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Stuck on which car seat to get!

51 replies

Bumblebee1988 · 31/05/2020 23:47

Help!! Have just realised my child is too big for his current car seat (currenly using the ickle bubba stomp v3 car seat that comes as part of the travel system). I didn't realise he'd grown out of it as he hasn't been in the car for a couple of months (lockdown!). Now I need a new one ASAP.

So I want one that has isofix. It has to be rear facing up to 18kg and also front facing up to 12 years if possible.

There aren't many that I can find thay fit this description. Three I have found are the cosatto all in all +, the cosy n safe authur and the cosatto all in all rotate.

Any one have an experience with any of these or have any other recommendations?

Our budget is £200, £220 max.

Thanks!

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sleepismysuperpower1 · 01/06/2020 10:35

this babyauto car seat also fits what you are looking for

www.online4baby.com/babyauto-every-stage-multifix-group-0123-isofix-car-seat-black-grey

they have a video of them doing a crash test on one of their forward facing car seats, if you would like to watch that.

www.babyauto.com/en/safety/crash-test-center

all the best

Bumblebee1988 · 01/06/2020 11:04

Wow thank you!!! Never come across this one. There's so many different ones out there it's hard to know which ones are safest. This one looks really good and much cheaper than the ones I've been looking at. I'm happy to pay more, but only if what I'm paying for makes a different and not just for the brand name if that makes sense. Thank you so much for your help, will definitely look into this one

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sleepismysuperpower1 · 01/06/2020 11:04

no problem. I haven't used it myself, but have heard of the brand before x

MsChatterbox · 01/06/2020 11:28

I'm sure the joie every stage has everything you're looking for. Just a thought though, I bought this seat thinking it would last but turns out my 2.5 year old is stupidly heavy and I've had to get a 25kg rear facing seat.

BertieBotts · 02/06/2020 11:49

I would probably recommend that you skip the requirement to convert to a booster. You can get seats which do both, but they tend not to perform as well for safety. This is why none of the "top" brands (Cybex, Maxi Cosi, Britax, Besafe, Axkid) make seats like that.

BabyAuto is a medium brand, they aren't one of the top performers for safety, but they do at least make their own seats. I'd look at them in the situation that you don't have another option e.g. their Dupla seat is an interesting mix of rear facing to 18kg and then forward facing with harness to 25kg, or I was looking at their seats as a budget option for use in Spain.

When you need to get a booster you're talking ~3-5 years in the future (depending on which seat you buy) by which time the boosters on sale will have the benefit of 3-5 years' more research and development in the car seat industry, and the seats which are currently available will be older models and hence cheaper. And in any case there are some fantastic models of booster under £100 and even some decent ones under £50.

So I would concentrate now on the stage you're at, which means a rear facing seat up to 18kg or a rear facing seat up to 25kg. The fact you want to stay rear facing is great and if you have a budget up to £220 you have loads of choice. Even if you used £40 to purchase a booster seat right now to store for later, £180 will still give you enough choice.

Good isofix seats up to 18kg are:

Britax Dualfix / Dualfix 2R - One of the best safety rated seats, but quite short in the shell.
Cybex Sirona S / Z / M2 - Can also add Cybex Sensorsafe which is a joint anti-escape and warning device if baby gets too hot.
Joie 360 Spin - compact install and a nice tall shell, harness can be fiddly.
BabyAuto Dupla - unsure about safety rating of this, but worth a look as is RF to 18kg and can be forward facing with harness to 25kg. Needs top tether. Is also under £180. Can be a booster - but I don't know how well it performs as a booster. However, the top tether is a definite plus. You could always decide whether to get a new booster seat later.

You also may wish to have a look at your DC's centile and have a rough guess at when they will be 105/110cm tall as this is when they are likely to outgrow most 18kg seats, even if they are not yet 18kg. If that seems too early for you to put them in a booster, you might want to look at 25kg seats at that point. Considering the 25kg seats cost about as much as an 18kg isofix one, it makes sense to just get one in the first place. These seats can't use isofix as isofix has a weight limit of its own, so you're looking at seatbelt install, but they are just as safe, perhaps even safer.

