Any recomendations for a REAR facing seat

[icarriedawatermelon2]

for a 1 year old baby, Renault Grand Senic with underfloor storage 2007 model.

[thisisyesterday]

britax 2 way elite.

has no support leg, so underfloor storage not an issue.
harnesses to 25kg RF or FF.
light, easy to fit/move.

[greentig3r]

We have the Concord Ultimax- can be rear facing till 18 mths I think.

[brachy]

Two Way Elite!
Just got ours. DS seems very happy in it. He seems to prefer it to the Britax First Class si seat as he has more room.
DD has the Elite in FF mode, she is nearly 6 and still harnessed in. She says it is very comfy!

[icarriedawatermelon2]

Is there any issue with leg room for the driver if the seat is behind??

[brachy]

DH and I use the same seat position for driving so for us, the seat is set up for our driving. However, when we need to give DS more leg room, we'll move him to the passenger side and move that seat a little forwards.
If you and DH drive in different positions then I would install the seat behind the passenger.
Right now, DS is 16months and his legs are not touching the end of the car seat yet...he is bang on 50th centile. So we have a bit of time before he needs more leg room.

[thisisyesterday]

yeah, it needs to be braced against the back of the seat in front of it... so you can't move the seat at all.

we're ok as dp and I are both about the same height and can drive without having to adjust the seat.
but if you do need to adjust it then it's best to put it on the passenger side (which is, incidentally, margianlly safer anyway)

[icarriedawatermelon2]

thisisyesterday so are you saying that if you adjust the driver or passenger seat poition this effects the childseat?

[icarriedawatermelon2]

Is this the case with all rear facing seats thisisyesterday? Sorry to ask loads of questions!

[greentig3r]

Interesting thread here

[greentig3r]

www.rearfacing.co.uk/

[thisisyesterday]

yes, they need to rest against the back of the driver seat or passenger seat and then be tethered.

so whichever seat they are resting on can't be moved (unless you then re-install the child seat)

afaik all the rear-facing seats are the same

[icarriedawatermelon2]

Thanks thisisyesterday xx thanks also for the links.

[NickiAndAlex]

Not all of them have to be resting against the back of the seat in front, but the ones that don't tend to need tether straps attached to the seat in front instead. For those ones, you can always get 2 sets of tethers and set them for different lengths.

[ragged]

Wow, that makes me feel better than ever about not having a RF seat.

[thisisyesterday]

most need to touch the seat and have tether straps

the besafe can be fitted without touching the seat in front, but if it isn't touching it has to have 25cm clearance!

[thisisyesterday]

oh and also, some of the ones that don't/musn't touch the seat in front (britax hi-way for example) have a support foot too, which will be no good in a car with underfloor storage

[lenats31]

These seats are safer than FF seat even if incorrectly fitted! About the storage compartments in the footwel

The same thing counts for all forardfacing seats with a footprop. This means that a lot of FF isofix seats are fitted incorectly in cars with these rooms. The footprops penetrate the lids.

What you can do is filling out the rooms or have the lids stregnthend with a thin piece of steel.

[thisisyesterday]

some companies do sell a block you can put in the footwell too

but tbh i'd just go with the britax and avoid the extra hassle/expense! lol

[lenats31]

I would highly recommend that you see the seats before you buy one. The TWE can be installed safely in your car. The big question is really if there is enough legroom in front or not. Enough legroom for one person can still mean too little for the next person.

By seeing them IRL before buying also gives you the oppotunity to learn how to fit it correctly into your car, and you are 100% sure that it i the right one for you.

[icarriedawatermelon2]

Right after much reading my head hurts!
I think we are going to test the BeSafe Izi Combi X3 Isofix in our car..... it looks like the leg prop is wide so will be either side of the underfloor storage.

Actually sorting a seat for my 3 year old is even harder. I want a 5 point belt, Isofix and it to last a few years.....doesn't seem they sell a seat like that in the Uk! Ahhhhh!

[icarriedawatermelon2]

I think these are my options re 3 year old:

Kiddy Comfort Pro
Recaro Young Sport
Britax Evolva 1-2-3 Plus

WDYT?

[thisisyesterday]

i'd get the britax evolva. we had that for ds1 before we had to fit 3 across the back

we also have the besafe izi combi as well as our britax 2 way elite (you can see pic of both of them on my profile)

at first we were going to get 2 besafe, but couldn't fit them both in. and in hindsight I wish i'd got 2 of the britax 2 way because it's sooo much easier to fit, lightweight and less bulky.

the besafe looks nicer, but it's very upright in our car even in the most reclined position

[ramblingmum]

How heavy is your one year old? I have my dd2 who is 21months rear facing in a britax first class. It can be used rear facing up to 13kg which for a small child can be about 3y. It does not need to be fixed to the seat infront and does not have a support leg.

[hellymelly]

I have both dds (3 and 6)in the britax two way.

[icarriedawatermelon2]

Thanks ladies, sorry too busy being bashed over the head on my AIBU? thread to respond!
I think we are going to go for the besafe izi combi for our 12 month old and the britax evolva for eldest. Going to try them out first and see how they fit etc. I wish cr making would address this underfloor storage issue though, there isn't much room to store anything in there anyway! :)