To ask which car seat you have?

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I'm really really struggling to choose a car seat for DS. I've got a Vauxhall Adam so obviously space is limited and I can't get a new car.

He's still in his infant carrier at the moment but I want to have a car seat that I know I'm going to get for when he finally outgrows this one.

I've looked online and I just can't find any recommendations and now I'm starting to worry!

Does anybody have any ideas??

Joie Everystage says it fits in an Adam.

What about the Diono Radian 5 or Britax two way elite? They would be smaller seats than the axkids or some of the joie seats.

I’ve got the Britax Dualfix. I love it. It’s so easy and accessible for my dad. It’s pretty big though so I’d definitely go to Halfords/Mothercare to take a look at what’ll fit

I'm going to buck the trend here. For the record I am a massive extended rear facing fan and DS rear faced until last week - he is almost 5. But. Having googled a vauxhall Adam it looks to me like a 3 door car. I used our axkid minikid rear facing seat in my 3 door for a few weeks and in all honesty it was a pain in the arse. What worried me most when I did it though was how I would have got him out of the rear facing seat, in a 3 door car if I had been involved in a collision or incident where we needed to get out quick. I did have the luxury of changing my car which I appreciate that you won't have but in your situation I would be weighing up a forward facing seat in the rear of the car against a rear facing in the front of the car (with the air bag deactivated of course).

The Facebook page 'extended rear facing for toddlers' may have better advice for you.

I did a lot of research and chose an Axkid Minikid 2.0.
It rear faces to 25kg, is sweedish plus tested and is one of the safest seats on the market.
I love it!
I checked the fit list on their website and your car is included but under Opel not Vauxhall :) if you join the group called A to Z rear facing on Facebook and ask on there they will help you

I didn't know that rear facing was recommended for so long, this is all new to me. Lots of my friends who have DCs have theirs front facing, which obviously would make things easier in terms of choosing a car seat but I'd rather not compromise my child's safety

Thanks @Sassy306

Saying that though I don't know much about rear facing seats for older babies being fitted on front seats.

How big is your child? If your aim is to RF til 4 then it’s worth considering this because seats that RF to 18kg will be outgrown before that age by a child on the higher centiles.

So we have the Britax Dualfix (isofix, RF to 18kg) which was fine for DS1 because he has always been on the small size. (Now using it for DS2.) I used to have it RF, plus an infant seat RF, in a Vauxhall Corsa with plenty of room (only upgraded to an Astra recently for the boot space)- I am short though so don’t need my seat back very far. The Britax site says this will fit an Adam also.

If you want a RF to 25kg seat, have a look online at the Britax 2 way elite. It’s sold exclusively by the In car safety centre, but if there isn’t one near you you can order it online and it’s pretty easy to fit. The ICSC also has great staff who will happily help you with questions over the phone. It’s a universal fit so fits almost all cars. It does need to brace on either the seat in front or the dashboard.

Btw the Dualfix is a swivel seat which may be particularly useful if you have a 3 door car

The Nuna Norr is an ERF swivel seat to 18.5kg and is Swedish Plus tested. It's much nicer than the Joie 360 we have, and I'd say almost as good as the two Axkid Minikids we have.

The Nuna is the most compact of all the seats by some way. It swivels 360 to allow you to strap your child in but will only face the rear of the car for travelling.

My baby is only 4 months old. I know that he has a way to go before outgrowing his infant carrier, but I want to be thinking ahead for when it's time to move up a seat. Here's his current growth chart. I know it's hard to tell how big he will be when he outgrows his seat now

Re the advice to rear face until 25kg

What area of the country are you in OP?

@Tellmeagain Near Manchester

I'm in Lancashire. The best place by far for car seat advice is Winstanleys Pramworld. I go to the one in Wigan (not far from j27 on the M6) but I think they've opened another one near Crewe. They have staff specially trained in ERF seats and have loads of seats in store that they'll fit in your car outside the shop for you to try. It might give you some peace of mind to find something that fits soon and then you'll know you've got options. My personal experience is that Mothercare and Halfords staff are clueless and give outdated / legal bare minimum advice.

Thanks for that ginger. Mine will be rearward facing as long as her legs allow! Some friends have commented their Leo's wouldn't tolerate not being forward facing now they are 18 months... each to their own.

OP I have the joie 360 spin and had Mothercare show me the fit in the car and I put dd in to see how she sat etc.
At that time this was in my 3 door fiesta and the spin feature made life so much easier as I could put her in facing me then spin her into position. Not all seats have this spin feature. Now I have a 5 door and it's still so much easier to get her in/ out facing side wards.

I was told the joie 360 spin was the smallest seat of its kind and the others I was keen on were much bigger so would have been a tighter squeeze.

I'd advise you call the next nearest Mothercare/ smyths/ Halfords to ask what seats they 'currently' have in stock to fit in cars. I'd start with the 360 as it's birth- 4 years (all singing) and has loads of good reviews.

Axkid minikid or axkid move are both great.

Have you had a look at the cybex sirona?
Rear faces till 4 & it fits in my corsa. No idea if an Adam is bigger/smaller though!
It's a fab seat & I would highly recommend it.

We have a joie 360 spin. Fits easily in a vauxhall fiesta size car. It’s brilliant! So easy to get child in and out, and rear facing until 18kg. DS is 2.5 and plenty of room