Up to £180:
Britax Two Way Elite
Britax Max Way
Britax Max-Way Plus (in this colour - usually £215)
Diono Radian 5 (Tony Kealy's import - usually ~£200)

Up to £220:
Axkid Move
Britax Multi-Tech 3

BertieBotts · 02/06/2020 11:50

Oops meant to add - do you know how tall/heavy your LO is now and their age or if you don't know height/weight, what clothing size are they mainly wearing? Because I can estimate for you when they will outgrow an 18kg seat.

Bumblebee1988 · 02/06/2020 22:43

Hiya, thank you so much for your help! That has given us alot to think about. We were set on getting one for up to 12 years but now with your advice will likely be rethinking that option especially as we hopefully will have more children in the future (well 1 more perhaps) it makes sense.

So we haven't had him weighed since he was about 9 months. I don't have any scales either. I can try and measure his height tomorrow if he will sit still but he is very long legged and tall for his age. He's currently 15 months and in 12-18 months clothes.

The only thing that worries us with the 25kg car seats is that they have to be fitted with a seat belt. I honestly don't think I'd be comfortable doing it myself,id always worry incase I'd done it wrong. We have 2 cars and would need to move it between the two on occasion.

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BertieBotts · 03/06/2020 00:34

Long legged is not such an issue as long bodied in terms of car seats, and he's probably about average size if he's in the "right" age clothing so could be around 4 you're looking at outgrowing an 18kg seat, maybe a bit earlier. Can you remember what weight he was at 9 months? More or less than 9 kilos? That's the 50th centile and it tends to be children over the 50th centile where an 18kg seat won't last them the four years.

25kg seats can be trickier to fit, but you tend to have to buy them from specialist retailers anyway, and so they will generally fit them for you (and re-fit if you ever need that doing in the future) and/or be happy to show you how to do it and supervise you doing it a few times until you're totally confident you can do it yourself. I think most are now open with appointment systems in place for social distancing. I would strongly recommend looking for a nearby specialist in person (here is a list) rather than buying online for this reason. It also means you can try out a variety of seats in your car.

But what I'd suggest to do in your situation, if you're fairly sure you'll have two DC is just get a 0-18kg seat for now anyway. That way you can stick to isofix which is very easy to use. At the point that you have another child needing to move out of the baby seat, you can then make a judgement call about how much room DC1 has to go in their current seat, whether you want to stay rear facing, whether you want to buy DC1 a larger seat or just get another of the same sort of type for DC2. It just means a gamble - if you don't have DC2, and DC1 does turn out to be too big for their seat before you're happy for them to use a booster, you'll have to buy a 25kg seat at that point anyway, and it will seem like a waste of money because it's two seats being used by one child where you could have bought one. But possibly you will be happier with a forward facing seat at that time, which are cheaper. Or it might be such a low chance of happening that you're OK with taking the risk :)

It's quite a good idea to get even an isofix seat checked in your car before you buy if you can, just because different cars have different angles and so on which affects the recline and sometimes the stability of the seat (not in a safety critical way, but they can wobble and rattle) so it might be worth having a look at any nearby specialists anyway. Then you can look at both types of seat and see the differences and make the best choice.

Bumblebee1988 · 03/06/2020 12:32

OK so our nearest store to fit them is nearly an hour away and it isn't open until the middle of the month because of corona virus. They do offer a live Webcam fitting but I don't think I'd be confident doing it that way. Plus if we were to move it between cars I know I'd be worried it wasn't in properly if belted rather than isofix unless there was one that was super easy to fix in. The only store nearer to us is halfords. I know they sell and fit car seats but don't know how good they are having never used them before. I'm feeling a bit over whelmed with it all to be honest 😢.

So at the moment I'm thinking up to 18kg, isofix, rearward facing. Unless there are any that can be isofix and belted that go up to 25kg (that way when he's bigger and I can get to somewhere to properly fit it belted for when he's grown out of the isofix option). Don't know if there's any on the market? I've also seen some that go up to 7 years. Are these also not as safe? Sorry for all the questions! I didn't know car seat buying was this tricky. I really appreciate all of your help and advice. How are you so clued up on this stuff?

