Car seat for 4 year old

[rc12]

Hi

I am looking for some car seat recommendations for my 4 year old. We currently have the Maxi cosi mica. he is now over 18kg and 103.5cm so we need a new seat to fit him going forward. There doesnt seem to be an obvious choice!

should he still be in a 5 point harness?

we often do long journey with my husband work and my son often sleeps in his car seat on these journey so need something with comfort.

thnks

Mine moved into high backed boosters at 18kg but you can get seats that are harnessed up to 25kg.

We have the max way plus which is an extended rear facing car seat. It is really lightweight and easy to fit

We love our axkids - the move or minikid will allow him to rear face up to 25kg

You don't have to keep him in a harness. He can move to a booster with seatbelt if you feel comfortable with that.

If you would prefer to keep him harnessed there are a couple of forward facing options and a few rear facing options. Joie Bold, Cozy n Safe Hudson, Axkid Move/Minikid, Besafe Stretch, Joie i-Prodigi.

If you are happy with the idea of a high backed booster I'd take him to a shop and let him try them out. Stick to the known brands - Maxi Cosi, Cybex, Britax etc. But there are plenty of good options there and you can try them for comfort. There is often a mock up seat that you can put the booster on with the seatbelt. This kind of thing is more to do with individual child shape than any particular safety rating.

Then ideally you want to check it in your car before purchase to ensure that the seatbelt runs freely and doesn't get caught and you can easily access the buckle.

It's worth extending the headrest up to full in your car too (if you're likely to keep the same car for the next 6-8 years) to check that it fits. Some cars have lower ceilings so you need a seat with the right shaped headrest to fit under it.

Thanks. He is forward facing now so we wouldn’t need extended rear facing.

what are the best high backed boosters?

We have the maxi cosi mica, and I have been looking at the maxi cosi Kore high back booster for next seat.
It’s narrower than many as a seat although the inner bit child sits on is the same. Handy if others need to fit in car.
At the moment the mica is fairly bulky so when we have two adults in the back also when people visit is a bit tight. The cybex ones I saw had a massively wide headrest in comparison which would be uncomfortable if someone sat next to.

We have the Maxi Cosi Tanza. My son is very tall for his age and outgrew his previous car seat much sooner than I would have liked (he is a whole head taller than others of his age). I like the tanza as it is seems more comfortable than most high backed boosters. Plus I purchased a separate cup holder which I place on the Tanya's arm rest which meant that he couldn't see/reach to undo the seat belts. I purchased it directly from maxi Cosi rather than a retailer as they didn't seem to sell it anywhere else. I'd buy the same again if I needed a new one.

I’d look for a high backed booster with decent side impact protection. DD has the Cybex Solution Z (the newer version is the Solution T) and we’ve been really pleased with it, especially the reclining headrest which means no head lolling if she falls asleep. The only downside is it is quite bulky so not ideal if you regularly use your middle seat (we don’t) but the newer version (the T) looks better as you only pull out the side impact on the side you need it, rather than have it encroaching on the side you don’t.

Thanks. Any experience of the maxi cosi titan?

the Joie bold
or the Britax advansifix? Worried the advansifix doesn’t have enoug padding.

we have had 2 maxi cosi car seats for the last 2 car seats and been really happy so worried to change brands!

what maxi cosi would people recommend?
thanks

Also anyone know the difference between the maxi cosi titan pro I size and maxi cosi titan plus I size? I can’t seem to see the difference

You need a high back booster with a crotch strap, it's safer for smaller/younger children as it prevents them sliding out under the lap belt in a crash.

We have the Britax Kidfix which is good.

There are two versions of the Titan, the older one is the Titan, Titan pro, titan plus or Titan i-size. The harness is small on this and it doesn't fit very long so your LO might already be too big for it. Check it in a shop rather than buying online.

The newer version is the Titan pro i-size or Titan plus i-size (it is a bit confusing with the names being so similar) the shell of this one is bigger so logically the harness should be as well, but I don't know for sure. The limit on all of the versions is 18kg so you'll need to check your LO is under that too. The crash test is better on the newer version.

Joie Bold has the harness up to 25kg instead so a good choice if you need the extended harness, but wouldn't be my pick otherwise as the crash test isn't that great. I'm not a big fan of it as a booster seat. I think it will feel like a step down in quality after maxi Cosi.

