Mothercare Sport review

The Sport features a soft padded insert, chest and buckle pads, side-impact protection and five recline positions.

In addition to this the Mothercare Sport has a removable soft padded head support cushion, a 5-point harness and, for those inevitably messy journeys, a removable, washable cover.

The first thing I noticed about the Mothercare Sport car seat when I lifted it out the box is how light it feels – at 6.8 kg this seat is easy to remove from the box, so I’m guessing it’ll be easy to carry to the car (more on that later)!

What we love

The Mothercare Sport has deep, wide wings with side impact protection, a body support cushion for younger children, a head cushion and chest and buckle pads for comfort, so when at the lower end of the weight bracket, it looks like babies would be comfy and cushioned.

The Mothercare Sport car seat is indeed very easy to carry to the car due its weight and also very easy to install due to its simple system. The Sport is installed using the seatbelt. The seatbelt guides ensure you get them in the right place and that it is easy to install the seat correctly.

The recline on the Mothercare Sport is very practical. The product info says it ‘reclines on its own axis and has built-in locking clips to maintain the tension of the belt’ - what that means to you and me is that once in the car your seat is fixed and requires no fiddling at all to recline, just one very simple and easy to pull leaver and your little one can snooze in comfort. Unlike some seats I have used in the past, this reclines quietly and easily, so you don’t wake your sleeping child.

Whilst not being massively innovative or radical in anyway the Mothercare Sport feels like a decent car seat, the cover is removable to hand wash (but you do have to take all the straps off to do it) and the harness is adjustable (again by taking the straps off). This car seat seems to do the job it is intended to do without any frills, and it is covered by a two-year guarantee.

What to watch out for

When your child is around the 1-year age they’ll still need the cushion insert in the Sport, which makes it a cosy place to sit. However, when nearer 2 or 3 (depending on the size of your toddler) you could need to remove the seat insert. Freya is a tall 2 year old so we took the seat insert out. Without this, it is not such a comfy seat - you can feel the holes in the plastic moulding through the thin foam.

This seat is very red - if you like the colour then that’s great but it only comes in this shade.

At £99.99 the Mothercare Sport is by no means one of the pricier seats on the market. However I think you can get more for your money comfort-wise in this market at that price. However, at the time of writing, the Mothercare Sport was on offer for £49.99, which I think is a much more realistic price for this basic seat.

The instructions are behind the padding above the straps (for those of you who, like me, spent a while looking for them).

Who is the Mothercare Sport car seat for?

Parents after a fuss-free seat for grandma’s car.

MadeForMums verdict

The Mothercare Sport has little that can confuse but not much remarkable to distinguish it. If you can secure it at the discounted price, then it’s a bargain no-fuss option, but not the most cushioned ride for older toddlers.