Car seat for 4 year old

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I was in a crash recently and the insurance company have just sent a cheque for £140 to replace the car seat.

Any recommendations for a Group 2 car seat?

We had a Britax Evolva 2-3, which I didn't like at all. Much too flimsy.

We've also had a Recaro young sport, which seems ok but I haven't really experienced it in use as it's in ex's car.

I only have one car, so portability/ease of moving between cars isn't an issue. I just want something safe.

DD has just turned 4. I haven't weighed her recently but I would guess her to be around the 3 stone mark. She's usually in the 90th centile for weight and height.

I always look on Which? when buying car seats (it's a £1 to sign up for a trial period) as they put seats through more rigorous testing than is actually the standard (they test at 40mph at head on instead of 30mph which is standard for car seat testing, they also test side impact which other car seat tests don't).

we like the maxi cosi rodi xr seats - seem quite padded and comfy apparently

ours are quite old though so there may be an updated model

Forgot to say my kids have Cybex Solution car seats.

Hi,

I'm sorry to hear about your crash and hope everyone was OK. What car do you have and do you have ISOfix?

Kat
Good Egg Safety

Thanks for the input.

Kat, it was a Ford Fiesta. The garage have it at the moment but I'm fairly sure it's going to be a write-off so the make and model is as yet undecided because it will have to be a new (used) car.

OK,

When it comes to high back boosters you have ISOfix or non ISOfix (sorry if you already know this!) The benefit of utilising the ISOfix is that it reduces lateral movement of the seat in an impact, and it also means that you don't have to secure the seat when the child is not in the car, as it is already secure on the ISOfix. (Loose items in the car, such as boosters, should be strapped down to prevent them becoming a missile in an impact and injuring anyone.)

The good news is that ISOfix high back boosters tend to be able to be used without the ISOfix too. So if you purchased an ISOfix high back booster and your next car didn't have it, you can still use it without the ISOfix - and it's there if you change to a car with it in the future.

High back boosters with ISOfix under £140 are:

Britax Kidfix SICT (side impact cushion technology): £130+
Britax Kidfix: £125+
Maxi Cosi Rodifix: £140 - £160
Recaro Monza Nova Seatfix: £130+
Cybex Solution X Fix: £135+

All the above seats all have very good side impact protection and additional features - such as a recline with the Maxi Cosi, or whiplash protection with the Cybex.

All are available with no ISOfix too and those will generally be cheaper.

Hope this helps!