I have the advansafix for my 4yo and am happy with it. He fit into the harness until approx 109cm, it's a good bit bigger than the old Titan model. I liked that it has the crotch guard thing and turns into a well rated booster. The i-size version technically has a 102cm limit on the harness for reasons unknown. He's never complained about the padding. We've done a long drive in it (10 hours) x4 and he seemed comfy.

Britax do have the new Evolvafix which is similar to the advansafix but with a 105cm harness limit.

These brands are fairly widely available so you may be able to try them out which is always worth doing.

Maxi Cosi kore is nice too if you wanted just a high backed booster. The only thing is it doesn't go up quite as high as some other brands and the ADAC test result was not quite as good as for some other brands (but it was still ok).

I believe the plus/pro are just different fabrics.

You don't need the crotch strap. Lots of people like it but there isn't really any evidence showing it's necessary or even that beneficial. They shouldn't slide out under it if they are big enough to use it and it's positioned properly.

"The limit on all of the versions is 18kg so you'll need to check your LO is under that too."
OP's son is already over 18kg, it's in the first post.

"The i-size version technically has a 102cm limit on the harness for reasons unknown."
OP said her son is 103.5cm tall.

OP, I don't see much point in buying a seat with a harness if your son is getting near the weight/height limit for it. You might as well just get a high back booster. Otherwise you're paying more for something you're barely going to use.

We have several Britax seats and always been very happy with them. And I think it's better to have a HBB with crotch strap while the child is still small.

Theres no point buying the maxi cosi titan if he’s over 18kg and 103cm, as he’s already outgrown it. The height and weight max if basically the same as the Maxi cosi Mica you already have

We have the advansafix for our 2YO and are very pleased with it. Your DS is already over the harnessed height and weight limit though so it would be pointless. Same with most other harnessed seats. He’s the right age, height and weight to move to a booster. The Britax Kidfix is the same design as the Advansafix including the crotch strap in booster mode but does not have the harnessed option (which you can’t use anyway) so I’d maybe look at that. It’s also £50 cheaper as you’re not paying for features you don’t need and the ADAC rating is good.

Ah yes sorry, I was replying from bed last night and did not scroll up.

So yes the only option if you want harness is Joie Bold, or one of the rear facing ones e.g. Axkid Move, Besafe Stretch.

Cybex high back boosters are the best. They have a special thing on the headrest that reclines to stop their head rolling forward if the nod off. The one we had fits growth of up to 150cm tall which is the European Safety Standard.

My son slept in the car until he was about 10. He says that the Cybex was very comfortable. He was gutted when he outgrew it.

Thank you. Yes I think just a high backed booster sounds the best to go. Unfortunately there aren’t places near me that have many available to try out so May have to order online.

yes the cybex ones sound good re the sleeping. I will look for these , Britax and maxi cosi.

it’s confusing as there are so many seats for each brand

If you don't mind giving your rough location someone might be able to advise on a good place to go.

Usually if you look at the brand website you can then see what their current models are and they will have basic ones, luxury ones and in between usually.

Then any other models not mentioned on the website will be older models which might be cheaper.

Hi

does anyone know what the difference is between the cybex solution t I-fix, the solution z I-fix and the solution g I-fix?

my son often sleeps in the car so feel they may be a good Choice given the head rest.

thanks

cybex solution t I-fix, the solution z I-fix and the solution g I-fix

The Z is the old top spec model. We have it, bought 3 years ago for my now 6YO. It’s great but very bulky because it has chunky side impact blocks on both sides. It’s being discontinued so if you don’t use your middle seat so can live with being big, you may be able to pick up a clearance bargain.

The T is the newest top spec model. It has the newer design of side impact protection where you pop it out only on the side you need it next to the door. I don’t know if it’s actually any safe than the old style, Bertie can probably answer that, but it certainly encroaches into your middle seat less.

I think the G is supposed to be the mid range model. I don’t know much about it but it looks chunky similar to the Z. A lot cheaper than the T though so potentially a good budget option.

All have the fantastic reckoning headrest though.

Reckoning should be reclining!

Hi BertieBotts,

Do you have a link to the Joie Bold crash test results? For the life of me I can't track them down.

Sorry, this is a bit off topic and I'm resurrecting an old thread.