Group 1 - Don't know where to start

[minipie]

DD is a year old (small for age) so the group 1 car seat purchase is looming. We have a golf gti with Isofix, would also occasionally use car seat in parents' car which is a new mini countryman.

I don't have a clue what to look for! For group 0 we got a maxi cosi because it fit with the pram and there were bundle offers available, and it got good reviews. But there seem to be so many more options at Group 1.

I know RF is now recommended until at least 1. But what else should I look for? Is a swivel feature useful? Combined group 1-3 sounds nice to avoid further purchases but are they less safe (and can I even get one that turns from rf to ff)? What brands have a good reputation?

any pointers much appreciated.

It took me ages to decide. In the end I did a 1 month trial with Which? It cost £1 and I was able to compare all the seats out there and go for the best in our price range. When I started out I was very anxious about getting the safest seat but was worried as budget wasn't huge. I'm v.happy with our decision now, the Which website was invaluable.

Which we went for the Britax Duo Plus.

I really dislike my britax as I find it really hard together the harness tight enough, much prefer my maxi cosi one as much easier to get a good fit.

Thanks! unfortunately I already did the which one month trial... wonder if they'd let me do another one...

Maybe under a different email address?

will try

We bought a Maxi Cosi Tobi and tbh, it's been great. Really high up so DD can see out. Easy to put DD in, straps stay out of the way and easy to tighten/release etc.

My only complain would be the tilting- supposed to be 5 settings. Well, there are, but even on the fifth, DD doesn't really seem to be lying back at all. Also, would be good if there was a swivel.

We looked at loads and figured no one had everything we needed, so we went for one with a good safety record.

All the recommendations here are Ff seats.

Have a good look at Rearfacing seats from securatot, Rearfacing toddlers etc.

Rear facing is recommended until 15 months under the i-size regulations which have been recently introduced and will be phased in over the next few years.

How much does your daughter weigh?

If anybody does look at the the Which? car seat reviews you need to disregard the fact that they have made almost all of the rear facing Group 1 seats a 'Don't Buy'. They mark them down because they say they are harder to fit than the forward facing ones. Yes they might take a bit longer to fit, but I have a Britax Multi Tech II which has tethers and a foot prop and is fitted with the seatbelt and it doesn't take that long to fit. The instructions provided are perfectly adequate.
I would chose my Multi Tech over any of their 'Best Buy' forward facing Group 1 seats any day.

If your DD is small you'll probably get ages longer in the infant seat. DS was 25th centile and was in his til almost 18 months.

She's about 10.5kg I think... not sure what that is on a centile basis. She's about 50th centile length wise.

Not so bothered by ease of fitting as the car seat will just stay put in the car the whole time, no need to get it in and out.

I would like a car seat where she can see out of the window though! she gets bored and shouty very easily!

Watching with interest, about to buy group 1 seat... Been reading about ff seats vs. rear facing, harder to fit but proven 5 x safer in an accident up to age 4...

I have just got klippan kiss 2 for DS2 (10.5 months, 11Kg), largely because I need to give his maxicosi back to the original owner who is having another baby. DS1 is still comfy in his stage 1 seat and I think will be for another 6-12 months, and I didn't want to move him early, which might have been the temptation (we would have saved a lot of money).

The seat I bought is extended rear facing, and can be fitted with isofix or with a 3 point and 2 point belt. It also fits in the back of my MK4 golf. I'm not sure what the baby can see, but certainly no less than in his maxi cosi, and he will be able to see more as he grows. I picked this seat because it was one of only 3 ERF seats that fit without tethers (and therefore is easier to move between cars, and also less likely to make an error fitting it), seemed to have the most leg room (I tried DS1 in it to check). It does not swivel, or have the option of forward facing later though. It's also kind of ugly, but I'm sure I'll get over that.

TBH I'm kicking myself for not doing more research with DS1. This seat is suitable from birth, so I could have spent £320 on a seat that lasted him from 0-4 instead of £160 on his priorifix (group 1 seat), plus about £100 each on the easyfix base and the infant carrier (we did buy the seat but it got damaged, hence borrowing one for DS2).

I went to the show room at Milton Keynes and they were super helpful.

Thanks everyone, I have looked at DD in her group 0 and she's still got a fair bit of room - top of head is still a few inches below the top of the seat - so I think I'll see whether she can stay in that for a while longer. by then I'll have a better idea of what features we need for the toddler stage! got some great tips here for when the time comes, thanks again.

In that case you probably have another year.

Sorry meant six months!