Fitting a car seat in a Fiat 500

[ZoeBarker]

Hi,

I am expecting my first baby in August and have had my Fiat 500 for 2 years. Having read mixed reviews I am now in a muddle. The pushchair problems I can overcome...now I have issues with car seats.

I occasionally use my Fiat 500 to take my nephews (both 2yrs) out. I find it a struggle to fit the larger car seats in the back. The only way to do so is to put one rear seat down and put the seat in at an angle through the boot upside down. It is then another struggle to get the boys in the car seat as the passenger seat does not fold or slide forward enough to be able to easily lift the boys in - I end up twisting myself around the car door and almost throwing them in - safely of course ;-). By the time I need a larger seat I will have upgraded as I am familiar with struggle - that or the car seat will stay in the car and I will continue to contort to get the baby in!

The buggy doesn't worry me so much as I can always store it on the passenger seat or boot. What worries me is that I will not be able to put the car seat complete with baby in at an angle through the boot. I considered using the front seat with airbag turned off but have been put off by claims that this is unsafe as manufacturers cannot guarantee that the airbag will not activate. I would probably invest in an isofix base to make things a little easier but my question is.....

Has anyone experienced a newborn, a car seat and a Fiat 500 before and how frustrating have you found it - I love my car to bits but is it worth the hassle every day? I can imagine my patience will be thin as it is without my beloved car causing problems.

Help much appreciated!

Zoe :-)

[lagoonhaze]

Im not going to be much help im afraid except to say please dont put a buggy in a passenger seat or footwell. In an accident it will become a lethal missle and could kill/ seriously someone no matter how wedged in secure it becomes. ...same with splitting seat and any objects in boot.

I think the manufacteurs are covering themselves about the airbag to be honest. I read someone recently that there have been no reported incidents of deactivated going off since some date in the 90s. This was probably on an extended rearfacing page. If I see it again I will link it.

[lagoonhaze]

If you do stick with the car the britax babysafe is one of the most generous infant carriers size wise.

[Buba2012]

Or look at an extended rear facing seat from birth like the klippan kiss or cybex Sirona. Look at incarsafetycentre.co.uk :)

[ZoeBarker]

Thank you Lagoonhaze, I took this advice from other threads - your advice makes sense! So it seems a pushchair and a baby are probably a no no with a 500 sadly.

Bran - yes I recognise this method - I am 5'1" littlen but I still find it difficult to get in this way although this is with the car seat so may be why - a booster and normal seat belt may be easier to handle which is good news for the future!

Thanks for all your suggestions, isofix looks likely but Fiat 500 still questionable, very sad to say :-((

[nicm]

I would double check the air bag thing. I had a rf car seat in the front of my car when I could switch the airbag off myself, but when I wanted to get it switched off by the garage on another car the road safety guy advised against this. So if you can do it yourself it might be ok?

[ZoeBarker]

nicm - that is a good point, I may contact fiat directly to ask, I suppose there wouldn't be much point in being able to turn it off yourself?! I will try to find out, thank you!

[KatAndKit]

cybex sirona is suitable from birth to age 4. No idea if it will fit in the back of your car, but if it does, it has a swivel system so you can turn it sideways so it will be easier to load in the baby. Unfortunately the seat will have to stay in the car, but it is impossible probably to find a seat that will go in with baby in it through the door.
A quinny zapp xtra is suitable from birth and folds up tiny, try and see if one of those will go in your boot. As said above, don't leave a buggy lying around in the passenger area of the car.

[KatAndKit]

the cybex site says it is compatible with a fiat 500. it doesn't mean it will recline enough though so might not be suitable from newborn. You really need to go to a good place to see if you can get a seat fitted.

If i were you I'd change cars to a 5 door. Even if you can get a baby in yours, the baby will grow and you'll end up having to change soon enough anyway.

[Cantbelieveitsnotbutter]

I've a car smaller then a 500.
I used to put baby in and out over the boot, e.g boot open lean over the boot and put baby in the back. I'd also leave the seat in and just take baby out. Tbh I found the seat AND baby too heavy to lift anyway, so it's what I did even with 5dr cars.
I had a petit star zia, fitted in the boot as the front wheel pops off. Although I'm sure there's lots of 'prettier' buggies that do the same now.
Once I'd worked out the practical side the little car was easier to live with then the 'family' cars.

[auntiefable]

My daughter's nearly 3 and we've had a 500 since she was born. We had an isofis base and maxi-cosi car seat as a new born, fitted behind the front passenger seat. It was a bit of a struggle, at times, to get the seat in place but once you get the knack, works perfectly well. There were only about 2 buggies that would fit in the boot and the one we used was massively heavy but there seem to be more lightweight ones now. It really can be done! Enjoy your new baby!

[jesp]

what did you end up getting. Did the cybex sirona fit?