Silver Cross Discover i-Size car seat review

Alongside impressive safety credentials, the car seat offers multiple recline and headrest positions, as well as being made from high-quality, sustainable materials. It retails at £175, although is on offer for £125 currently, putting it at the high-end of the booster market price, alongside the Cybex Solution T i-Fix, £199.95 and Britax Romer KIDFIX i-Size, £185. It’s one of two high-back booster seats from Silver Cross; the other being the Essential Discover, £150 but currently on offer for £89, which is approved to the R44 safety standards, rather than the more recent R129 standard.

First impressions

My first impression was how heavy the box was! The current high-back booster seat we use is very lightweight and I was shocked at the weight when I picked up the Discover box. After unboxing I was instantly impressed with the quality – the padding looked really luxurious and the fabric felt very soft. I received the car seat in almond, which looked so stylish – you can tell this is a premium product straight away.

How easy is the Silver Cross Discover i-Size to install?

The trickiest part of the installation was trying to locate the instructions to start with! After taking the seat out of the box and unwrapping the plastic I couldn’t find the instruction booklet anywhere. It took a good 5 minutes to discover them on the underside of the seat – very well tucked away!

Silver Cross encourages you to download their app for instructions for a lot of their products, which I did. You’re then meant to scan the QR code on the box to take you straight to your product, but annoyingly my QR code kept showing an error message. Despite this, it was straightforward enough to find the instructions I needed on the app and installation was then very easy. Once I’d carried the car seat to my car it took less than 10 minutes to install with Isofix.

How do you install the Silver Cross Discover i-Size car seat?

The Discover i-Size can be used with a car seatbelt or with both the Isofix and seatbelt (you can check that your car is Isofix compatible on the Silver Cross website). I first tried the seat with just the seatbelt, which took no time at all.

There are green indicators on the car seat so you know exactly where the seatbelt should sit to keep your child safe and secure, and there’s a green plastic clip at the top of the seat for you to hook the belt through to keep it in place. While the seatbelt-only option was absolutely fine with my daughter using the seat, when I was driving around without a child in the seat it did rattle a little. I preferred to use the seat with Isofix as well which was very easy to do using the Isofix placers/guides included in the box. Once it was installed it felt incredibly secure and there was zero noise.

What are the key safety features of the Silver Cross Discover i-Size?

The seat is approved to the latest R129 safety standards, which immediately gave me some peace of mind. It also has a Side Protection System which cocoons your child in case of a side impact when driving. The green seatbelt indicators also make it really easy to make sure your seatbelt is sitting in the correct safety position, even at a glance. Overall the seat feels very safe – it’s weight and sturdy and definitely offers a greater level of reassurance than a more lightweight booster.

Does Silver Cross Discover i-Size have any unique features?

The Discover has adjustable thigh support, which I’ve never seen in a booster seat before. Using this with a child on the lowest end of the age range, the thigh support has been a game-changer. Usually her little legs stick out as the seat is too deep for her, but on the lowest setting the thigh support sits perfectly, finishing just behind the bend of her knee. I love that this can be adjusted as she grows. It’s very easy to do – there’s a little handle to pull underneath the seat, which is easy to access even with a child sitting in the seat.

How comfortable did your child find the Silver Cross Discover i-Size?

SO comfortable. My 4 year old loves sitting in this seat and regularly tells me how comfy it is! The padding feels very luxurious and the extendable thigh support adds an extra level of comfort. I also like that the seat can be reclined ­– in our usual booster seat if my daughter falls asleep on a long journey her head tends to fall forward, but the recline stops this from happening. My 7 year old also tried out the car seat and found it very comfortable too.

How well did it work with different-aged children?

I feel like this is such a great car seat for my 4-year-old as it has the scope to really grow with her. The headrest was the perfect height at the lowest setting and the thigh support was ideal at the lowest setting. While on first impressions I thought the seat would be too narrow and shallow for her, it is deceptively spacious, and she has so much space to grow into.

My 7-year-old tried out the seat for one journey and it’s clear the seat has room for him to grow into it too (if my 4-year-old would let him use it more often that is!). There are side insert cushions which you can remove to give more space as your child grows. I do wonder if the thigh support, even on its longest setting, would end up being too short for an 11/12-year-old though.

How robust does the car seat feel?

