How much safer are swedish plus tested car seats vs standard rear facing?

[corpjones]

Hi everyone,

I need to buy a car seat for my 4-month-old, but I’m getting really confused by all the options out there. From what I understand, the Swedish Plus Test is considered the gold standard for safety, so I’ve been looking at seats that have passed it.

Ideally, I’d like a seat that works from around 4 months up to about 7 years, since those seem better value in the long run. I also liked the idea of a swivel seat for convenience, but I can’t seem to find any models that are both swivel and Swedish Plus tested.

I first started by looking at the Joie i-Pivot Grow which seemed perfect, but I’ve since read that “all-stage” car seats aren’t generally recommended, not sure if this is still the concencus?

So my question is — how much safer are Swedish Plus tested car seats compared to other reputable brands, if I plan to keep my child rear-facing for as long as possible?

Any advice would be really appreciated :)

Do you have a car seat already?

The absolute main thing is the direction of travel. Rear facing in any seat is safer than forward facing in a highly rated one (obviously wouldn't be Swedish plus tested as only seats that can only rear face can pass the test, which is one reason why swivel seats don't have it as most can face forwards as well).

Much safer. More expensive usually too, but there's a reason for that. It's a 'getting what you pay for' situation.

An Extended Rear Facing seat that has passed the Swedish Plus Test is the safest seat you can purchase for your child, as this test is carried out a higher speeds and shorter breaking distances which will create the most force in an accident. Standard testing is only done at a 30mph impact speed, which is the equivalent of two vehicles, both travelling at 15mph, hitting head on.

If you plan to keep your child rear facing as long as possible, then I’d definitely look at a dedicated ERF seat that doesn’t swivel. Unless your child is low centiles for height and weight, they are likely to outgrow it sooner that they would be ready for forward face with a high back booster, so you would then need to buy another harnessed seat to breach the gap. There are a few Swedish Plus Tested swivel seats on the market: BeSafe iZi Twist (18kg/105cm), Axkid Spinkid (18kg/105cm), Britax Swingfix M Plus (20kg/105cm) but as you can see they have lower weight and height limits than the true ERF which are up to 36kg and more importantly 125cm. I think Joie has a swivel seat that is Swedish Plus Tested, but I’m not sure if the limits, I suspect it’s the same as the lower limit seats above. The Avionaut Stardust is relatively new and has a rear facing limit of 21kg/125cm before converting to a HBB until 150cm (although I have heard that you are unlikely to get to 150cm in this seat).

The swivel can be a bit of a gimmick to be honest. They sit very high in the car, and I’ve heard that once your child gets bigger and heavier, it becomes harder and harder to get them in, without accidentally hitting their head on the roof of the car. A true ERF seat sits lower in the car and has much lower sides making it easier for your child to climb in themselves.

The best advice I can give you is to watch where your child is sitting on the height and weight centiles (they usually settle at around 6 months). This will give you an idea on what height and weight limits you need to be looking at to keep them rear facing longest. Your vehicle will also have an impact on what will comfortably fit, even some bigger cars can be tight fitting these seats, but there are some seats that are more compact than others. Then find your nearest independent car seat specialist and visit them to try some seats in the your car. They will also be able to support you with any fit checks as your child grows which is part of the cost of these dedicated rear facing seats.

It's impossible to say really because if a seat hasn't been through the Plus test - you don't know. It could pass it, it might not. But for example, Britax have two different spin seat ranges, called Dualfix (marketed in UK, Germany, most of Europe) which can be forward or rear facing, and Swingfix, mainly marketed in the Nordic countries, which is basically the same exact seat but it has an extra bit of plastic inside which prevents it being turned to the front.

Swingfix is Plus tested, Dualfix is not. But that little bit of plastic doesn't change anything about how the seat performs when it's locked into its rear facing mode. The only thing it changes is human behaviour - with Dualfix, the adult has the option to put the child forward facing, which we know is less protective.

But OTOH - Joie also have a spin seat, the older Joie 360 Spin and the Joie i-Spin 360 - they created rear facing only versions of these (Joie Spin Safe / i-Spin Safe) and the model originally submitted didn't pass the Plus test. They had to make some minor changes to the seat in order for it to pass.

(You can buy Britax Swingfix and Joie Spin Safe/i-Spin Safe in the UK if you want to, BTW. There is also Besafe izi Twist, Axkid Spinkid, and Besafe Beyond R if you are looking for a Plus tested spin seat.)

In general, any seat which has passed the legal verification and has been tested to SOME standard and is rear facing is a safe seat, but the Plus test is a very high standard and if you want to know that a seat has passed that standard, then you need one which is Plus tested.

For keeping your child rear facing as long as possible, meaning a seat with a 125cm/36kg limit, all of these seats are currently Plus tested.

