To not want to get a 'worse but bigger car' for the sake of DD2 not having an isofix base?

[Sausagechipsandbean]

I have a 2012 Seat Ibiza. It's been reliable for us and has just past it's MOT. We own it outright. It's not any great shakes but it's perfectly acceptable.
I am pregnant, due in October and we have a DD who is 2. Money is tight but luckily we have everything we need for baby practically already as we kept everything of DDs and know this little one is a girl too. We have a Maxi Cosi car seat for DD and an isofix base which she's always had; we still have the newborn car seat she was in until she was about 9 months before we moved her to the next size up (pebble). The problem is the isofix itself; because of the way the leg sits it pushes the passenger seat forward pretty much as far as it will go. Neither DH or I would be able to drive if the driver's seat was pushed that far forward so my suggestion to DH was we buy DD a new car seat that can go behind the driver's seat without an isofix (the Pebble can't be strapped in without the isofix) and new baby has the current set up with the isofix.
DH wants to try and sell the car and buy a bigger car so we can buy a new isofix for baby and have both children with an isofix. My car is not worth much; it's good for us but realistically it's maybe worth £1500 if that so to buy a bigger can from what we can see currently we would have to get an older car with higher mileage to accommodate this.
Is it really so bad to take DD who will be 2 years 7 months when baby is here out of an isofix. Surely millions of children use car seats without an isofix and are perfectly safe. And for the sake of keeping a car that at least we know is good enough for what we need now is surely better than getting a 'worse' car just to accommodate the child seat?

Why not just buy a isofix car seat that doesn't have the leg? 🤷‍♀️ our DD has the maxi cosi titan plus, and will be getting the same one for DS when baby #3 arrives. It's isofix, with a back tether but no front leg getting in the way

Isofix is just as safe as belted, it just lowers the chance of user error.

Reference forward facing to get more leg room, I think you need to have a certain distance between the child and the front seat for safety so the rear facing seats can give more leg room to the front.

I'm not sure why everybody thinks you need a bigger car. We have an ibiza since we had a baby and toddler and now they're 5 and 7 and everything fits fine, we went away for a week with no problem.

I might have missed something here and making a daft suggestion, but can't the baby go behind the passenger seat and the toddler behind the drivers side?

I wouldn't change her to forward facing just because she's past the 15 month mark, if you look at all the research especially from other countries they're meant to be rear facing for so much longer. Personally, I couldn't compromise on that.

There's some really terrible advice on this thread 🤨 As some pp have said, isofix is not necessarily safer than seatbelt fitted. It all depends on how it was installed and the seat itself. Some of the safest car seats on the market are not isofix (axkid for example).

My advice would be to join the facebook group Car Seat Safety Advice UK - there's loads of advice on there about different car seat configurations and different cars.

Also, which pebble have you got? Because i thought all the pebbles are isofix and seatbelt fitted? Certainly we had the pebble 360 and that can def be used with just seatbelt - you just dont get the benefit of the 360 spin.

Rear facing will make much more of a difference than isofix, isofix is just there to reduce user error in fitting. It's probably cheaper to buy something like a rear facing car seat with no leg for each of them than to upgrade the car, I think axxkid are the gold standard but britax aren't far off and are much cheaper.

If you fancy a little light reading on how it's all tested, here's the link: www.euroncap.com/en/vehicle-safety/the-ratings-explained/child-occupant-protection/

isofix and belted seats are no more safer than each other if the seats are fitted correctly; isofix helps reduce the chance of user error. *

I would also ignore suggestions to turn your DD to forward facing. I won’t quote all the sats about rear facing but it’s quite substantially safer.

I would be looking at an alternative seat, which will be more cost effective, than replacing a car you know and find reliable.
I would suggest looking up the Facebook group; car seat advice uk and asking for recommendations, the admins are excellent and will rebuke incorrect advice - one of them is my old boss!

*Training companies in how to fit and sell Car seats was my job for an awfully long time whilst trying to find my niche in education. (Probably too long as I loved it, just not the wage!)

Yes but they're only safer because of human error installing seat belt seats. If a seat is installed properly with a seat belt it's fine.

It's a bit like the pill - if you know you are good at taking it every single day it is an effective contraceptive, but overall it has a higher failure rate than say the Mirena coil because some people can't remember to take it.