Very. This certainly feels like a car seat made to last and I can see us getting many, many years of use out of it. The materials used for the seat and padding are very high quality and the overall build feels sturdy and secure. My only concern is how well the almond shade will fare with my active and often muddy children. Perhaps the darker Cedar and Space colourways may be a better choice for parents in the same boat as me!

How easy is it to clean?

The seat covers – which are made from recycled plastic bottles – are removable and can be washed in the machine on a delicate cycle at 30 degrees using a mild detergent. As we haven’t had the car seat long enough to get it stained or muddy just yet I can’t vouch for how well a spot clean would work, although Silver Cross does refer to this as an “easy clean” material.

How do you find it to carry around?

The car seat weighs 7.1kg and comes with the Isofix fittings attached. This seems to be fairly standard for high-backed booster seats covering this age group, however, I am used to very lightweight models like the Graco Logico L i-Size R129 car seat (3.4kg) and the Joie i-Trillo (4.43kg) so the Discover i-Size felt very weighty in comparison. It’s not really a car seat you’d want to swap between cars regularly.

How does it compare to previous Silver Cross car sets?

The Discover i-Size is the first i-Size high-back booster seat from Silver Cross. The Essential Discover booster is R44 and not i-Size.

How does the Silver Cross Discover i-Size compare with other booster seats or Group 2/3 seats you’ve used?

As mentioned earlier, I’ve used both the Graco Logico L i-Size R129 and the Joie i-Trillo boosters. These are both budget options compared to the Discover and both are very lightweight – something we were specifically looking for as often had to switch the car seats between cars. Neither of these reclines and both use seatbelt-only installation.

The difference in quality is clear, through the padding and side impact system, as well as the luxurious touch materials. While I had no issues with the safety of the other car seats we used, the Discover does seem to feel more substantial and robust. I think the only thing that lets the Discover down compared to other high-back boosters I’ve used is that there is no cup holder or option to buy one. My 4 year old loves a cup holder so this is a bit of a disappointment for her!

What’s in the box?

• Discover i-Size car seat
• Isofix plastic guides
• Instructions

What did you think of the packaging?

I really like that the packaging was minimal, yet effective. The car seat came in a large plastic bag (non-recyclable), inside a car seat-shaped cardboard box – which we were able to recycle after the kids had fun colouring it in. The Isofix plastic guides were connected with a plastic cable tie, which was also non-recyclable.

How sustainable do you think the Silver Cross Discover i-Size is?

The Discover uses what it describes as “sustainable eco fabrics” made from recycled plastic bottles. The lining is made of bamboo, which is another great sustainable material. What I really love is that Silver Cross run a car seat recycling programme, so your car seat doesn’t end up in landfill. They even come and collect it for free and state that every single part of it will be recycled. I wish more companies did this. https://www.silvercrossbaby.com/recycle-your-silver-cross-car-seat

What are the repair options for the Silver Cross Discover i-Size?

The Discover i-Size has a 2-year warranty against manufacturing faults, but if you register your product via the app you receive an additional 1-year free warranty. This is from the date of purchase and is against manufacturing faults and material defects when the product is used correctly according to the instructions. You need to keep proof of purchase

What would you have wanted to know before purchasing the Silver Cross Discover i-Size?

I would have wanted to know where to find the instructions to begin with! Also, the car seat doesn’t include a cup holder, as it’s a biggie for us, and it’s a lot weightier than other boosters we’ve used.

Who would the Silver Cross Discover i-Size be most useful for?

Anyone who is looking to invest in a high-back booster chair with serious longevity. The Discover’s adjustable headrest and thigh support, as well as the removable side cushion inserts really does make this a great choice from 4 up and it’s certainly designed to last.

Is the Silver Cross Discover i-Size worth the money?

It’s at the pricier end of the high-back booster seat market but I really do think it’s worth every penny. Everything about the Discover feels premium and it’s clearly made to last. It also ticks all the boxes for safety. It gets a massive thumbs-up from me.

Where can I buy the Silver Cross Discover i-Size car seat?

Available from Silver Cross, Amazon and John Lewis.

MadeForMums verdict

If you’re looking for a next-step high-back booster for your 4-year-old, the Discover is an excellent option if you have the budget. It offers all the safety features you’d expect or hope for, making the tradition from traditional car seat to booster feel less nerve-wracking, and has the added bonus of looking great too. With plenty of adjustable features, it’s designed to grow with your child and, although we can’t imagine our daughter using it when she’s 12, I can see us getting many years’ worth of use out of the Discover.