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Car seats

Confused about car seat regulations? Find baby car seat advice here. For Mumsnetter-approved essentials, sign up for Mumsnet Swears By emails here.

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Original poster

Growing out of Maxicosi cabriofix - what next?

42 replies

ReadingTeaLeaves · 19/09/2010 16:22

hi all, hoping to use some mumsnet wisdom to avoid spending 10 hours researching car seats (as I did with prams this time last year!). DS is 9 months and will shortly outgrow his cabriofix car seat.

I would like to get a car seat that lasts til 4 years - not too fussed about getting one that converts and last til he's 12.

I thought the maxicosi one that swivels looks practical - particularly for when I have tantruming toddler and am trying to strap him in. Is this a good choice? What others would people recommend? We don't plan to have to move it from car to car often, although very occasionally we might so we don't want something that's ridiculously hard to move. DS is a good sleeper - and we do do some long drives (both sets of parents live at opposite ends of country) so we need something that DS can sleep in quite easily.

I am sure that some of you will advocate rearward facing, which is fine. I'd like some forward facing recommends as well tho please.

Your recommendations please.......

OP posts:

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funkychunkymunky · 19/09/2010 16:29

I have the maxicosi one that swivels. My DD is 10 months and I've found it fantastic. The swivel means you can get them in even if someone has parked a bit too close to your door.

sazm · 19/09/2010 17:56

we changed from a maxi-cosi cabrio to a britax eclipse,which we are more than happy with,lightweight and easy enough to change between cars,very secure in the cars we have had it in,

depends on your car though,you need to make sure it fits your car properly,britax and maxi-cosi have fit-finders on their websites which will tell you what seat they reccommend for your car:)

tellnoone · 19/09/2010 18:01

You should read up on rear facing till 4 years. Sorry not time to find links but there are loads of threads on it in this section.

nicm · 19/09/2010 20:13

well depend on the weight of your ds. if he is a small baby i would recommend the KISS-is rf with isofix or seatbelt to 18kgs and reclines well for sleeping. also have a britax two way elite for my mindee and it is rf with a seatbelt to 25kgs. it can be adjusted from reclined as much as the cabrio to fully upright for a large toddler. it is very lightweight and easy to lift them in and out of as the door opens at the widest part, where you have to stand iykwim so as much room as the swivel seats.

i have had prioris in the past but wouldn't use them now i have found out about rf.

good luck-i know what you mean about the researching, took me about 3 months to decide on ds car seat lol!

CarGirl · 19/09/2010 20:16

Please don't move him out of his cabrio-fix too soon, provided he is not over the weight limit and his eye level isn't higher than the back of the seat he is fine in that and much safer than in a forward facing seat.

It's not a case of which seat you want, it's what fits your car best.

IWillNotNeverEatATomato · 19/09/2010 20:29

we went for the Maxi Cosi Priori Fix, as we wanted to stay with a Isofix seat and liked the MaxiCosi brand

FaintlyMacabre · 19/09/2010 20:31

You may be surprised by how long he will last in the Cabriofix for. DS1 (50th centile for weight and length) finally moved out of his at 22 months...

Loopymumsy · 19/09/2010 20:36

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Carseatcrazy · 20/09/2010 11:34

I'd second loopymumsy on keeping your LO rearfacing until 4 - I've got a besafe and KISS (both can be seat belt or isofix fitted) and will last until they are 4 - they are also two of the 3 seats in the world that have passed the very strict Swedish plus safety test.

Have a look a www.rearfacing.co.uk for more info - great site that gives lots of unbiased opinions :) hope this is helpful

Liz79 · 20/09/2010 17:08

are any of the rf ones suitable when the car has a storage compartment in the floor? we have a renault scenic and will soon have this problem. We have a britax duo plus isofix for DD but will need another gp1 for ds in a few months

Carseatcrazy · 20/09/2010 17:13

yes - I think the britax two way elite is good in that situation - give the ladies in essex a call - their number is a couple of posts above- they'll be able to advise :)

Original poster

ReadingTeaLeaves · 20/09/2010 21:54

Thanks ladies. Well, looking at the growth charts (knew they'd come in handy sometime ) DS who is 25% centile could perhaps be in his maxi cosi til he's nearly 2. Wow - who knew???!!!

So that sorts us out for a while then I think...

DH really doesn't want us to keep rear facing beond that though. He thinks that DS needs to see more of the world and be able to interact with us (and I see his point). So I think we'll realistically be looking for a forward facing option beyond that.

OP posts:

BertieBotts · 21/09/2010 01:34

DS was in the Mothercare Travel Tot (which I think is the same dimensions as the Cabriofix - same manufacturer) until he was 18 months. He's two next week and would still fit into it weight-wise, but his head reached the end at 18 months, so I moved him up. He's on the 50th centile for height and 25th or thereabouts for weight. People were a bit shocked at the idea he'd still be happy/comfortable in the seat but he never complained, no more than babies/toddlers usually complain about being restrained anyway! He was quite happy in there with a book or whatever, and he went FF in his dad's car from 14 months, with no problem switching between the two at all.