I'd prioritise the car too OP.
I'd have newborn in isofix seat and move DD to another seat. Assuming it's a carry cot style seat you don't want to be faffing about with seat belts on the baby's seat every time you move them in and out so better to change your older DDs.
We have a Harmony seat for DS who just turned 3. It's not isofix but as well as the seat belt it has an additional strap which goes over the top of the actual car's seat and fixes in the boot, which I find quite reassuring.

That makes the problem worse because the toddler is in a bigger seat!

Definitely no point changing the car, you'd be worse off safety wise.

There is no safety difference between belt fitted and isofix fitted as long as the belt fitted seat is fitted correctly, which means correctly tensioning the seatbelt and making sure it's tight - most people don't realise to do this, which is why seatbelt is considered "less safe" - it's less safe if it's not done correctly.

The safest and longest lasting rear facing seats aren't isofix. Have a look at the Britax Max Way, which is on offer at the moment, really compact to fit and easy to use. It does have a leg but it doesn't sit as far forward as an infant carrier. Because they are for older children, they sit much more upright which is how they take up less space. It will last until 25kg which is a good couple of years longer than the seat you're using now if it's isofix, so DD2 could go into DD1's current seat when she outgrows the baby seat and DD1 wouldn't need to vacate hers.

You may also look at a less bulky isofix rear facing seat - we found our Joie 360 Spin takes up less space than our infant carrier on the base, again because it's upright and spaced quite close to the back of the rear seat. Or, expensive (but less money than changing the car) what about Axkid One - it can contract down to be absolutely ultra-compact, fits using isofix and is rear facing up to 23kg. Which? Best Buy both for ease of fitting and safety.

The tightness of the belt is particularly an issue for forward facing, so if you're looking at forward facing seats I'd look for either one which is isofix (especially with top tether, if you have the top tether anchors) - avoiding the spin/multi direction feature tends to mean that the seat sits further back in the car. Or if looking at belt fitted, a seat with belt tensioners is a very good choice. If the seat doesn't have tensioners, you want to kneel into the seat when pulling the seatbelt tight to get it as tight as possible.

I'd look at these options:

Britax Advansafix (best rated seat that converts to booster)
Joie Bold (if you need harness over 18kg)
Maxi Cosi Beryl (even better option for harness over 18kg, but more expensive)
Britax Trifix 2 (best rated FF seat with 5 point harness)
Cybex Anoris T (best rated FF seat overall - high price tag, experimental solution)
Maxi Cosi Tobifix (best rated FF seat without top tether)

Seatbelt fitted

Maxi Cosi Tobi (good belt routing over and under, tensioners, best rated FF seatbelt fit)
Britax King (built in tensioners, easy to fit)
Britax Evolva (best rated belt fitted seat that converts to booster)

Another solution might be to fit the baby seat without the base. That's just as safe (actually a lot of seats score slightly better without base) and easy to do and doesn't have the tension issues.

I think some isofixes are without the leg.

Try to avoid changing the car because at that money you might end up with a lemon.

To secure an isofix seat you'll always have either a leg or a top tether, so if you don't have the top tether anchors (these are only in newer cars, although all cars since 2013, so the majority of cars now) then you're limited to seats with a leg if you want it to be isofix. But the leg on the Maxi Cosi bases is quite far forward - not all legs are the same. Always worth taking the car to a shop and having a play with different seats.

Some of the very early isofix forward facing seats had neither leg nor top tether, but this is no good really, because basically the seat is then only secured at two points at the seat corner and that acts like a big hinge and the whole seat tips forwards which is dangerous as it increases risk of collision with the seat in front. My guess is that was no longer allowed by the regulation that updated in 2005, but it's just a guess as I can't find a copy of the previous one to be sure.

I am actually not aware of any seats on the market at the moment that use the seatbelt + top tether to fit Yousee (without needing isofix as well) so I'd double check the manual to check that's OK. It's not impossible that a new seat has come out which does - Harmony seem to have several on their website I'm not familiar with, but can't see any promising this fit method.

Take a look at the in car safety centre. They are on line and have a couple of stores. they really know there stuff and carry multiple options that you can try in store and then in your car.
I'm only turning 6 year old DS now as he's finally reached the seat weight limit of 25kg.