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Bumblebee1988 · 03/06/2020 13:07

So it was 10 months when he was last weighed and he was 10.98 kg and measured 77cm

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Bumblebee1988 · 05/06/2020 10:37

Thoughts on cosatto den I size? And maxi cosi mica?

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Bumblebee1988 · 05/06/2020 11:08

Scrub that the cosatto would be no good. So deciding between the joie I venture and the maxi cosi mica

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BertieBotts · 05/06/2020 15:00

OK, don't panic! There will be an easy to use solution :)

Long post follows and I'll follow up with a summary of recommendations and some videos to look at, so you can choose depending on whether you want more info or less!

Halfords are better than nothing for fitting demos, but they do not sell 25kg rear facing seats in the first place, and they seem to have massively reduced their stock of 18kg rear facing seats now as well, which is a shame. If they stock the seat you want then absolutely go and have a look, because it's useful to see it in your car and isofix seats are actually fairly difficult to install wrong. Do you have a John Lewis or Smyths?

I don't believe there are any (rear facing) seats in the UK which are isofix up to 18kg and belted beyond that. There was one but it got withdrawn from sale last year.

The ones which go up to 7 years generally are harnessed until 18kg and then a booster seat after that. And not a full sized booster, just up to age 6/7, so you'd need to buy another eventually anyway. There are a lot of these from the cheapo companies, and generally they are not a great choice, unless you're on a tight budget or looking for a spare/travel seat.

With your son's last weight and height he's big for his age, between 75th and 97th centile or if you prefer he's in the top 10-20%. This sometimes slows down once they are walking, but assuming it doesn't, you can assume that an 18kg "up to 4 years" seat will last him until around three, maybe three and a half. If you're lucky, have a seat with a long shell and he times his growth spurts right you might get a bit longer. In a shorter seat or if he has a growth spurt at the wrong time, then potentially less, it's just an estimate. A seat "up to 7" will probably last him until around his sixth birthday, maybe a few months before, maybe a few months after.

Maxi Cosi is a good brand and their seats which forward and rear face generally get good safety tests, so I would trust the Mica. It is i-Size though, which limits you to exactly 105cm in height even if he has more space physically in the seat. Your son would be estimated to reach this somewhere between 3 and 3.5 years old.

As your son is tall I think Joie 360 Spin or Joie Spin Safe (the same seat, but rear facing only and with side impact protection wings) would be a good choice for you. These have a deep seat and tall back/shell, I've heard of children getting to 110/112cm in the Joie 360, which would roughly be an extra 6 months' usage for a tall child. On the other hand, the Joie seats sit very close to the seat back (not much leg room) so could feel cramped rear facing for a taller child. If you wanted more leg room in the 18kg bracket, the Axkid Modukid is worth a look, but that's i-size like the Maxi Cosi Mica, and not a rotating one.

Cosatto Den is only rear facing up to 83cm which at a guess would be too little for your LO already. And then it is forward facing only to 95cm in total, which is smaller than the average 3 year old! Your LO would probably be just over 2 when he outgrows this seat, so does not seem worth it for you. Cosatto also do not get very good safety results on their toddler seats.

No worries about questions! I like answering them :) I just got interested in car seats when DS1 was little (he's 11 now) because I didn't drive but I wanted a way to keep him rear facing, there wasn't a huge amount of choice on the market then. I'm interested in the phyiscs/engineering side but it also fascinates me the human factor - how car seats are designed vs how they are actually used. I'd like to get into the industry or do some study of it eventually. Lastly, the regulations are such a mish mash that it seems absolutely impossibly confusing for anyone coming to it now. It was not as complicated 10 years ago (IME) but with everything that's been built in and put on top of everything else there is now such a huge array of options no wonder people are confused. I've followed it from back then, and done some digging into what the law/changes were previously to that time as well so I feel like I have a good understanding of the whole situation.

So I indulge my interest now by reading car seat questions on parenting forums and reading car seat groups on Facebook, answering other people's questions gives me a chance to research and find out things I'd never have needed to know on my own or thought of looking up. Then I have all the accumulated knowledge from general reading. If I do ever get the chance to study/work in this area, I'm hoping that will be of benefit, plus I just find it fun and I like helping people find the info they need to make a decision.

