cars, drawing pads and pens, and boxes of raisins.

Great for when you are going on a longer journey.

June the 16th 2013

This week we bought a new car, so the Recaro Monza Nova had to be transferred to its new position!

The fact it is so simple to fit was a real bonus, as we had to change it from one car to another in a small garage forecourt in the pouring rain!

But thankfully it took 2 minutes. Just unhook the seatbelt from the guide slot, take the seat out, pop in the new car and re-feed the seatbelt through the guide slot again. Job done!

June the 22nd 2013

We got thinking this week about how long the Recaro seat would last, and decided to see just how adjustable it was. As you can see, the headrest has a huge height range, so will comfortable seat a child from 3 -12 years. Great value for money!