Baby car seat in Astra

[Araminta49]

Hi all , having great difficulty getting a baby seat for my 05 Astra 5 door hatchback. The front seat cant be used as the airbag cannot be disabled . In the rear the seat of the car slopes down towards the isofix points , making a baby seat with a base or without too upright , anyone found a solution?

We were always OK with baby seats in a 05 Astra 5-door. As you say, front airbag can't be disabled, so that rules out the front seat, but not sure why the back is unsuitable? We didn't have Isofix, though, so just used the seatbelts.

Most back seats slope. What makes you think this is a problem? I would choose the car seat you like best (look for isize) and thwn check with the manufacturers to see if is suitable for your car.

I have a reclining seat in my car - the Hauck varioguard, I find it works really well in my 05 Astra

Apparently the seat that slopes down towards the back is also wide from back to front , if the support leg is higher up to make the base flatter , it will give a red light so to get a green light the base is tipped downwards , and so is the baby seat .

Mothercare said Astras and vectras are difficult to get a good fit. I did wonder if a lay flat seat would work such as a Kiddy evo lunafix . I contacted Maxi Cosi and they recommend trying a 2 way fix or family fix base which have a flatter base for the baby seat . Thanks for replies .

We had a similar problem with a different car - even when fully reclined the seat ended up too upright and the baby's head would tip forwards.

Some seat makes do a wedge to help flatten the base, or you can use a rolled up towel. We changed car seats and eventually changed car - the angle of recline is a safety issue and I wasn't comfortable with it

Just use an infant carrier without a base. That way you have a little room for manoeuvre to slightly adjust the angle of the seat.

Happy , I've just noticed the Hauck Varioguard with belted base , is a Which ' Do not Buy ' it has failed crash tests 😳

Just buy a seat that is belted rather than isofix.

Our vectra had a similar issue, we used a cyber Aton and a belted base for it. As per the car seat instructions we used a towel to reduce the slope of the seat. I'm not sure if we got the best solution to our problem. HTH

Thank you , maybe a belted base wil be ok , also wondering if a lay flat seat like the Kiddy Evo Lunafix would fit lengthways , even if the front passenger seat is pushed forward as far as will go , I don't use the front seat much anyway . If anyone has one , what length is it please?

Oh my word the price of that seat!!

My mum has an Astra and seat slope is ridiculous

Our BeSafe IZi Go infant carrier works ok though (belted), as does a Joie Stages (also belted). Our BeSafe Isofix seats are too titled though.

Thank you , going for a belted base with Cybex Aton Q . The belted base can also be fitted with Isofix in other cars , or the carrier used with just a seatbelt .

www.britax.co.uk/fit-finder/

The first class plus is good

Thanks Diddly , but it has to be compatible with an iCandy peach , and Britax aren't . Always had Britax before .