Maxi-Cosi Kore Pro i-Size Review

Quick Summary: The new Kore Pro i-Size from Maxi-Cosi is a great looking high back booster tested to the latest safety regulations. Not only is it safe and comfortable for the child, with the bamboo fabrics and soft padding, it has the innovative feature of ClickAssist to help independent children get fastened into their seats without any help. Whether you are travelling day or night, or have them on a row with two other car seats it's a really handy feature. We love that there's no maximum weight, so you can continue to use the seat right up to the 150cm limit.

As the development for the i-Size regulations advance, we are now starting to see a trickle of high back boosters being tested to these higher safety standards. It's great to see seats for older children available under the R129 regulation. We're taking a look at Maxi-Cosi's new offering - the Kore Pro i-Size.

Things we love...

The Kore Pro i-Size is a high back booster car seat tested to the new R129 regulation. Only booster seats with backrests are approved on this regulation, as it offers all-important protection to the child's head and body. This higher safety standard tests the car seat in a side impact situation, as well as front and rear collisions from the old regulations. The classification to choose the right car seat for your child has also changed from kilograms to centimetres, as parents are more likely to know the height of their child. The law states that a child should be in some form of car seat up until 135cm, but the Kore Pro i-Size has the ability to last up to 150cm, which is the same as some other European countries. It doesn't have a minimum or maximum weight limit either, which is great for larger children that still need to be in a car seat!

Helping to pass the side impact testing, the Kore Pro i-Size has glass fibre shock absorbers built into the side wings! This is combined with energy absorbing material to create the Side Protection System Plus (SPS Plus).

When fitting the Kore Pro i-Size, it can be installed either with or without ISOFIX. It is important to remove the headrests before installing to ensure that the backrest is flush to the vehicle seat. If you can't find the instruction manual, we found it hidden in a little slot at the front of the seat! If installing with the ISOFIX, then it's easy to do too, just push the buttons to release the ISOFIX arms and connect to your vehicle anchors! Easy, then put the seat belt through the guide and over the child to buckle.

Adjusting the seat to fit your child couldn't be easier, and is done with the buttons on the top of the side wings, just choose the one closest to the door. With most car seats, it is the headrest that moves up, but the Kore Pro i-Size actually moves the top part of the backrest up, along with the headrest, to suit the child. This is a great idea to get a better fit, as it also moves out to allow for an older and wider child. Because of this shape, the seat belt guide is also in a slightly different place and you feed the belt into the top of the backrest, rather than the bottom of the headrest. It does seem to stay in here better!

An intuitive feature that has been added to the Kore Pro i-Size is the ClickAssist light. This smart light comes on on either side of the seat once when it feels the weight of the child sat down and lasts for 22 seconds, you can also press it once to activate manually. It's easy to choose which side should light up by pressing the button for 3 seconds. Our testers loved this feature and were excited to get themselves in the seat and fastened in. Thanks to the cutaway sides of the seat, it's easy for them to do - whether they are getting in day or night, the buckle is well lit. We've found it handy at nightime, but also when you have three car seats on the back seat in a row. It can be confusing and difficult to reach the correct buckle, but the Kore Pro i-Size lights up that area perfectly. Although it only requires two AA batteries, Maxi-Cosi advise that the batteries last approximately 4 years of use!

We found the fabrics to be soft and padded and both testers commented on how comfy they were when travelling. Made from bamboo fibres, they help with temperature regulation. They also feature mesh fabric panels at the sides of the seat keep them cooler. The covers can all be removed and washed on a delicate 30 degrees cycle, which will definitely be needed over the course of the 8 years it could last you! 

Things to look out for...

The Kore Pro i-Size is at the higher end of the high back booster market at £199, but it does come with bags of features and top safety technology. 

Although it wasn't a problem for us while testing, the fact that you should remove the headrest of the vehicle seat before installation may cause issues if you can't remove them in your car!

Our verdict

The new Kore Pro i-Size from Maxi-Cosi is a great looking high back booster tested to the latest safety regulations. Not only is it safe and comfortable for the child, with the bamboo fabrics and soft padding, it has the innovative feature of ClickAssist to help independent children get fastened into their seats without any help. Whether you are travelling day or night, or have them on a row with two other car seats it's a really handy feature. We love that there's no maximum weight, so you can continue to use the seat right up to the 150cm limit.

If you're not sure that the ClickAssist would be useful to you and your family, then you can also purchase the Maxi-Cosi Kore i-Size for £30 less and without the handy little light and bamboo fabrics.

It's really easy to fit and it's great that you can use with or without ISOFIX depending on the car that you are using. There are small changes that set this car seat apart from other high back boosters and we love them all!