What fits in a Saab 9-3?

[Underachieving]

My darling partner is all full of the joys of spring, he's come home with a 2000 (W plate) Saab 9-3 S turbo. Was a bargain I'm told, a lot faster than it looks, full service history... Oh yes, he's in love (I wont see him for a week now I bet).

Our car seat doesn't fit it. That's Ok, I hate our car seat anyway (Mama's & Papas Primo Viaggio, everyone hates those it seems). So I thought I'd look some seats up online and find a new one.

One problem...

I can not find a single baby seat for a 5 month old that fits the rear seats (got to be the rear seats) of a Saab 9-3 from 2000.

Not one.

I can find a few from 9 months, but that means I have 4 months of doing ALL the driving and never leaving her with him- No Deal!!!!

Mummsnetters can you help?

[Habbibu]

Can you not drive the Saab when you're leaving the baby with your partner?

[sazm]

whats the reason the baby carseat wont fit?
does it have iso-fix?

[mischiefmummy]

Think our Britax was fine in the back of our Saab (same model and age) but sadly stolen and wrecked beyond belief! He's right, it is a lovely car to ride in and drive. Still miss it three years on!
Hope that helps.

[Underachieving]

Thanks so much everyone for your help.

Just swapping cars wont work. For lots of different reasons we do really need both cars to be able to carry baby, one way or another.

The M&P Primo Viaggio thing we have is the big discontinued one, which goes up to 4 years old. It wont fit the Saab because:

1. The seat tilts it up too high, she looks like she's half way down a drop slide (photo from google)
   
2. The rocker bits (the parts the car seat stands on, if you know what I mean) are wider than the depression in the seat.
   
3. The seatbelt wont go round the back of it.
   
4. It doesn't fit into the (tiny) space behind the drivers or front passengers seats. You would have to have those seats on full lock forward to cover this point and we're not that short!
   
5. If you try to use it with the optional Primo Viaggio base the base just makes it even worse on points 1 & 3.
   

• So in all, it's pretty much a dead loss!
  

According the the Britax fit finder they've got nothing which fits the Saab for a baby under 9 months so if you can remember what model it was, or even show me a similar one I'll get back into town tomorrow and try it out because fit finder lists aren't always right.

[Underachieving]

Oh and, we are not actually sure if it has isofix or not.

[PoledrathePissedOffFairy]

I used a Britax First Class in a 55 plate Saab 9-3 Sportwagon, if that's any use.

God, | loved that car! My only regret about having DD3 is losing my Saab.........

[Underachieving]

Actually the Britax First Class Plus would be my first choice of carseat if I could have anything I wanted. That's 2 people saying Britax, I am gonna go back to the shop tomorrow and physically try it. This is really helpful input, thanks Mumsnetters, keep it coming.

[Underachieving]

In case anyone else with a bloody Saab similar car searches this at a later date then the answer is...

MaxiCosi Cabriofix with the Easyfit base.

The 2000 Saab 9-3 does not appear on the MaxiCosi fit-finder thing, their fit finder only goes back to 2002 but the local Saab dealer says there should be no difference in the rear seats between 1998 and 2002 in the Saab 93.

Halfords said the MaxiCose did not fit, either with or without the EasyFit base but after installing and removing a freinds one more times than I care to recount DP and I are perfectly convinced Halfords lad was doing it wrong. We believe it fits properly, securely and exactly according to the instuctions. So Saab say it should fit, MaxiCosi almost say it should fit and we say it does, but because of the Halfords anomaly then please do satisfy yourself and do not just take my word for it!

[Fenouille]

Sae this a bit late but this is the solution we found for our (who am I kidding? MY) Saab 9-5. Saab's before 2002 don't have isofix (and you also can't disable the front airbag).

Anyway, I think YABU because Saab's are lovely and I love mine too, so there