Something you may or may not know about me by now, is that when we buy things around here, we usually go on a massive researching mission first to make sure we end up with the best product at the best price. When Mack was about 12 months old and began to outgrow her baby car seat, we started scouring the internet for information about what was available. I really couldn’t imagine that there would be so much difference among all the models on the market, but when I started checking out safety reports, very few seats proved to have even remotely decent ratings…and that really scared me.

Here in Germany, there are a lot of regulations about car seats and they must meet certain European standards for them to even be allowed on the market. Sometimes I think things are a bit over-regulated here…but when it comes to the safety of your child, you really just can’t even afford to scrimp.

Of all the car seats on the market, the Kiddy Comfort Pro was the only one that really held my attention. It received some of the highest ratings of all the seats on the market (gut 2,1 from stiftungs warentest, gut from ADACmotorwelt, etc), and although it’s a bit more expensive than some of the others (about 260 euros), it can be used for children 9 months to 12 years old (9-36 kilos / 20-80 pounds).

I really wanted to write a review about this car seat earlier but I also wanted to have a bit of use behind us so I could really form an opinion. Well, after our recent accident, I definitely have a whole lot to say about this seat…and almost all of it is good.

One of the cute things about the Kiddy Comfort Pro we got is that it came with its own teddy bear…so it’s a little something special to help your kiddo take interest in it. But we honestly didn’t need to encourage Mack to try it out very hard. While it was sitting in our living room floor, she crawled all over the seat and actually seems to really enjoy sitting in it.

This particular car seat has a middle pillow that fits into your child’s lap…and this is what really makes a difference when it comes to crashes where your child would be propelled forward. This pillow prevents your child from bending too far forward in the impact and injuring their spine or neck. As you probably also notice, there is a lot of padding around the head so it can’t move very far.

The Kiddy Comfort Pro car seat is relatively light and it’s easy enough to carry the seat with one hand while your child is on your other arm. You’ll just need to go back for the pillow and any toys that are essential for your car ride. You can also lay the seat back into a reclined position for longer trips where you think your little one will want to sleep (until they weigh about 18 kilos /44 pounds). We actually never managed to use that position with ours. I tried it once in my Defender when we first got the seat and my seat belts were not long enough to fasten in this position. Stefan’s seats in the Freelander were rather deep bucket style seats and they also didn’t allow this possibility. But Mackenzie, when tired enough, rarely had trouble sleeping in the seat and would use the pillow in front of her to sprawl out on and drool all over.

In older models, including our first seat which was from 2009, a small folding pillow was also included for the bottom part of the seat. This was meant to help boost a smaller child up in the seat but apparently is not so good for kids who wiggle around a lot. We also had some trouble with Mack trying to slide out the bottom of the seat, especially when she would get really antsy. Our newer 2010 model does not seem to be as problematic and Mack has not slid down in the seat at all so far. They seem to have eliminated the removable pillow in the bottom and have just integrated into the seat itself.

The Kiddy Comfort Pro car seat has special breathable materials to help prevent heat build up and so far it seems to have worked great. Even during really hot summer days in my Defender with no a/c, Mackenzie has not sweat or seemed uncomfortable because of heat. It’s also easy enough to wash off with cloth when cookies and what not get stuck to it.

There are also some other cool add-ons for this seat, including some cooling chambers as well as a special cover for the pillow which has waterless painting pens to keep your little one occupied on the ride. We haven’t tried those out yet but I think the concept is fantastic!

Not only would I recommend the Kiddy Comfort Pro car seat to people (I already have many times since the accident, actually) but we were so impressed with its performance that we bought exactly the same seat again…just a newer version since that’s what they had at the baby store. Obviously, they wouldn’t have let us bring home Mack without one any way.

We have recently been told by the police that when they arrived on the scene, they thought Mackenzie was actually just the child of a bystander. They could not believe that she could possibly have been in that car with us because there was not a scratch on her…and she was on the side of impact. So not only are we thanking the guardian angels that were clearly with us that day…but we’re also thanking the manufacturers of this car seat. We’ve now heard about accidents at much slower speeds where the car seat was actually torn apart during the crash. If that had happened, I’m fairly certain this whole ordeal would have a much different tune.

Here’s a video from the company (no audio but apparently it would be in Dutch anyway) which shows a bit more about how the seat works and some of it’s safety features.

Unfortunately, I don’t think they sell this car seat outside of Europe but if you want one, I’ll be glad to help work out how we can get one over to you. I know it will be worth the trouble.