Dad John and 3-year-old Joseph from Lincolnshire have been reviewing the Cozy N Safe Excalibur car seat…
The Excalibur is a forward-facing Group 1/2/3 car seat that can be used from 9 months up to 12 years. It has a 5-point harness to be used at Group 1 and 2 stages. The seat has four recline positions.
First impressions
In the box was the seat, infant insert, manual and special ISOFIX connectors. On initial inspection, I have to say it really looks the part and seems like a strong yet comfortable seat.
Installation
There are a few ways to fit the seat in your car, and it did seem a little confusing at first when reading through the instructions. After more or less getting my head around it, I decided to take the plunge and to be honest, it is pretty straightforward when it comes to it. I decided to go with fitting the seat with ISOFIX and then used the top tether, which hooks up to a little bar in the car’s boot to add a little more sturdiness.
Being slightly critical, I would have liked the manual to have explained each kind of fitting separately, for example, ‘Instructions for Group 2 with ISOFIX’ or ‘Group 2 without ISOFIX’, just to make it clearer as it would have saved a little bit of head scratching.
Headrest, harness and recline
The headrest is lovely and soft and is quite easy to adjust to the height required by pressing a large lever around the back of the seat situated near the top.
The harness is really easy to adjust too, with just a tap of a button and the pulling of the belt. It’s really effortless actually, whether tightening or loosening. I found it so much easier than the last seat my son had.
Buckling up did seem a little tricky though, compared to some seats I’ve tried and especially the last one we had. The two clasps that have to be inserted into the buckle are a little awkward to line up – they’re quite thin, one rests onto the other, but quite loosely and you need a steady hand. After using it for a few weeks and with a little practice, I’m beginning to gets to grips with this, though, and it is becoming less of an issue.
The seat ensures that children up to 25kg or Group 2 (approximately 6 years old) can benefit from the extra level of safety that the 5-point integral harness provides, 7kg more than the typical car seats in this category.
The recline is good. There are four positions, it’s pretty easy to do and works well with your child sitting in the seat.
Safety
The seat seems of good quality, is strong, and has side impact protection (SIP) shown by quite a big logo on the side of it, which is a reassuring thing to see for a parent. It seems like a pretty sturdy addition to our travels.
Look and feel
It’s a stylish seat, I really like the look of it. It comes in red and black or grey and black – obviously, we have the red one here! We’ve previously had black seats for my son, so it’s made quite a difference and looks really smart sitting on the back seat of the car.
It does seem extremely comfortable, my son has fallen asleep a few times already and we’ve only been on fairly short journeys.
Other features
The size of the seat and being slightly narrower than some may mean I’d be able to fit another similar seat in, leaving just enough space for another passenger in the back too, I think.
The seat is quite heavy at 11kg, so hopefully I won’t be having to take it in and out the car very often.
The RRP is £249.99, which I would say is a touch expensive, however many retailers have it available for £149, which seems pretty reasonable for what is a really nice seat which will last until your child’s about 12 years old.
Pros:
- Comfortable seat
- Great harness and headrest adjustment
- Smart styling
- ISOFIX fitting
Cons:
- Buckling up not the easiest initially
- Manual not the clearest
I would recommend this product to other parents
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