Car seat for 4 year old

[Northernsoul90]

Hi, DD is 4 in a couple of weeks. She's 103cm and weighs 17.7kg so almost at the limit for her Joie 360 seat.

Does anyone have any recommendations for the next seat going forward? I have been looking at the Cozy N Safe Hudson. I'm keen for her to still have a harness if possible, the Hudson harnesses up to 25kg. I can't seem to find what the height limit for the harness would be though? Technically she could go in a high back booster but im not sure what to do for the best... any recommendations appreciated!

There is no height limit for the harness on the Cozy n Safe Hudson, as it's an R44 certified seat. Only R129 seats have height limits. You'd have to stop using the harness if she got physically too tall to fit in it. The newer Cozy n Safe Hudson i-size does have a limit though - 105cm (and 18kg) - so it's not an extended harness seat.

There is a different Cozy n Safe seat, the Excalibur i-Size which is up to 125cm/22kg harnessed, then turns into a high back booster. If you're wanting an extended harness forward facing seat, I'd probably go for that one since it meets the newer regulation and will get her to about age 5 harnessed.

If you're happy to harness for a shorter time, you could look at Britax Evolvafix or Advansafix, or Silver Cross Balance, the limit on those is 105cm/21kg and they turn into pretty decent HBB seats. Since she's still under 105cm, you'd probably get another 6 months or so in the harness, which might be enough.

Another option might be to look at an extended rear facing seat up to 125cm. I believe the older Minikid is on clearance for about £200 currently.

Do you have the Joie 360 Spin or the Joie i-Spin 360, BTW? If you have the i-Spin, the limit is 19kg so you'll have a bit longer, maybe another 4-6 months in it.

Thank you so much! It is the ispin 360 so good to know I actually have a bit more time to decide. I will take at look at the Excalibur and the other models you mentioned... I do already have a Joie elevate that I use occasionally for my nephew but I'm not entirely happy with it. It seems a bit basic and flimsy so do want something more substantial for a full time seat.

Yes I'm not keen on the Joie Elevate really. It's OK as a spare or sometimes if you need a budget seat but I do prefer other models as a main seat.

I have a Joie Bold which harnesses up to 25 kg.

im in the same situation. I’d like my 4.5 year old to forward face now but he’s not used to cars much and wriggles out of HBB on long journeys. Have you seen the joie irvana max? https://joiebaby.com/uk/i-irvana-max-child-car-seat

it has a harness up to 25kg then turns into a HBB. I’d buy it in a flash but I’m not 100% clear on whether it’s safer than the HBB booster we have (I-traver)

Oh I haven't seen that one - that might be a better bet than the Excalibur.

125cm harness is a good one and the weight limit is better.

The i-Traver is an excellent HBB and probably a better seat overall, but if your child wriggles out of a seatbelt, then a harness is safer.

Oh hang on - unless Joie have uploaded the wrong instruction manual, the manual on the page for the i-Irvana max shows 105cm/22kg for the harness.

Definitely double check that before ordering.

They’ve uploaded the manual for the irvana (not irvana max). The description seems very clears it up to 25kg with a harness. I’ve emailed them anyway as they don’t have a car fit list. Maybe it’s really new.

Yes I came to the same conclusion in the end. Perhaps it's a placeholder for now and the seat is too new so they don't have the right manual for it yet. The file name includes "max" so it could be a mistake as well.

The same on the Cozy n Safe one - the link to the manual is greyed out. I wonder if this is a new class of seat type or something which is why they have both been approved at the same time.

Thanks all, will look into all suggestions!