Brain melting over what Cybex car seat to get for newborn - advice please!

[MaggieCorvidae]

I'm a FTM and have been spiralling for days over what car seat to get when the new addition arrives. I am beginning to feel unhinged and would be grateful for advice from those in the know.

I've narrowed it down to a few Cybex models...partly because I think they all have good safety scores, all go to 13kg / 87cm (as opposed to 75cm with Maxi Cosi, for example) and there are discounts on a website I have received gift vouchers for. The options from cheapest to most expensive are:

CYBEX Aton B2 i-Size Car Seat + Base One (£161)
CYBEX Aton B i-Size Car Seat + Base M (£280)
CYBEX Cloud Z2 i-Size Car Seat + Base (£409)

I am conscious of costs given how many expenses there are when a newborn arrives on the scene but was initially tempted to splash out on the CYBEX Cloud Z2 given its rave reviews, rotating chair and lie flat/recline (even in the car) features. However... I've scoured Mumsnet for advice and hung on the words of resident guru @BertieBotts and wonder if it would make more sense to get an equally safe but less expensive/no bells and whistles car seat to begin with. Whatever car seat I get would need to be able to be installed via Isofix and seatbelt harness, so we can use it in other cars if need be.

From what I've read it sounds like the rotating/spin function, while a 'nice to have', is much more useful later when child is heavier and onto their second car seat sometime between 12-24 months. I do think the recline/lie flat function sounds good if it means a safer position for the babe to be in for longer periods in the car (although I have also read reclines can arguably impact spine alignment) and transferring to the pram flat when they are sleeping and to avoid being in a sitting position too long....

At the same time, I am wary the other two cheaper models are much lighter, so better for carrying babe out of the car back into the house, especially when they get heavier. At the same time I don't think I'd use it for much more than this as an infant carrier however, since they will presumably often need to go into their bassinet pram to lie flat after being out and about in the car.

Adding to my dilemma is that I cannot find any information clarifying the difference between the CYBEX Aton B2 or CYBEX Aton B, or Base One and Base M - including on the Cybex website!

Finally, there is also one CYBEX Aton M i-Size Car Seat + Base M available in the sale. I have no idea how this is different from the Atons (despite looking for comparison charts) but I assume it is superior in some way because the original price is higher, however I really dislike the colour available.

I would be so grateful to hear which of these particular seats you would go for and why!

Apologies for the long post and thank you for bearing with my rant if you got to the end! :)

Just watch the height limits as maxi cosi have a few with a 75cm limit so often the child isn't big enough for an extended rear facing seat and you have to buy a stop gap seat costing more money.

Lots of new cars have sloped seats and low isofix points. We have just gotten a new car and have added recline to the car seat which wasn't needed in the old car - my child is 3 so has it fully upright but can't if asleep in the new car.

@NameChange30 Thanks for your reply. Good point about the weight - sounds great! Yes it's available too.. at this point I cannot remember why I didn't put it on the shortlist...maybe I read something about the padding not being as good for newborns? Who knows! So many car seats... Just checked safety reviews and it is about the same as the Pebble and Cybex models...so back on the list it goes! Thank you for your advice.

You're welcome! ADAC gave it a really good score, 1.5 for safety which is in the "very good" category (the lower the number, the better). So I think safety-wise it would be a good option
I guess you should also consider fit/recline in your car.

Hmmm that's interesting - thanks! But you managed ok with the seats inc. Cybex even if it's a bit of a faff? It would be an X1 20 plate.

When DC1 was born, we had an old Ford Focus and the seats were quite sloped. It was ok with the infant seat (Cybex Aton Q on an isofix base - nb i wouldn't recommend it as per my first post!) but we did struggle with the next seat, just because he was very young when he outgrew the infant seat (big baby with broad shoulders, not a roomy seat), and we couldn't fit a 25kg seat in our car with enough recline for him and leg room for the passenger in front. It was fine though, we got a group 1 / 18kg seat (a rotating one) which was handy because of the adjustable recline. When they're toddlers it is helpful to easily switch between upright and reclined. We did also get a 25kg later but I didn't mind having to buy 3 seats (instead of 2) because we had a second baby so we are reusing them all. We have a different car now - a Skoda Octavia - and no issues with sloping seats.