BertieBotts · 05/06/2020 15:00

If you want one to fit as long as possible even though only 18kg/isofix:

Joie 360 Spin/Spin Safe

Two identical seats with two differences - Spin Safe is rear facing only and has side impact wings. 360 Spin can be rear or forward facing and only has average side impact protection.

Useful video:

If you're less bothered about it fitting as long as possible and more keen on having a better experience now:

Maxi Cosi Mica (Plus the others I mentioned before)

Fitting video:

Another isofix option - seats on a base (non rotating, but more leg room)

Axkid Modukid

And then just in case you want to see how easy/difficult it is to install a seatbelted seat up to 25kg, here's the Axkid Move:

The Axkid Minikid is a little bit easier (but more expensive) and that's also linked next to this video.

Longer video with all different rotating seats to have a look at.

www.facebook.com/watch/live/?v=1127239237626362

Bumblebee1988 · 05/06/2020 16:22

Oh my goodness you are like an encyclopedia of knowledge!!!!! How you haven't already got a job working with a car seat manufacturer is a mystery! Honestly you are brilliant and helping me out so much. I am a COMPLETE novice and honestly thought it was as easy as going into the shop and picking one up. I've learnt so much already but like you said it is also so confusing!

Right, so I have decided I definitely want isofix just cuz I don't trust myself to get it competely right and with moving it between cars etc it would just make more sense.

I really like the joie 360. I like that it can be both forward and rear facing (so if he did get too cramped I could let him sit forward facing when he's abit older). The ONLY thing putting me off is that it doesnt have the side impact protection like the I-size ones do.

The joie spin safe I probably wouldn't go with because it is only rear facing. As much as I will push for him to sit rear facing as long as possible I also want the front facing option as well just in case.

We have a Smyths about half an hour away which we could visit.

Thanks again for all of your help I really do appreciate it!

I love everything about the maxi cosi mica. The only thing putting me off is that he might grow out of it sooner.

If he was to grow out of the mica at 3/3.5
what would I put him into next? Is that when he goes into a booster?

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Bumblebee1988 · 05/06/2020 16:53

I'm also looking at the Britax ones. Their SICT technology sounds good but it's hard to know which of their seats have it. There's an amazon exclusive one that looks good, the Britax dual fix 2R I think it is that doesn't have SICT, but not sure what the side impact is like on that compared with the other Britax ONES with SICT.

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BertieBotts · 05/06/2020 18:02

The Britax website has a really good comparison tool which shows which have the SICT and which do not.

As for comparing, what you can do is look at two similar seats, one which has it and one which does not and see how they compare on the side impact test that is done by ADAC. For example compare the two results here (In German - use Google translate):

www.oeamtc.at/tests/kindersitztest/kindersitztest-2015-herbst/britax-roemer-kidfix-sl-21225010
www.oeamtc.at/tests/kindersitztest/kindersitztest-2015-fruehjahr/britax-roemer-kidfix-sl-sict-21164767

Not the seat class you're looking at, but a pair of Britax seats which is identical except for having SICT or not. There's actually a 0.9 point difference which is quite a big difference - 1.0 is the lowest (best) score it's possible to get and 5.5 is the worst. I think you can use that site to search the Dualfix models which have been tested too, BTW.

At 3/3.5 you could put him into a booster, if he's big enough (which he would be if outgrown other seats), or a larger rear facing seat upto 25kg (maybe you could get one fitted at that time) or a forward facing seat with harness up to 25kg, or it's possible because i-size seats are now coming out with different regulations you may find a forward (or rear) facing seat with a limit somewhere between 105cm and 125cm which is the usual limit of 25kg seats.

Whether you're comfortable with him being in a booster at 3/3.5 is another matter - many people feel that's too young. At the moment I am OK with it in theory as I haven't seen anything compelling to say it's dangerous, but ask me again when I have an actual 3 year old and I might feel differently!

