How much rear leg room is needed for a group one seat?

[JBoss]

Hi,

Been trying to google an answer and just getting lots of results about rear facing seats (which isn't a debate I want to get into as it's not feasible in my car).

I've got a 2010 Mini Cooper which currently fits a Maxi Cosi Isofix base + cabriofix behind the passenger seat well, with enough room for the passenger's legs up front.

I've just bought a Recario Young Expert (not the plus version) as our next seat, which is a bit deeper than i was expecting it to be. As a result, the end of the seat is more or less level with the end of the car's rear seat.

Ideally I'd like to put this next stage seat behind me in the car, so that if necessary, my partner can sit next to our daughter in the back of the car. But, I need my seat a fair way back, so at present there's only a few inches of leg room behind my seat.

So, back to thread title, how much room is needed behind the front seat for a group one car seat (once they're big enough to be in it, and as they grow)?

Thank you

Minis are crap for rear leg room. Really crap. My child is 4 and struggles in his seat because of the leg room. My 9 year old is just about ok because her legs go under the front seat.

You will have to put your child behind the passenger seat and pull if forwards a bit.

You are supposed to make sure there is at least 55cm between your child's face and the back of the driver/passenger seat. This is because if they are any closer to the driver/passenger seat in front of them they are at risk of being thrown forward and hitting it in the event of a crash.

I know you said you don't want rear facing, so this is not aimed at you, but just for general info - a lot of people say that they could not fit an extended rear facing seat in their car because it would be too big, but in reality any ERF seat only takes up the same amount of space as a forward facing seat installed with a safe amount of legroom for the child.

Thanks Alice, makes sense, I'll get the tape measure out next time it's fitted.