Group 1 car seats - rear facing advice please

[redbutterfly]

Hi all,

I'm looking into buying my next Group 1 car seat as 10 month old has nearly grown out of his maxi cosi cabriofix (I realise I should wait till his head reaches over the top).

So all the research says that rear facing is safest which makes sense of course, what doesn't make sense is that this is not the norm in the UK! Anyway this means that rear facing seats are not as commonly stocked as forward facing and are more expensive.

Has anyone been to the shop in Milton Keynes which seems to have the widest range and which one did they find the best??

In general which is best?? The best so far seems to be the BeSafe Izi Combi x3 Isofix which gives you the rear and forward facing option which seems best to me as my little one constantly turns round in his seat to see his daddy driving so I would like the option o f turning him round if needs be. does anyone have this one and are there any discounts anywhere?

Or can anyone recommend an alternative??

My fear is spending £350 and DS hating rear facing but to be honest he's going to have to lump it! Safety is priceless of course :-)

Any tips welcome!

We have the Besafe and we love it, great customer service too. Well worth the money. We would only use it rear facing though, as even though it's a great seat, the risk of injury in any forward facing seat is too great for us. You can get mirrors which enable you to keep an eye on your child. If we have two adults in the car, one of us will always sit in the rear anyway. I think turning the seat both ways might cause confusion - our DD doesn't even know there's an option for her to sit forward facing and it saves a few arguments.

I haven't had direct dealings with Milton Keynes, but have heard only good things about them. They were very helpful when I phoned with a question too.

Britax two way elite is brilliant too

Hi worldgonecrazy , thanks. Yes i think not giving him the option is the best way. I am also nervous about forward facing too. So do you mind me asking what car you have? We have an old Mitsubishi carisma but we will be getting rid for a BMW 3 series. Does the BeSafe take up lots of room and can you still fit someone the middle seat at the back?

Last question, did you get a good deal on it and did you have someone professional fit it?

Hi - we have had the Besafe in both a Nissan Micra 3 door, and a Volvo V60 estate. My parents have had one in a Citreon Xantia and now in a D5. We have never had an issue with room, though you may struggle to get a 6 footer in the front passenger seat. I've managed to get four adults plus child seat in the car, though it is a bit of a squeeze.

Even in the Micra, we didn't have a problem with 3 adults plus car seat. We did put DD in through the boot though as otherwise I had to manouvre into the rear seat through the driver's door, whilst carrying DD. Of course, with a 5-door car it's a lot easier!

We paid RRP for both our seats - we loved it so much we bought one for my car and one for my parents as they are her fulltime carers. To be fair, it would be tricky if you were moving the seat every day, but once you get the hang of it then it's fairly easy to move around. We didn't need a professional fitter. The instructions are so easy-peasy and there are indicators on the chair which turn green when it's fitted correctly.

Hey thanks ladies

Was there something in particular that attracted you to the BeSafe? I mean did you research others and decide they were not as good?
Same question to you ladycurd? What made you go for britax ???

DH just had heart attack about the price lol

And now I've just read good things about the maxi cosi mobi which is cheaper?!!

i would recommend the britax twe as well. i have one and a 2 britax hi-way 2's. if your dc is big like my ds1 was at 9 months then i would go for a 25kgs seat as my ds1 was 20kgs at 2yrs! he is now 4.7yrs and is only 23kgs but is tall and still fits in both. it's a great seat, light, easy to move and if you're stuck can be fitted ff.

:)