Known for their innovative and safety-conscious pushchairs and car seats, the latest offering from Cybex, the Pallas G I-Size, builds on previous models and incorporates important safety features, such as the impact shield, for an I-Size group 1/2/3 car seat and gives parents an impressive 10 years of usability.
My little tester and I were very excited to try out this exciting new chair and find out whether the functionality lived up to the hype.
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Cybex Pallas G I-Size review: appearance
On opening the Cybex Pallas G I-Size car seat I was impressed by its smart appearance. The Pallas G is full of fantastic features (more on those later), which does mean it is quite a large car seat, but it still looks sleek and stylish. Ours came in a deep navy colour which happened to match our car perfectly – always a bonus – and it actually comes in eight different colours to choose from. It feels reassuringly well made, although it took me a few minutes to locate the instruction manual, which is a little too cleverly hidden under the central seat fabric.
The Cybex Pallas G I-size is a forward-facing car seat and therefore only suitable for children from 15 months old, but it can then be adapted for children up to 150cm and 50kg (approx 12 years).
Cybex Pallas G I-Size review: Installation
Like all new car seats, the Pallas G I-Size is installed with ISOFIX and should never be adapted or used without the ISOFIX, so always double check your car has anchorage points. We found installation an absolute doddle, taking less than five minutes. To start you unhook the top tether belt from the seat and pop it into your car. Next you extend the ISOFIX arms as far as they can go by pressing the buttons on each side of the seat and attach them to the anchorage points in your car until they click and the indicator on each side turns from red to green. You then push the car seat back until it’s as close to the vehicle seat as possible, you may need to raise or remove the headrest to do this.
The Pallas G also connects with a top tether belt which you need to pass over the seat (never the headrest) and hook onto your top tether point. We found ours on the back of the seat in the boot, but it can be on the ceiling or the floor. You then tighten the belt until the indicator turns green.
One of the amazing safety features on this chair is the Linear Side-SIde Impact Protection (L.S.P.), which is built onto both sides of the chair. This can decrease the force of a side impact by up to 20%, compared with a non-L.S.P. chair. However, it does take up a little extra space on each side and, depending on your car and the amount of car seats you have in the back, you may find that you need to remove it from one or both sides. To do this you simply locate the release button on the inside of the fabric and push. The L.S.P. will then pop off. We were able to keep them both on in the back of our Volvo XC40 with one other car seat in the back.
Cybex Pallas G I-Size review: Comfort and features
Possibly the stand-out feature of the Cybex Pallas G I-Size is the impact shield. This clever piece of tech scores highly in the ADAC test in keeping a child safe and secure while forward facing. In a frontal collision, the shield works by having the child roll naturally over it and distributing the impact force over its large surface area (almost like an airbag). This reduces strain and neck injuries by up to 40% (!) and protects their heads too. If you are keen to move your child into a forward facing seat as soon as you safely can (at 15 months), an impact shield provides an extra level of safety and reassurance. It also has the added bonus of being tougher to press, so children are unable to unbuckle it themselves. Our tall 110cm three-year old was a little bit too big for the impact shield, but we will definitely be using it with our one-year old in a few months.
To use the seat without the impact shield, you simply remove both buckles of the shield and lift it off. You can then route the vehicle seat belt around your child and feed the lap belt through the green lap belt guides and the shoulder belt through the green shoulder belt guide. There’s a large button on the back of the headrest to adjust it and it’s just a case of sliding it up and down.
As well as sitting, Pallas G I-size can be put in a reclined-lying position by pressing a button on the underside of the front booster and sliding the seat gently forward. However, it was the patented reclining headrest which really impressed us. It can be put in three different positions (all you need to do is pull it forward or lift it and push it back) and this prevents your child’s head from slumping forward when they are napping in the seat. This seat also has an integrated air cooling system which stops kids from getting sweaty on even very hot days. Our little tester was very happy and comfortable in the seat and his head was really well supported whether awake or snoozing. We have struggled with some car seats in the past as our child suffers from motion sickness and he can find some of the larger seats a bit bumpy, but the Cybex Pallas G I-Size got the thumbs up.
Cybex Pallas G I-Size review: Maintenance
Speaking of travel sickness, one of the first things I check when purchasing a car seat is if the cover is machine washable and relatively easy to remove (the joys of parenting eh?). This seat cover consists of four parts (headrest, backrest, booster and impact shield) which are all removable and washable at 30°.
Cybex Pallas G I-Size review: Verdict
The Cybex Pallas G I-Size is a fantastic car seat that offers lots of comfort and safety extras for your child. The Linear Side-impact Technology does make the seat a little larger, but we loved the reassuring technology behind this and the impact shield. The reclining headrest is also a brilliant comfort and safety feature for napping tots. As it’s forward-facing, it’s not for newborns and only suitable from a minimum of 15-months, but it will see your child all the way up until (approximately) their twelfth birthday.
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