Review: Hauck Varioguard Combination Car Seat and ERF

Until recently Alfie was still in his infant carrier car seat, he's a little dot and at almost 15 months old is still in 6-9 month clothes. He still has plenty of room left in the infant carrier and although he seemed relatively content in it still, I thought it was time for a bigger car seat that let him see out of the window and engage with his toys a little more while on journeys.

The Science

The scientist in me felt the need to reserach the safest car seats for my boy. I read papers about extended rear facing (erf), something that is not widely discussed here in the UK. Here, your baby weighs 9kg? Stick 'em forward facing, they'll enjoy it more (simply not true).

ERF is 5x safer for children under 4 and babies should ideally be rear facing until at least 2 years old, longer if possible. A babies head accounts for 25% of its body mass and is flung forward with a force of up to 300kg neck loads in a 30mph crash when forward facing. Rear facing protects a child's head, neck and spine by distributing the force along the back of the seat with up to 50kg neck loads in the same crash. Other statistics for rear facing include a 96% injury reducing effect and an 8% risk of severe injuries compared to a 77% injury reducing effect and a whopping 70% increased risk of severe injury when forward facing. 

It's not about being 'that' mum. It's about what has been proven to be safest for our children and I do hope our government change its policies to those of other European countries where children rear face until 4, or even the U.S. where babies rear face until 2.
 

 

The Features

With that in mind, I came across the Hauck Varioguard Combination car seat. At £180 it's not the cheapest of seats but it is well worth the money. It mostly appealed to me as not only does it rear face until 18kg (approx 4 years old) but it is supplied with its own Isofix base which increases its safety  aspect whilst dramatically cuting costs compared to other car seats offering the same features, similar car seats cost around £350! Using the Isofix fitting the child can rear face from birth until 18kg and there is the option of facing forward if needed, although it is recommended to rear face until the maximum limits of the seat. The Varioguard can also be fitted with a seat belt, in which case the child can rear face from birth until 13kg (approx 2 years old) and can also be fitted forward facing with a seat belt. This feature makes it ideal for use in older cars where Isofix is not available. The Varioguard comes in a range of different colours, we originally wanted all black but it was out of stock at the time so we opted for blue and black.
 

The Verdict

Alfie really does love his new car seat. He enjoys being higher which allows him to look out of the windows, including the large back window, and enjoy the view. I was a little worried when I purchased the Hauck Varioguard because I have a 3 door Renault Clio. I didn't know how easy or difficult it would be getting Alfie in and out of the seat when rear facing. In theory it sounded very difficult. In reality it's not too bad. Not as easy as it would be putting him into a forward facing seat but I simply sit on the seat next to him and strap him in that way, it takes no more time than it did fixing the infant carrier in place and I'm sure it will be much easier when I get a 5 door car!
 

Installing the car seat is also very easy when using the Isofix feature. Green and red lights indicate if it has been installed correct or incorrect - a very useful tool for someone new to Isofix car seats like myself. The isofix base is pretty heavy so moving it from one car to another might take a little effort but as it is so easily installed shouldn't be a massive issue. As yet I have not needed to test fitting the car seat using seat belts as both of our cars have Isofix. However, if anyone wanted me to test the seat belt fitting to provide feedback on ease of use and stability I am more than happy to - just comment or send me an email!

Overall we are very happy with the Hauck Varioguard, mainly because we get to extend rear face (which I didn't think was possible in our small cars!) and because Alfie is so much more content in his new seat that we haven't had to sooth him with his dummy since he has been in it!

And he here is trying out the seat for the first time. He is happy on the inside, I promise!

 

Does your child still rear face?