Rear facing isofix Group 1 seat without top tether

[Tftpoo]

I am looking for a group 1 seat to go in the middle seat of a Ford S Max - ideally I want a rear facing, isofix seat without a top tether (as the middle seat doesn't have a top tether anchor point). So far I've only managed to find forward facing isofix seats without the top tether but am wondering if anyone can recommend something that would be rear facing?

Why isofix?

Because the car has three isofix points and I think it's safer than seatbelt mounted because it's easier to make sure the seat is fitted correctly.

Do you need one that doesn't have a leg from the base to the floor for the middle seat? From a quick look on mothercare the britax dualfix doesn't have a leg and you don't need the top tether. If you can use the base with a leg then there's more options eg maxi cosi two way pearl and cybex sirona.

I've just ordered the 2-way fix maxi-cosi pearl which is exactly this. It does need the 2-way fix base though.

One with a leg is fine so that does open up a few more options. The Pearl looks like it would work - we have a Family Fix base already which might work with the Pearl too. Thanks for your help everyone.

The Pearl is only forward facing though. If you want rear facing you need the Two Way Pearl and the 2 Way Fix base.

I can only think of one rear facing ISOFIX seat that uses a top tether (the Maxi Cosi Axiss Fix) and it's not much use anyway as it's outgrown rear facing when the child reaches 87cm tall (about 2 years old). Any other ISOFIX rear facing seat will have a foot prop/support leg to prevent the seat rotating forward in the event of a crash. Top tethers are mostly used for forward facing seats.

Have a look at www.securatot.co.uk to see what ISOFIX seats there are. The advantage of having a seatbelt-fitted rear facing seat is that they have taller shells and can accommodate a child up to 25kgs in weight, so they are a better choice if you have a tall/heavy child and are just as safe as ISOFIX.

Where have you been looking? I can only think of one that does have a top tether I have a be safe izi i size and would highly recommend it. DH has a dual fix and he would highly recommend that. Have a look here for a range. On the picture on each one it says if it's belted, isofix or both so you can only click on the isofix ones.

We've got a Cybex Sirona and a Nuna Rebl, I don't think either of those have a top tether unless I'm really unobservant and just haven't noticed.

The Nuna is a better seat but it's more upright than the Cybex, I'm slightly disappointed with it. 7 recline settings, all mm apart!

We have the two way pearl and are very happy with it. The only downside is that the seat and base are quite cumbersome to move between cars.

We have the KISS in the middle seat of an S-Max, we also got a good fit with a Britax Maxfit (This was 3yrs ago, so more seats on the market now)

We didn't want tethers (that strap to the front seats) for various reasons. She is now 4, about 17kgs and still fits fine in it.

We have a besafe Izi combi, but not in the middle seat (our s Max is too old and only has isofix on the outside seats)

Be careful with Britax seats. I had to give my dualfix to my parents as the Britax fit Finder wouldn't recommend any seats with a leg prop in any position in the s max. I think it's to do with the underfloor storage, even if you get the filler. Besafe are happy for you to use a filler under the floor. Also, in ours, the console between the front two seats would be in the way of a leg prop, but I don't know if that's the case on newer models.

We've got 2 propped legs in a galaxy. Approved by in car safety.

The footwells are filled.