If you have another baby before then who needs the seat he's going into now, you'd need to buy another toddler seat anyway so you could get a larger seat without it feeling like a waste of money then :)

2007Millie · 05/06/2020 18:06

I have the cyber Sirona and I highly recommend. I have the joie for in laws car and it's feels a load of crap compared to the cyber

2007Millie · 05/06/2020 18:06

*Cybex

Bumblebee1988 · 05/06/2020 21:42

I just checked out the cybex ferrari sirona gold s i size (its on offer at the moment) and it looks pretty good. I'm stuck between that and the mica. Just trying to decide now whether we gamble and go for the I size and hope it lasts him or go for something like the joie that might last him a little longer. I do not want to compromise on safety though.

If only they made one that was I size that you could use up to 25kg that started off isofix and then went forward facing but belted. Decisions decisions. Argh I am the WORST person at making decisions too. Takes me forever and even then I worry I haven't made the right one.

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riddles26 · 05/06/2020 22:00

I was in a similar position to you about 2.5 years back and picked the Cybex Sirona (newest model available at the time but now dated). It is a wonderful seat and I ended up with less than 2 years between my children so it worked out to be a good investment as my younger one is in it and older in a 25kg RF, but if I were to go back in time, I would leave out the isofix and just get a 25kg rear facing seat.

I had the same hesitations as you do over fitting it correctly with seatbelt but they are honestly so straightforward to fit. The seatbelt doesn't obstruct the child getting in and out of the car and there is so so much more legroom for the child. My eldest isn't particularly tall so at 3.5, she still comfortably fits into the Sirona rear-facing but has a lot more legroom in the Axkidd (in our car) and Two way Elite (in grandparents). If you are going to move a ERF seat between two cars regularly, I would recommend buying a second set of tethers and it will take seconds to move it.

Given you child is on higher centiles, I would recommend looking at a few fitting videos for the 25kg RF seats mentioned above before making a decision

BertieBotts · 05/06/2020 23:24

As long as you're rear facing it doesn't much matter which seat you get. The safety rating comparisons come in more when forward facing.

I agree defo watch the 25kg fitting video. You only have to do the tethers (which is the tricky bit ) once as you can buy two sets and leave one in each car, then you just clip them on and off. The Minikid tethers (I realise this is over your budget, but just in case) even self-tighten.

The Joie is not that likely to get you a huge amount of extra time - a few months. So if you're happier with the Maxi Cosi or Cybex, go for those.

There was apparently an Axkid seat which was isofix up to 18kg and then belted after that but it got horrific safety ratings forward facing and was taken off the market. Axkid no longer make any forward facing seats at all. Not sure why they didn't rerelease that one as a rear facing only seat! I suppose the risk you'd keep using it on the isofix is quite high and no decent company wants to risk that.

Bumblebee1988 · 06/06/2020 12:21

Honestly thank you all so much for all of your help I really do appreciate it!

I looked at the video for installing the axkid move and it actually doesn't look too bad! I think it will be OK where as my husband is still leaning towards the isofix options. It tough cuz normally we would just go to the shop and have a look and a play around with some but we can't at the moment.

A cheaper isofix option would be the mee go swirl I size but I can't find many reviews on it and have no idea how safe they are. If the mica is safer I'd pay the extra and get that.

Will be doing some more research on the 25kg car seats today and then hopefully we can come to a decision!

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BertieBotts · 06/06/2020 16:18

Is it migo rather than mee go? Migo is a subsidiary of team tex and I wouldn't recommend them at all. I have not heard of mee go but in general I would steer clear of weird one off brands you've never heard of.

Maxi Cosi is a very high quality, safe brand.

Bumblebee1988 · 06/06/2020 17:01

It was definitely mee-go but yes I've never heard of it before so was sceptical. One other thing I was going to ask (mainly for car seats but I know they review everything!) is do you use which at all? When I first started looking for car seats there was a which 'don't buy' list. I can see this list but can't see the scores or anything as I don't pay a subscription. The Britax romer max way plus is in it which is one of the 25kg ones we were considering. I dont know whether to rule it out or not. Also please never leave this site as I'll probably be back looking for you again in a few years when it's time for a booster Grin you can't go anywhere!

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