@NameChange30 Ah I see...I've been looking at the overall score of these models...all about 1.7 or 1.8 but can see for 'security' the Cabrio is 1.5 - v good indeed.

Thanks so much for the extra info. Lots to think about! Haven't begun to think about the next seat (I think my brain would explode) and didn't realise some of these have a recline function - hard to find in an infant carrier. Food for thought!

We have the cybex cloud z from 2019, spin feature is great. With our first she was mainly a pandemic baby or a didn't leave the house because colic baby so didn't use it much. She was in the pram for our daily walks 😅 But with my second we've used the lie flat feature on our pram base so much it's brilliant and obviously spin feature too.

We moved our daughter to the next size up up to age 4 and seriously wish we'd have gone for a longer lasting rear facing one. Going to have to get ANOTHER now and probably won't be rear facing to make it last as I don't want to have bought 4 different size car seats plus maybe an extra when my second need the biggest size. 😳

My dd is one and has just outgrown her infant car seat (the maxi cosi cabriofix). I wanted a car seat that would see her through and have bought a silver cross motion all-size. I’ve been really impressed with it so far. I wish I’d bought it for her to use from newborn (not sure it was around then?). It’s not cheap (£400) but potentially worth the outlay if it’s the only seat you’ll need? It’s extended rear facing and can be used as a high backed boosted until they’re 12.

The thing is, infant car seats and high back boosters have a better fit for babies and older children (respectively) and they are relatively light and easy to move between cars. It's the middle stage (age 1-5) when the seat is bulky and not hugely portable.

As I said, I don't mind having bought 3 seats, because we're getting use out of them for 2 children, but I guess if you had just 1 child (or twins) it would make more sense to buy an all-stage seat, although it wouldn't be so easy to move between cars, or take on a plane if needed.

The silver cross motion all-size isn't a recommend seat in most car seat group as it only scores satisfactory in ADAC and for the price you can get better seats.
The harness can only be used until 18.5kg true extended rear facing seat can last until 36kg now but 25kg has more choice.

@mrshenny Great to hear you had a good experience with the Cybex! Thanks for your reply.

@WooWooWinnie How did your wee one enjoy the Cabrio when they were a newborn/ small infant? What age did they move onto their next seat? I realise the latter is more to do with size than age but nevertheless...

Thanks for your reply!

She was fine in it as a newborn. She’s just turned one and I could probably have kept her in it for another month but that’s it - she’s well under the weight limit but is getting too tall for it.

@WooWooWinnie Great - thanks!

0.5kg won't make a difference. The inserts in the Pebble Pro are lovely for newborns and really supportive. The flipside is it doesn't last long, doesn't last most people to a year unless you have a baby on the smaller side.

Worth noting that the MC Cabriofix and the MC Cabriofix i-size are not the same seat. The original Cabriofix was much much loved but it has also been around for a long time (all the babies in my NCT group with my 14yo had it!) and it's considered outdated now. It was ahead of its time which is why it stayed competitive/a good option compared to other more recent seats, but it's rare you'll even find stock of it to buy now. The Cabriofix i-size lacks the simplicity and the long lasting nature of the original, and has a worse insert than the Pebble Pro IMO, although it has better side impact protection than the original Cabriofix. There's nothing wrong with it as a seat, but it just doesn't stand out like the original one did.

I think OP you have already said you don't want a multi stage seat as want to use on a pram, so won't comment on this.

Infant seats do not usually have a recline, because by their very nature they are already deisgned to hold the baby in a semi-reclined position. All infant carriers are more reclined than the recline that you get in the next stage. Multi-stage seats that are "from birth" generally have a newborn wedge-shaped insert which levels off the seat into the more reclined angle to mimic an infant carrier. The newer infant seats which do have the recline feature, this is mostly in response to a criticism of the practice of using infant carriers on prams as a travel system as the main form of transport all day, which is advised against for two reasons; firstly young babies who cannot yet sit up (under 4 months ish) should be laid flat as much as possible to support their developing spine. The other reason is that there have been cases of babies dying when they are left to sleep in car seats, because the angle is so steep that it compromises the baby's airway. These are rare events, and have also happened in other "sitting devices" such as swings and bouncers, but the most common item this kind of death is recorded in is a car seat. This particular risk is the reason that you might have seen advice not to keep a baby in a car seat for longer than 2 hours at a time.