Personally, I would avoid the all-stages spin seats like the plague. There's never been one with a very good result, many of them have performed poorly and two of the very cheap online-only models (lower quality than Joie) recently failed the ADAC (like Which?) test so badly that they released the video before they have finalised and published the actual test results. (These are due out in a couple of weeks.) The only one which has ever got a reasonable safety result from ADAC/Which is the Silver Cross one, and even that doesn't get as good of a result as if you bought a separate seat for the spin stage and then the high back booster stage. Also, if you were hoping to rear face longer, these are not the seats to get because the majority of them only rear face up to 105cm and usually only 18kg as well (some are even lower like a Maxi Cosi one is 17kg because the seat itself is so heavy). Many of the seats sold up to age 7 or 125cm height if they are both ways are also only RF to 105cm.

In general, it makes sense to specialise for the stage you're at, which is the younger baby rear facing stage, moving into the integrated harness stage which may be a RF or FF seat. The problem with a seat trying to fulfil all these roles (younger baby seat, rear facing seat, forward facing harness seat, spin base, high back booster) is that the more you ask it to do, the less it can be tailored to any specific "job" so you end up with compromises. The rear facing mode ends up larger and less solid, because it has to be able to expand to the size of a 10-12 year old, the recline is either too much for an older child (taking up room front-to-back in your car) or not enough for a younger baby, a spin base sits high and further forward in the car which reduces space available to RF and increases the risk of head injury when FF. Your high back booster ends up very heavy because it has all this stability built into it for the younger-child stages, when it wants to be more flexible and light. People tend to love the idea of buying one seat which lasts forever but IMO it's normally a false economy.

At your stage I would buy either an ERF seat from ~6m to 7 years (e.g. Axkid, Britax Safe Way, Avionaut Sky, Besafe Stretch) or a spin seat from birth/~4m to ~4 years (Britax Dualfix/Swingfix, Besafe izi Twist, Cybex Sirona, Joie i-Pivot but not the Grow version) and then later on you'll need a high back booster or a harness+booster seat, depending on which seat you go for at this stage and what you want to do next. This is also the most cost-effective

The ERF retailers do all seem very taken by the Avionaut Stardust - this does seem worth a look if you are keen on an all-stages seat but want to continue rear facing longer, but I am going to wait and see if it gets ADAC tested, I think. It also has a lower weight limit than many of the other 125cm limit rear facing seats. BTW a lot of sources online are saying this is Plus tested but Avionaut's own website does NOT say this, and neither does the VTI (Plus test) site. It may be it's still being processed but for now I would not take it as given that it has passed.

You say your baby is 4 months old - most 4 month olds are fitting very comfortably into an infant carrier with plenty of time before you need to think about the next seat. What's pushing the change? You likely have time to decide, in any case.

I got a rear face from 1-4 years. It’s britax it’s great

As always, excellent advice from @BertieBotts ❤️

Thank you so much everyone for the replies, its made things a lot more clearer for me.

What triggered my hunt for a car seat is I tried to move the newborn one from my wifes car to my car and nearly did my back in, after I started looking into car seats for my car came across swedish plus etc (which our maxi cosi isnt).

It sounds like the best thing will be to avoid the spinning ones and just go for fixed, I've found the Britax Safeway M 2 at a really good price so I think i'll go for that and start using that from 6 months onwards, once hes outgrown this can look at other options then I guess rather then try and fit more stages in now.

Just to say that you don’t need to be in a rush to purchase the next seat if it’s simply to replace the one you have. I assume the MaxiCosi you have is an infant carrier? If so, don’t worry that it’s not Swedish Plus Tested as no infant carriers are. It should be giving your little one a good, safe fit at 4 months old, and should continue to do so until
it is outgrown.

@BertieBotts is absolutely bang on with the info 😊

To some extent it depends what percentile your little one is on/whether they stay on that percentile or jump up as they get bigger.

The Avionaut Stardust fits what you would like as its suitable from birth with the extra insert but the weight limit is only around 21/22kg. So won’t get a higher percentile child to a safe age for a hbb. It has not been plus tested but as far as I’m aware this is only because it can be forward faced.
my 3 year old is in a Besafe Stretch and loves it, it’s expensive but worth it for us. It doesn’t spin but we’ve never found it difficult to get him in. It can also be reclined without having to uninstall and once you’re used to the tethers it’s easy to install. It’s much more padded than the axkids we looked at in the past and has a 36kg limit so wil definitely get us safely to hbb. It also has a 15 year expire so we plan to use again in the future. The only drawback is even with the inserts you would have to wait until 6 months to use.

Your Maxi Cosi seat won't be Swedish Plus tested because the Plustest is not a test for infant carrier seats, they can't be submitted for it. It's only for toddler/child seats up to 105cm or 125cm (approx age 4 or 7).

Maxi Cosi infant carriers consistently get excellent safety test results, so I wouldn't worry about rushing to change it. They also fit very nicely using the seatbelt, without the base, so no need to do any damage to your back trying to move the base unit.

