Cosatto Acorn All Stages i-Size 360 review

When it comes to pricey purchases for babies, toddlers and even older children, a good car seat can be a big hit to the parental wallet. So you can certainly see the appeal of the Cosatto Acorn All Stages i-Size 360, which promises not only fantastic safety standards, but (as the name suggests) can be rotated from rear to front facing, and adapts for use for children aged up to 12. This could obviously mean big savings, as, prior to testing one, my little boy was already on his second car seat, and would have easily required a third to see him through pre-school and beyond.

The Cosatto Acorn All Stages i-Size 360 is nominally £199.95 (although you also have to buy the Acorn 2 Rotating Family Base, which is also £199.95). This puts it at a much higher price point than some of its other rotating competitors (such as the Joie Spin 360, at around £150), but of course, its beauty is that it will last. While many other seats only really cater up to four years, the Cosatto Acorn All Stages i-Size 360 goes from 40cm (newborn) right up to 150cm (approx 12 years old).

Testing the Cosatto Acorn All Stages i-Size 360

My little boy Elliot (29 months) tested the smart meadow green version of the Cosatto Acorn All Stages i-Size 360 in my rather snug Seat Ibiza. He’s previously had a Nuna arra flex car seat aimed at newborns, and more recently upgraded to front-facing in a Graco 360 model.

The parcel was securely wrapped and everything was pretty simple to get out, with the smaller components of the seat nestled inside (we were unable to test out the newborn baby-sized padding for obvious reasons!)

The main downside of the set-up was the instructions – some diagrams would have been immensely helpful rather than infuriatingly small written instructions, especially when, due to the nature of the seat, there are so many different options depending on your child’s age. That said, once we’d squinted at the booklet enough, the set-up was straightforward, as ISOFIX installation generally is. I do love the comfort of the green ‘hurrah, you’ve done it right’ panels, especially when sleep-deprived!

In general, the safety of car seats was one of my more prominent anxiety dreams during pregnancy (good old hormones, eh?) and it was further spiked by NCT sessions warning of the dangers of not getting it right. So, I have been deeply reassured by Cosatto’s emphasis on safety and the rigorous testing the Acorn All Stages i-Size 360 has undergone. It is tested to the latest R129/04 standard and in line with ADAC.

Like most toddlers, Elliot’s travel motivation is quite varied. On good trips, such as the frequent ‘trick naps’ we use the car to generate most days, he seems calm and comfortable, his little head resting against the headrest without a care in the world. This is probably because, after safety, the main emphasis of this car seat is on comfort, with anti-slip chest and tummy pads and a side impact protection system designed to cushion from all angles.

On the more challenging drives, we’ve found the buckle can be quite hard to do up because of the large amounts of padding surrounding it – if you’re wrestling a small child these can get in the way of the clasping mechanism, compared to our old Graco 360 car seat. In fact, even with a compliant child the clasp can be quite tricky to secure, and doesn’t always make a ‘click’ sound to reassure you it’s gone in.

As mentioned, this model's key appeal for me is its adaptability. It boasts 12 positions to adjust the headrest, and transitions into a high-back booster seat. It also rotates in all modes, including booster seat, to help you get them in and out of the car without too much faff, which has been brilliant for saving our backs. It also offers four recline positions, and the cover is machine washable (a particular relief if you’ve chosen the pretty-but-pale beige ‘whisper’ model).

Final verdict

Obviously, for a truly fair test, it would have been ideal to trial this product over the whole period from newborn to 12 years, but then you’d be waiting an awfully long time for the results! What I will say is that having a seat that will adapt as he grows, and not having to replace it again, takes some level of mental load off. And it’s also worth considering the environmental impact of having only one seat per child – after all, we’re not encouraged to sell or gift second-hand car seats, so many end up in landfill. Not only that, but the brand offers a ‘buy back’ service too, refurbishing and recycling old travel systems and giving you vouchers in return.

This seat would be a great investment (or even a generous gift!) for new parents who want one car seat to see their child through, from leaving the hospital to starting secondary school – sob – and potentially a bit beyond. Any later and you might not see the benefit of the higher cost, when you add in the rotating base too.

Lizzy Dening is an award-winning journalist and content editor. She is currently a content editor at Bauer for health and fitness, across titles including heat, Closer, Bella and Yours. She’s mum to a little boy, and they - plus her husband and ridiculous Burmese cat - live in Peterborough. Since having Elliot she has started noticing the colour of neighbourhood cars, has a favourite member of the Paw Patrol (Zuma) and is permanently frustrated by the limitations of fashion for little boys (must it all be blue?).