So some companies started putting in, around 10 years ago I'd say, more wedge cushions and slopes in their seats in order to make the seats "flatter shaped", and then more recently you've also got the ones that have the lie flat function as well. Whether or not this actually helps with spinal development and/or risk of positional asphyxiation hasn't been studied, so you can't necessarily say whether this is the case, but certainly that is what the companies hint at. Car seats, although reclined, are not as reclined as things like swings and bouncers because the semi-upright angle is more protective in a crash (and when you have one that can be used both ways in the car, it's generally thought that the upright position is more protective). In terms of comfort for sleeping, it might be better? But honestly, I never felt that my children were uncomfortable sleeping in any of the car seats we've had without this extra recline.

Backrest position of your car doesn't affect car seat angle and in fact I believe you must use the most upright position with child seats, in most cars which have this option, to ensure good contact with any anti-rebound protection. It is the seat angle which affects car seats. If you definitely have sloped seats, then a base with angle adjustment might be beneficial (sorry to throw another option/thing to look at into the picture!) Joie and Britax both have an angle adjust base. Britax Flex Base and Joie i-Base Advance I think. Or you can always skip the base, and just belt fit the car seat - Maxi Cosi are nicely designed for this, Cybex I felt it was designed more as an occasional thing and was a bit more fiddly. In some newer cars, the isofix points are "floating" ie raised a bit higher to counteract the slope, so no angle adjust necessary.

The Cybex Sirona has a shorter height. I'd avoid that if you or dh are anything taller than short. Not sure what the other Cynex shells are like.

Personally I had the infant carseat for the first 9m then went ERF with a Britax Two Way Elite which has a really tall shell and can reaf face long past 5yo. It doesn't swivel but if that's important I'm sure there'll be erf seats that do.

I read that infant seat first and good etc seat from around 9-12m is better than a seat which tries to be too much.

I loved my cybex cloud z! We now have two cars (and a toddler) and in one car we have a cybex (next size, don't remember the name) and the other a maxi cosi. The maxi cosi is so much more irritating than the cybex. I love the swivel option of the cybex and the straps are much easier to get snug and safe.

@BertieBotts thank you so much as always for your advice on car seats. I have (silently) learnt so much from your posts, you always explain things so well ❤️❤️

Aww, thanks Porridge!! :)

OP, have you decided on your pram? We have the Cybex cloud z and the pebble pro (don’t ask) and a lightweight Yoyo pram. I’ve found the cloud z makes the pram so awkward to handle.

FWIW, I believe the main difference between the cloud z and the z2 is the ability to lie flat whilst travelling. I got a cloud z new for a relatively good price once the z2 came out.

@BertieBotts Thank you very much for your latest super detailed and helpful reply - very kind of you and much appreciated!

@QueenOfWeeds I'm going to bite the bullet and I think order two from different brands (prob Maxi Cosi and Cybex) to compare from a site with a good returns policy. Each seem to have pros and cons...e.g. some are lighter, others have softer straps, some last longer, others take up more space in the car etc. Based on feedback here and MN trawling, all infant carriers seem to have received positive and not so positive reviews from users...so I will just have to see how it goes and hope for the best!

Thank you to everyone who responded to this post!

Signing off now... take care Mums out there.🙂

I would confirm returns policy before you order, car seats are sometimes exempt because they don't want to resell one that has potentially been mistreated. You technically have 14 days under the distance seling act regardless, but I had issues when I ordered one that I thought was compatible with a base and then wasn't and had to swap it (ironically, also Cybex!) - so also if you buy car seat + base combo, I recommend getting both from the same place and not being like me and trying to save money getting them from different places!

@BertieBotts Good tip! Will do - thank you!🙂

@MaggieCorvidae hope you’re well 😊 what did you end up going for? Are you happy with it?