If it's a multi stage Maxi Cosi you have, like the Emerald or the Mica, those aren't Plustested because they can be installed both rear facing and forward facing. Maxi Cosi don't have any current Plustested seats on the market but it doesn't mean they are a bad make - they are actually one of the best manufacturers with a consistently good safety reputation, it's just they aren't hugely focused on the ERF market.

The Britax Safeway M is a good seat, however beware if you have found the good price at Kiddies Kingdom, they are known to buy up dud/older stock and I know some people had issues with the strap tension in some models of this seat. I presume this has been adjusted on the newer models but it may well be that the KK stock is the original lot which is prone to that fault.

Thank you, the Britax I've found at carseatninja.com, any opinions from fellow members? I've seen their links on this forum a few times so i'm hoping its a reputable site.

I have the same seat (the original not the "2"). Kids find it comfortable. However a few things to be aware of - at 6 months they will likely meet the minimum size but they need to have very good head/trunk control as it's a lot more upright than an infant carrier. I would max out the infant carrier before switching. The second point is it's quite a bulky seat so you may need the front seat quite far forwards - you need at least 77cm space. The Axkid Minikid 4 can be installed more compactly (and has a longer back length so will last longer) but is quite a bit more expensive.

I can’t comment on this particular seat as we never used it but Car Seat Ninja is legit and I’ve only ever heard lovely things about Natalie who owns it.

Just incase anyone finds this thread in future, Avionaut have also confirmed the below so just wanted to update this thread.
The RWF (rearward-facing) version of the seat has already successfully passed the Swedish Plus Test. The VTI number assigned to the RWF Stardust is VTI-0053. The seat will be added to the official website as soon as all formalities are completed. These formalities do not apply to the construction of the seat.

Definitely leaning towards the Britax for now though, going to sanity check a few other models before I make the final decision :)

If I do go for it I definitely wont move him into that seat until he can hold his head upright etc, just thinking of getting it while its on sale.

Ah brill OK thanks for that info about the Stardust. I can see the VTI list is currently up to VTI-00051 so hopefully it will go on there soon.

Yes Car Seat Ninja is a good site and a good retailer I understand that the Safeway M comes with an infant insert, so it is suitable for a baby who can't yet sit unaided. The insert is used until 87cm which is approx 18-24 months. You can also use the Britax Comfort Insert with it: https://www.britax-roemer.com/accessories/car-seat-accessories/comfort-insert/2000030111.html

However I can't remember if you use that on top of the infant insert or whether it's something to use after the infant insert is taken out. Natalie will probably know if you message her.

Just to update everyone, I've ended up going for a besafe stretch, I liked how it can recline while installed rather then the axkid which you have to take out to modify the recline, it looked a bit more like a upright seat as well which i'm not sure is the best for younger babies but I may be wrong.
The little one has only been in it once so far but seemed just as comfy as in his usual carrier.

The only downside is that front passenger legroom for my wife is now at a minimum as its a very big seat, also when he gets older and we stretch the seat to give him more legroom, the front passenger seat will become unusable (even though its a family saloon car!), maybe at that stage I'll see if its feasible to move the seat into the middle seat, my poor Mrs feels a bit sick when sitting at the back so i'm trying to maintain the front seat usability as long as I can!

Such a great seat OP. We had one and used it until our son outgrew on height at just over 7 years old. I wish it had been around when he initially outgrew his infant carrier.

It is a roomy seat. Have you got it set as the least about of leg room for little one currently? Don’t worry if he has his feet off the edge of the seat and they are touching the back of the car seat. As he grows you will be able to lessen the incline on the seat, which will in turn give him more leg room as the seat will move further away from
the back of the car seat. Actually, the more upright he sits the better for his safety, although I understand you’ll need to be using the incline now as he’s still so little. We never used it in the full legroom position even when our son carried all the height in his legs.

I‘m not sure what car you have but you can maximise legroom for the passenger seat by having it as upright as possible and the back of the BeSafe can touch but not brace the back of the passenger seat seat.

Thank you, we went to a retailer that specialises in car seats only and they installed and setup for us, I wanted to make sure he fits in properly before using it and they advised he fits perfectly so that was good, the new seat is for my car, my wifes car we will carry on using the carrier until he outgrows it.

I think its set to the no legroom option (hes just turned 6 months) so its right up against the backseat at the mo, also not sure what recline option she set but I think its the max recline option at the moment, although I should double check that tomorrow.

Thats good to know you did not need the max legroom option, hopefully we will be the same and also a good tip about the back being more upright will give us more legroom.

Thanks again for yours and everyones advice on this thread, it was a minefield and I learnt a lot, definitely got the best seat for my needs in the end, main priority was the littles ones safety which you cannot put a price on, i'm now confident he has that with this.

May I ask what retailer you ended up using? I am in a very similar position, my little on is 15 months and will slowly outgrow the infant car seat so looking at rear facing options, however have liked the swivel of the infant to get them in and out of the car.

We have a Golf and therefore slightly concerned about whether some of these fixed in rear facing options will fit, especially those that are until 7 yrs of age.

These ones look good