Car seat confusion, brain fried!

[HeadlessChicken574]

I wonder if any of you kind folk can help me please. I want to buy a Group 1/2/3 car seat (universal ISOFIX), which according to the manufacturer will fit in my car. However I double checked in the handbook and it's completely contradictory. The first part says that universal ISOFIX will fit any car, but the second part suggests that only Group 1 will whereas Groups 2 & 3 require semi-universal. Am I seeing this right? It's one car seat, how can this be the case

IL-SU = semi-universal
IUF = universal

Just Google your car model and the make of car seat to see if they're compatible.

I have done @Soontobe60 - it says it would fit. However, perhaps that's because it would fit as a Group 1 but not Group 2 or 3?

Which seat is it? There are not many that are isofix all the way through that are well tested. What percentiles is your child following, as that could make a difference as to what seat is suitable.

I read that as Universal is a seat that will go in any car, but when used as a Group 1 even with Isofix will still need the seatbelt to help tether it. Semi Universal basically means the seat will only fit in certain cars. When used as group 1 with isofix it doesn’t require the seatbelt to tether it too.
My car seat is group 1,2,3 Isofix and cant be used in any car, so its semi universal.

@JC12345

Which seat is it? There are not many that are isofix all the way through that are well tested. What percentiles is your child following, as that could make a difference as to what seat is suitable.

Surely what % they follow is irrelevant, as its to do with weight / height? When you're buying a car seat for a newborn, you’ll be hard pushed to predict their size at 18 months?

I’ve tried so many. Car seats. A lot broke after about 2 years. Jolie etc.

I have cybex now. Which fit most cars. Isofix and crash tested in Germany.

Wouldn’t use anything else now

Thanks all. It's this one:
www.cosatto.com/products/judo-group-123-car-seat-mister-fox
The description says that as a Group 2 & 3 seat it's actually ISOFIT rather than ISOFIX, but ISOFIT does still use the ISOFIX points (crikey)

LO is 90th centile, which is really why I want a multi-group car seat. I'm not replacing it again in a hurry

At 90th centile you'd be better off buying an extended rear facing seat to last till they are 4 ish then a cheap forward facing booster, all of which would cost about the same but be much safer.

The percentile is really important as otherwise they'll outgrow by weight before they reach a safe age for being in a booster. Over 50th centile you're best going for a seat that rear faces to 25kg like the axkid minikid/move or britax maxway. Cosatto only do very basic testing so I'd avoid their seats.

Thanks so much, some really useful advice here. It sounds like I need to go back to the drawing board. Really glad I posted, I just assumed that the more widely available car seats were about equal in terms of safety. Definitely time for some more research!

My car seat goes till they are 12. There are some around

The car seat advice uk Facebook group is good for advice. Posting is only open once a week but good to search through group as most questions have been answered before.

You've had some good advice already, basically don't buy that car seat
How old is your baby?
Ideally baby would be in an infant seat for as long as possible - some are roomier than others for big babies - and then you would get a 25kg seat, we have the Britax MaxWay Plus which I would recommend and is often on offer for £215. There are also the seats that JC12345 mentioned.
If you're anywhere near the ICSC or similar specialist car seat retailer, they are really helpful and might be closed but are still doing sales advice by phone/email I think. In normal times you could make an appt and they'd let you try different seats in your car.

As long as you get a good quality 25kg seat, you can get away with spending less on the next seat which will be a high-backed booster. And if you don't have an infant seat yet, you don't have to spend a fortune on that either, you could get a Joie seat as they are good value and have good crash test results.

Yes fab advice, thank you all. I've joined that FB group too.

Baby has just turned 1. We don't actually go out in the car much at all due to lockdown etc. We went to a medical appointment the other day and her head is starting to poke above the top of the seat, so it needs changing ASAP really.

I've looked into the rear facing ones and none seem to fit my car unfortunately. I've found these which go up to 25kg:
www.pramworld.co.uk/car-seats-6/4-11-years-booster-seats?attr_25kg_harness=1
But can't find very much about the brand and safety aspects? I will see if there are any posts about them on that group.

i should think the axkid mini kid will fit your car. its fits in most including the fiat 500 and 3 door ford fiesta.

@memememe DH and I are both very tall, and the rear facing ones seem to require the seat in front to be pushed too far forward. It's even a squeeze with the little infant carrier. Perhaps we just need a new car

@HeadlessChicken574

Yes fab advice, thank you all. I've joined that FB group too.

Baby has just turned 1. We don't actually go out in the car much at all due to lockdown etc. We went to a medical appointment the other day and her head is starting to poke above the top of the seat, so it needs changing ASAP really.

I've looked into the rear facing ones and none seem to fit my car unfortunately. I've found these which go up to 25kg:
www.pramworld.co.uk/car-seats-6/4-11-years-booster-seats?attr_25kg_harness=1
But can't find very much about the brand and safety aspects? I will see if there are any posts about them on that group.

🤦🏻‍♀️ That link is clearly for seats for 4+ year olds, they are high-backed boosters. Your child is only 1 so you need to keep him in a rear-facing seat, until age 2 as a minimum and ideally longer. He certainly needs a harness until at least age 4 (whether rear or forward facing).

It sounds as if he's outgrown the infant seat but this page has helpful info to confirm
www.goodeggcarsafety.com/blog/when-is-the-infant-car-seat-outgrown.html

[quote HeadlessChicken574]@memememe DH and I are both very tall, and the rear facing ones seem to require the seat in front to be pushed too far forward. It's even a squeeze with the little infant carrier. Perhaps we just need a new car [/quote]
Maybe! What car do you have?

Oh sorry I missed that you have a DD not DS I said he but should have said she obviously!

I've looked into the rear facing ones and none seem to fit my car unfortunately

Call the In Car Safety Centre. They will advise.

I had the Britax 2way Elite and 6'2 dh could comfortably fit in the passenger seat in front of it. It actually has to brace against the seat in front. It isn't Isofix, but it doesn't need to be.

incarsafetycentre.co.uk/blog/post/recommend-rear-facing-for-longer

Sorry not sure why the link said that, this is what I was looking at:
www.pramworld.co.uk/cozy-n-safe-excalibur-1-2-3-car-seat-black-grey-black-shell
I just searched for seats with a harness that go up to 25kg.

I really wasn't keen on rear facing, but if it's that much safer then of course that is the top priority. I will check out the In Car Safety Centre thank you.

I bought the cosatto rotate and have sent it back 3 times. Customer service were good to be fair but really wasn't happy when the buckle broke on aldi car park and I had no way of getting my baby home!

Have a look on YouTube at crash test scenarios - they do comparisons forward facing v rear facing.

The whole universal/semi universal thing is not really relevant, don't worry! I could explain it but it's very boring and the short answer is to look at the fit list from the car seat manufacturer.

Rear facing is a lot safer than forward facing so defo worth considering if you can :) At the age of just turned 1 I would not want a child forward facing as it's very dangerous if you crashed. When they're older, not so much of an issue.

If you were going to forward face at this age I'd preferably go for one up to 18kg anyway, and not bundled in with a booster seat as they tend to get better safety ratings. But one that can rear face is the gold standard for safety particularly at this age. In addition a lot of the 25kg harness forward facing seats are large and not very supportive for a 1yo.

Britax Max Way Plus is on offer at a lot of places currently and is a more compact one front to back so may take up less space than your infant carrier. This would last a 90th centile child until roughly 5-6 years old. Then you can buy a high backed booster seat later, as they tend to perform better when they're a standalone seat as well rather than being bundled in with another kind.