Car seat flexible - need to fold down rear seats

[Ivy37]

Looking for some advice please! Our 10month old is growing out of her Maxi Cosi Pebble and we're looking for next one up.

However in our car, we'll need to fold down the rear seats fairly regularly, so looking for a car seat that's easy to put in and out and doesn't have a isofix base that takes ages to get in and out each time.

Are there isofix seats that go directly into the points that are quick to take out? Or is a seatbelt option our only choice. Looking for a seat that's up to 4 years or so. Thanks for any tips!

I’m not completely up to speed with this but in my experience the rear facing seats in the next size up tend to be seatbelt/top tether fastening rather than Isofix. We had an Axkid Move, which was an excellent seat but not a quick one to whip in and out (had a support leg).

Car seats are based on weight/height not age, so beat to look at your childs centiles to see what would be most long-lasting. Also if you want to rear face or not as its safer. Most are up to 18kg/105cm or 25kg/125cm (whichever comes first), you will get some up to 36kg too.
Very few for this age will have a separate base if isofix so it will be one seat to install.

Seat belt fitted seats like joie stages will be simple to fit but, lower weight limits so may not last you as long and less legroom if rear facing. Will also have the belt in the way which most people find awkward when getting the child in.

Rear facing seats with a higher weigh limit (brands like axkid or avionaut, besafe) are usually installed with seatbelts and lower tethers (attached to the rails of your seats). You can leave the tethers in the car and remove the seat so its easier to install.

Isofix seats usually have weight limits up to 18/23kg as there's a limit on how much the isofix bars can hold. Some like the joie 360 will have less leg room for child than say axkid one (but higher price)

Other alternative would be to use the front seat if you can turn the airbag off.

I have a Joie i-spin 360 seat (isofix - up to 4ish years) and some Britax Safeway M extended rear-facing seats (seatbelt fitted, up to 7ish). Neither is difficult to install or remove, but of the two I'd say the spin seat is less faffy - as PP says the base is attached to the seat so it's just one unit to fit and remove, though a bit bulky. With the Safeway M you have to open up the cover and thread/unthread the seatbelt, and attach the lower tethers and position the foot. None of this is hard, it's just a few more stages. But the seat itself is not as awkward to move around.

Thank you all above! This is making me realise I am totally clueless about car seats (it seems a minefield)...

@BarnacleBeasley how long does it take you to fit the Joie? Ie is it like 10 seconds or more of a 10 minute fitting process? Thanks in advance

@PlantsAndSpaniels thank you! That's a great idea about the front seat idea actually... Saves having to take it in and out all the time

I would say about 30 seconds, but then you have to lug the seat around and put it somewhere. Even the other one only takes a couple of minutes when you know what you're doing, it's just a little fiddlier.

The car seats for the next stage mostly don't have a base, they just click into the isofix directly, like the car seat base does. The problem with isofix seats, especially spin seats, is they are very heavy - the seats themselves can weigh up to about 15 kilos. And the spin makes it swing around all over the place as the leg hits you in the shins!

Seatbelt fitted seats are a bit lighter and less of a pain to carry but they take longer to fit. It doesn't take long to fit an isofix seat once you've got the hang of it - about 2 minutes max? Same is probably true of seatbelts, to be fair.

Would second the question of the other poster. When the seats are laid flat, where will you be keeping the car seat? Will you be able to keep it in the car or would it need to be kept outside the car, and do you have a garage or other storage place or will you have to carry it some distance?

Do you have a budget in mind? Axkid One seems to be very quick and easy to put in and out but it is an expensive model. TinySeats 2 possibly similar (but also expensive).

Is she approaching 75cm to be outgrowing the pebble, or are you just looking to move her to a seat which is more upright? Lasting until 4 years could vary based on how big she is now.

@BertieBotts thanks for the response! She's basically at 74cm yes (also looks squeezed width ways) and think she'd be happier a bit more upright now.

We would store the seat in the car (at front) or just beside the car, so no need to carry much and means a heavier one is not too much of a worry. So we'd probably opt for a fast-fitting one, even if a bit heavy.

Keen to keep her rear facing for now (least til 15months maybe more), and wouldn't mind lower weight limit ie needing another one down the line.

Thanks for the recommendations I'd not heard of these - nor realised how pricey car seats could be!! I think we were looking to spend 200-300

@BarnacleBeasley how do you find the legroom for rear facing Joie i-spin 360 seat?

Are you anywhere near an In-Car Safety Centre? It's a good way to try some options in your own car and see whether you think frequent removal/installation is feasible.

For £200-300 and quick to fit but not mattering if heavy, I'd look at Britax Dualfix M Plus or Pro, Cybex Sirona Gi i-size (has to be Gi to have the base attached) or Maxi Cosi Mica Pro Eco.

The Britax is not a great price at the moment but the other two are OK. The Maxi Cosi is a bit heavier than the other two.

If looking at Joie I would go for i-Pivot over the i-Spin because it's a newer model, and the price is better. But I would say that the Britax/Cybex/Maxi Cosi are all a slightly higher level than Joie. Joie is a great brand esp for price:performance ratio, but they are budget not premium and there are annoyances with their seats which it's worth paying to avoid unless you are on a very tight budget or it's a second seat.

I would avoid anything which converts to booster mode.

Joie i-Prodigi is reduced to £350 here which might be worth a look as it's similar to the Axkid One, although I am not sure if it is as quick and easy to fit or not - there might be a youtube review? The benefit of paying that much more is that it will last up to 125cm instead of 105cm. Your baby is quite tall, so this might be helpful later: https://www.samueljohnston.com/products/joie-i-prodigi-extended-rear-facing-car-seat

@Ivy37 it was fine - we had our 3.5 year old rear-facing in it and he could just cross his legs or put them up the back of the seat till he outgrew it. But I'd go with BertieBotts' suggestions as she knows more about the latest models.

theres lots of options for isofix depending on your budget, do you know what percentile the child is following for height and weight? As this will determine how long the seat will last.