Best car seat for 16kg 3 year old please?

[Cydonia]

DS is 3y5m and currently still in his Britax Eclipse car seat. He hasn't reached the weight limit for this seat yet but I'm worried he is too tall for it, his head is now sticking above the top of the seat. I've been looking for a replacement, but it seems he's a bit in between the groups. I don't want him in just a high back booster with a seatbelt yet if possible as I think he's too young. But the group 1-2-3 seats seem a bit small? I know even with them he can only have the 5 point harness until he's 18kg but I think I would prefer this option. I had a look at the Advansafix but it's not suitable for my car ( plus its too pricey for us really! )
Has anyone else had a similar problem and can you recommend a good 1-2-3 seat? Or could he stay in his eclipse until he's 18kg then move to a HBB? I can't seem to find out on the internet what would be the safest option! We only have a Halfords locally that sell car seats and I'm not sure how knowledgeable they are.

[AliceMum09]

No, definitely don't listen to anything Halfords tell you!

Your son can stay in the Eclipse until he weighs 18kgs, but he has to stop using it when his eyes become level with the top of the seat if that happens before he reaches 18kgs.

I used to have a Britax Evolva 1-2-3 seat (before I knew about bigger rear facing seats, now that I do my 3 year old is in the rear facing version of the same seat, the Multi Tech II). Anyway, my son used it until he was almost 4 with the harness, I'm pretty sure that unless your son is very tall the harness on that would be OK for him to 18kgs (the headrest moves up as you adjust the harness, it's very easy to adjust you just slide a bar on the back of the seat. I assume the Eclipse is like my First Class where you have to unthread the harness to adjust it which is a bit of a pain).

It's fine to go to Halfords if you have done your own research and know what seat you want. Just use the Britax FitFinder to check if the Evolva fits your car (if you like the look of it) and watch a fitting video online before you go to Halfords.

I would avoid any of the own-brand Group 1-2-3 seats like the ones Watchdog used for their recent feature on the incorrect fitting of child seats. I know the seats didn't perform well in the crash tests because they were not fitted correctly, but I don't think they would have performed much better if they'd shown them fitted properly either! Yes they all pass the minimum safety test, but it is a very bare minimum and companies like Britax have their own testing facilities and test their seats under side impact conditions too (which the R44/04 current regulations don't).

[Cydonia]

Thank you, that's very helpful! I'll have a look where his head/eyes are tomorrow, I don't think we're quite there yet but that might determine whether I need a new seat now or whether we can wait a bit.
That's good to know about the strap adjustment on the Evolva. We've always had Britax seats because I know they're safe, but the straps on the Eclipse are a right pain!
We have a couple of fairly large independent baby shops near us, I think I'll check if they do car seats so we can go and try some. My friend has a Recaro young sport hero which I think are supposed to be good? I'm going to have a look at that too, though they are a bit expensive. Thanks again for your help.

[PennyHasNoSurname]

The Britax Two Way Elite has one of the tallest shells,and is harnessed to 25kg (non isofix) but it is pricey at £220. We have our almost four year old in it, and whilst she is tall she has a way to go yet. Weve just bought a second one for ds (12mo) to go into as I just didnt feel rught putting dd in a HBB yet when her seat has so so much more room.

[Cydonia]

I have a feeling that it wouldn't be suitable for my car, when I put it into the fit finder there weren't that many options. It is a bit expensive too, but I'll look into it, thanks.

[PennyHasNoSurname]

Its only stocked via the In Car Safety Centre so if you wanted confirmation theyd be able to advise over the phone

[Cydonia]

Thanks, I was thinking about ringing them for advice as they are too far from us to visit.