If you want a good compromise between the safety of rear facing and the convenience of forward facing have you looked at the Kiddy Infinity Pro at all? I know it looks a bit odd, but once you look into it, it makes sense. (To me anyway!) There are various videos etc you can watch. I think it's brilliant though. You also avoid the problem that almost every parent seems to end up with where their toddler realises they can get their arms out of the carseat straps, or worse, undo the straps by themselves!

Loopymumsy · 21/09/2010 06:48

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

lenats31 · 21/09/2010 22:34

DH really doesn't want us to keep rear facing beond that though. He thinks that DS needs to see more of the world and be able to interact with us

Your DH is supposed to concentrate on the driving, not to be talking and looking at the child while driving. And ds gets to see more of the world outside through the rear screen and the side windows plus he is way safer.
The larger RF seats are nothing like the baby seats.
take a look at them here

www. sikkerautostol.dk
or
www.carseat.se

or some photos at

www.rearfacing.co.uk

Child´s safety should allways come first.

Carseatcrazy · 23/09/2010 20:12

I'm conscious you might be feeling pressured by all these posts- but I just wanted to add that my DS has a mirror as well to look in, so not only does he have a great view out the back and sides (he tells me what's coming up the road behind me!!), but he also tells me what is coming up from in front of us- he looks in his mirror and can see them - or me for that matter in my mirror- he chats away and chuckles at me, and has full eye contact, without me having to take my eye off the road ahead (none of which he'd be able to do if he was ff). Don't want to pressurise, just want to share our DS's experiences :) (he's just gone 2)

Original poster

ReadingTeaLeaves · 24/09/2010 22:22

Thanks Carseatcrazy. Appreciated.

OP posts:

fairimum · 25/09/2010 22:17

Just wondering about our cabriofix, ideally want to keep DS in as long as possible, just today moved the straps up to the top hole, but is it ok that they will come form behind his shoulders as he gets taller? as i want to keep him in there until his head at the top, but the straps would def have to come from behind his shoulders if his head was to be near the top?? I hope this makes sense!! Not bothered about his legs being too long they bend and as they say better broken leg than broken neck by turning him around toosoon!

Sorry to the OP for hijacking your thread!!

Meglet · 25/09/2010 22:22

I might be wrong but I think you can get a trial one month sign up to Which magazine which will mean you can read all the car seat reviews. I think you only pay £1 or something, I was on there last month looking for our new car seat.

camflower · 26/09/2010 16:07

this is all v interesting as i am in a similar position to the OP. out of interest, i've noticed some people on various threads talking about the BeSafe iZi Combi X2 but i've just noticed that which have actually listed it as a DON'T BUY and gave it a score of 27%. This is what their review said:

This group 0+/1 seat is designed to carry children from birth up to 18kg (about four years) - rearward-facing up to about 13kg (about a year) and then either forward- or rearward-facing up to 18kg. It is secured using the seat belt.

Head support is good, but it lacks leg support for larger children and longer journeys. Crash performance is good in a side crash, and in a head on collision front crash loads are acceptable.

The seat is heavy. You can adjust the seat height and the harness length and height without dismantling it, but it?s very complicated to install in the car and is liable to be installed incorrectly as a result. This is a serious problem, and as a result the seat falls below our safety threshold and is rated as a Which? Don?t Buy.

The finish quality of this seat is very good, but cleaning the cover isn?t as straightforward as it could be as it is hand wash only.

Pros: Good finish quality

Cons: Difficult to install, cleaning the seat cover is complicated, big and heavy a particular problem in smaller cars.

IMoveTheStars · 26/09/2010 16:19

Can someone who knows about RF seats clarify something?

If the seats are so high up , are they properly protected by the side impact bars/body of the car? How much of the childs body is level with the window?

Original poster

ReadingTeaLeaves · 28/09/2010 21:57

And what happens to their legs??

OP posts:

nicm · 30/09/2010 20:21

fairmum, as long as his head is not at the top and he is below 13kgs in the cabrio he is fine. i would look at rf group 1 though as he might not be happy being so low until 13kgs iykwim. i moved ds at 9 months to the twe and he was much happier looking out the window!

nicm · 30/09/2010 20:34

camflower,

i too read heard this about the rf seats but there were discussions on here and on the rf website under 'your views and questions' about it and they put my mind at rest. basically they were tested ff and scored lower because of ease of fitting, weight, etc. don't know about you but i can read instructions and my twe elite is no heavier than the priori i have. the KISS is much heavier but not sure if all isofix seas are like this. i would call cathy or vicky at the in car safety centre in essex, they are really helpful and you don't have to be in essex to get their advice. hopefully someone else will be around soon and more helpful!

nicm · 30/09/2010 20:35

JarethTheGoblinKing, the car seats are no higher than other group 1 seats-just facing the other way iykwim. so as protected as the others i would imagine?

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