can anyone with the which car seat guide help please?

[backonthewagon]

I need to find a fairly cheap but safe high back booster for my son's taxi to purchase to transport him to and from school in. I want it to have good side impact protection, front impact protection and head protection.

Are any of these on the Which? List and if so what are the scores and information given please?

Lux Plus 23
Pampero Whipper Snapper High Back Booster
Dimples Elite Group 1-2-3 Car Seat
Britax Discovery LX Highback Booster

They've not reviewed any of them, but they have reviewed the Britax Adventure - as far as I can see the Adventure is just the same as the Discovery LX but with less padding!

Anyway, I have two Britax Adventures and think they are really good. My children have always been comfortable in them and have slept easily in them too on long journeys because they can just rest their heads on the nice big headrest. My son will be 10 in November and is 141cm tall (or possibly a bit more, I've not measured him for a few months) and he still uses the seat without complaint. They fit nicely in the car against the vehicle seats because they are quite 'sculpted' on the back and under the base - the trouble with the other three cheap boosters you have listed is that they are quite wide so might not sit flat against the vehicle's seats.

However this is what Which? say about the Adventure

"This seat offers average, three star side-impact protection - better than the backless boosters we've tested, but not as good as some other full-backed seats. But its two star score in the front crash shows it fails to protect the child sufficiently, exposing the child to such high loads that overall the seat only just avoids the Don't Buy status."

But I can't really see how there is that much variation in front impact protection between different high backed boosters - surely all high backed boosters hold the seatbelt over your child in the same position (after all, all a high backed boosters does is position the seatbelt correctly)? The only thing I can thing of is that because the Adventure is not an isofix seat it's not held in the car by anything, so in the event of a crash the weight of it will be pushing against your child and pushing them into the seatbelt. But it's really lightweight, I also have a Britax KidFix isofix booster and it weighs a ton! You can use the isofix one without isofix if your car doesn't have it but I never would just because of the weight of it. But the Adventure is probably about half the weight.

Anyway, that's the best I can do! I would definitely buy a Britax seat rather than any of the other ones you've listed.

Thanks for looking. I will probably go for the Britax as it is a name I recognise. Another option that has been suggested is a Joie Trillo. Has that been reviewed?

They've tested the Joie Trillo LX, which is a new seat - could just be an isofix version of the Trillo

"The Joie Trillo LX car seat is designed for children from four to 12 years old, or 15kg to 36kg. It's installed using the seat belt, and Isofix connectors help keep the seat in place when it's not in use. The LX features 'head-to-hips side-impact protection' plus air pockets for 'extra protection'. Do they work? Our specially designed side-impact crash tests put them to the test.

The Joie Trillo LX is a reasonably priced car seat that's offers good crash protection. It doesn't quite reach the optimum protection of a Best Buy car seat, but it's not far off and it's pretty easy to use and install.

What is it?
The Joie Trillo LX Group 2/3 car seat is approved for use with children weighing 15kg to 36kg, which is around four to 12 years old.

It can be installed using the adult seat belt or Isofix.

How safe is it?
The Trillo LX gets a good four-star overall rating for safety, with a total test score of 71%.

It protects slightly better when installed with Isofix, so if you have these connectors in your car then it's better to use them. It gains a good four-star rating for front-crash protection and an excellent five-star rating for side-impact protection.

When the seat is installed using the car's adult seat belt, side-impact protection is still rated as excellent, but front-crash protection drops down to a three-star rating, which is average and acceptable.

The side-impact air pockets on this seat can be removed, to make it fit in smaller cars. However, we would recommend you use these, as the side-impact protection they provide is excellent.

We test each seat with state-of-the-art dummies that record the forces of the crash on key parts of their bodies. A seat is crashed several times in each format it can be used in, and then we combine the scores to work out an overall worse-case scenario score.

Click on the 'Test Results' tab above to see more detailed star ratings.

Is the seat easy to fit?
Yes. This car seat is straightforward enough to install, without any major risk of getting it wrong. The instructions and warnings are clear, which helps, and it doesn't take long to get it securely fixed to the seat.

The seat's quite light, weighing less than 5kg, so it could be a good choice if you need to switch it between cars. Buckling your child into the seat is also simple.

Not all car seats fit in all cars. It's vital to make sure this seat will fit properly in all cars you intend to use it in.

Is the seat comfortable?
Yes, the Trillo LX has a good amount of padding and good support for your child's legs, all of which should make for a comfy ride. The actual amount of space for your child isn't as big as it could be, despite the actual seat being quite wide. The size of the seat means it takes up a fair amount of space on the back seat of the car. If you're tempted by this car seat, take your little one along to the shops, so that you can try it out in your car and with them in it.

The belt routing is good and fits well across the seat and your child, to keep them in position. It even comes with two cup holders on the base of the seat.

Is there anything else I should know?
The seat covers are machine-washable and easily removable, so any spillages from the cups in the cup holders can easily be sorted out.

These results are from our 2015 tests. Following the introduction of R129 car seat regulations in 2015, which run side by side with R44.04, we revised our testing procedures and assessments. Such a significant change means we can't make absolute comparisons between seats tested before and after this change.

Please remember that not all car seats fit in all cars. We recommend that you check how well this car seat fits in all the cars you will use before you buy it.

Should I buy it?
With a total test score of 71% this isn't far off a Best Buy. There's quite a lot to like about this seat, not least the reasonable price.

Pros: Lightweight seat that's easy to use

Cons: Seat isn't as big as it could be, takes up a fair amount of space on the back seat"

Joie seats weren't around when my older two children were born (when I was buying most of our car seats) but I've recently bought a Joie Stages for my 3 year old to use rear facing in my parents car and it seems really good quality. They seem to be affordable and well-made/solid.