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Car seat recommendations - tall 3 year old

7 replies

belleoz · 30/09/2025 09:27

Hi, can anyone recommend a car seat? It has to have isofix, be forward facing, if it can swivel then amazing but not a dealbreaker. Also the car seat is for a three year old but he’s quite tall for his age, almost 100cm. Im not sure if that changes choice in car seat at all! And our budget is £200. Thanks!

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Koalaslippers · 30/09/2025 10:59

How much does the child weigh? Car seats are based on weight and sometimes height.
What is your current seat? And whats driving the change?

BertieBotts · 30/09/2025 16:28

Is he just three or nearly 4?

Swivel ones for forward facing are a bit of a waste and a compromise in safety, especially since you're not far off transitioning to the next stage.You can get swivel seats which cover the forward facing with harness stage and the high back booster stage, but they tend to have lower weight limits, have a poor fit for the high back booster stage and if you're paying less than £200 the quality is poor. There are some better rated all-stage swivel seats at about the £350 mark but not for £200, and even these tend to fare less well than a dedicated seat covering one or max 2 stages.

So - personally, I would look for something which incorporates the 5 point harness stage and high back booster stage, with top tether attachment, and make sure you don't miss the top tether when installing (all the following seats I mention have this).

I would normally recommend Britax Evolvafix, however it's over £200 at the moment. Possibly it will go on offer at some point. That has a decent harness capacity (22kg/105cm) and good safety test results. Britax are in general a very good choice.

Silver Cross Balance i-size is also good. The "Essentials" version is £160. The limit is 21kg/105cm on the harness. It's been ADAC tested under another model name and performed well.

Maxi Cosi Onyx or a few of the Titan i-size models are under £200. The weight limit is lower on these at 18kg. But they have good safety testing and are easy to use.

If you want or need higher harness capacity Joie have a new seat called i-Irvana Max which has harness capacity up to 25kg/125cm, so it is a proper extended harness seat with the newer safety standard. Must be the "Max" version to have this feature.

The new ADAC test results are out in the next couple of weeks, if you want to wait for those before deciding. I am not sure whether the i-Irvana Max will be tested as it's literally only just come out so it's probably too late to make it into this round. But it's possible a seat from another brand might be included.

belleoz · 02/10/2025 19:55

@BertieBottsthis is incredibly helpful, thank you. He’s just turned three. The swivel feature isn’t super important for me tbh. I will check out your recommendations

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belleoz · 02/10/2025 19:57

@KoalaslippersHe weighs 14kg and is over 100cm - so quite tall for his age. We currently have the maxi emerald which is fine but we are having our third baby soon, so middle child is moving from baby car seat to maxi cosi and eldest needs a new seat.

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stichguru · 02/10/2025 20:20

Look at the Cybex Pallas B2-Fix. Forward facing and has a bump bar that goes from their chest to almost sitting on their lap which is taken off as they grow. Then a car seat that they wear the normal belt on. Finally a booster with short back until they no-longer need a seat!

BertieBotts · 03/10/2025 19:59

OK so if he's already over 100cm and only just turned 3, I'd definitely go for the Joie one with the higher limit. i-Irvana Max. Only the "Max" version has the extended harness (125cm).

The Cybex Pallas impact shield has to be removed at 18kg/105cm depending on the model, and it can't be used as a backless booster - the booster must only be used with the back. It only comes apart for transport.

belleoz · 06/10/2025 11:47

@BertieBottsyou've been so helpful, thank you.

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