Kiddy Energy Pro car seat

Lani
Reviewed: 22 March 2012

I know my child is safe! Excellent service on top.

Safety

Very easy to move from car to car.

My son is happy to have his arms and shoulders free and not restricted. He can look around the side shield to see out the window if he wants to.

An older child moving to this style of seat may not enjoy the impact shield at first and would have to get used to this. You could get the writing pad toy accessory to try to make it more appealing.

Child can get hot in the seat during summer months - although I used to find this in his old car seat too.

I spent a month doing some serious reading investigating car seats when my son was ready to move out of his rear facing baby seat. I'm glad I did my research as a few months ago we had a car accident, and it was thanks to this seat that my son was not injured. On top of that I sent the car seat back to the manufacturer and they sent me a brand new seat back within a week. Excellent service. They offer to replace any car seat that's been in an accident as it's impossible to know just by looking if there could be internal damage to the seat and therefore proving it to be less effective in another crash. My insurance company would only pay £100 out for a new seat which would not have covered this and so this really is an excellent service from Kiddy.

I would recommend all the kiddy products to anyone, but from my own extensive research the Energy Pro is the safest in crash test results. (The Gurardian which adapts for an older child as well loses effectiveness in doing so) Trust me once you've had a car accident with you're baby in the back it's very scary and you realise how important these car seats are. Car seat basic standards are NOT enough. DO NOT assume because a store is selling a car seat it is safe because of safety standards - they are not set high enough. If you ever spend a bit more money on something that you can afford make it this as it really does make a difference.

yourjumbly
Reviewed: 10 August 2011

Great safety features. Really easy to fit. Innovative design

I found it refreshingly easy to fit. No faffing about with ratchets. No slotting seatbelts through impossibly small holes.

With the Kiddy car seat you effectively fit it each time you use it. It is quick and easy and means it makes a great car seat for use when you will regularly need to swap it between cars.

I felt the Kiddy Energy Pro seat would be great for taking on holiday as it is more-or-less universal and because it is astonishingly light. The seat and shield are made from a light, shock-absorbing honeycomb foam.

I did notice that when in the Kiddy Energy Pro my daughter got very stressed and would winge a lot. She looked comfortable but her arms didn't really know what to do with themselves as they were raised up above her body and over the impact shield. To aid comfort, the car seat has a reclined position for long journeys whish is very easy to use. The movement of the head-rest to provide maximum side impact protection is also incredibly easy to adjust.

The Kiddy impact shield system has been proven in stringent European tests to be even safer than the normal 5 point harness (even when fitted ISOFIX). The idea of the impact shield is that in the event of a collision, the force of the impact is distributed across a wider area of the body around the tummy. Where traditional harnesses hold the shoulders and body back during an impact, they allow the neck to loll vulnerably. The impact shield is designed to allow the upper body to tilt naturally through the spine, neck and head and to reduce the force through the neck.

Despite knowing all of these reassuring things, it is a big mind shift to accept that a harness-free car seat is as safe as others. For the first week I kept looking back at my daughter to make sure she was OK! Once I had settled into the idea of the impact shield, I began to see the great qualities that the Kiddy Energy Pro has to offer.

jude darby
Reviewed: 24 February 2011

fab car seat, so easy and best for safety

a well-priced, safe, stylish seat that is comfy and very easy to use. loved it so much we got another one for the other car. top in Which safety tests.

babies might need to get used to it

If you want to recline it, you need to unplug the seatbelt.

after much research we chose this seat for top safety ratings and were not disappointed. in fact we were so pleased that we got another one in a different colour.

it's so light to move and carry between cars (we got the other one because at 6am I tend to go to work and forget that my other half needs the car seat!) and it is really easy to use, just pop the impact shield in the slots, thread seatbelt through, plug in and pull tight. can't really get it wrong.

there is very good side protection, as well as reduced risk of whiplash due to baby's shoulders being free to move forward as well as just the head. less restricting than a seat with a harness. a bar at the back pulls out for the recline position, we just use it for a long trip.

because of the shield just slotting in at the front, you don't need to adjust for different thicknesses of clothing like you do with a harness, and it can accommodate a sleeping bag. the baby can use the top of the shield as a table, toys can attach to the shield as there is an elastic strip. you can get special toys as accessories, though we haven't as yet.

washable covers, shield just wipes clean. you can get cool summer covers and also apparently heated ones for winter that plug into the lighter socket!

competitively priced with other quality seats e.g maxi cosi, and doesn't need a base or isofix.

looks very cool and comes in nice colours! we have blazer red and blackberry (pinkish purple).

love this seat and would recommend to anyone