What next after (rear facing) cybex sirona?

[Carseatconundrums]

I’m having a dilemma over what to do about DDs car seat. She’s nearly 4 and small for her age (definitely not 105cm yet) and we’ve managed to keep her rear facing til now.

Our current setup is:

Car 1: cybex sirona + 360 cybex base (DD2 also occasionally goes in a cloud z seat on this base)

Car 2:
Axkid minikid 4 (dd1)
Maxi cosi pebble 360 pro (dd2) on 360 base

She’s starting to look quite cramped in the sirona and I’m not sure what to put her in next, as I think she’ll be much too small for a hbb for quite a while yet. I’d ideally like to keep her rear facing until around 5, but I’m a bit loathe to buy an expensive rear facing seat if we’re only going to use it for a year (our local ERF shop also recently closed and it’s over an hour to the nearest one now).

The other option I’m considering is something like one of the britax seats that starts as a harnessed FF seat and converts to a HBB, but I’ve got an idea that harnessed FF seats aren’t great?

We also have DD2 (5 months), who I was planning to switch into the minikid and the sirona at some point between September ‘26 and May ‘27, depending on how she grows, but I’m not sure whether DD1 will be big enough for an HBB at that point, which further complicates things!

Thanks for any suggestions or advice!

The idea that FF harnessed seats are unsafe isn't evidence based. It's true that rear facing is safer and especially for very young children you absolutely want them RF, but FF is fine and is certainly better than a high backed booster when the child is too small. 5 point harness seats have a long history and good effectiveness, as long as they are used properly. In particular for the models mentioned below, make sure you always use the top tether when it's in harness mode. It's the most commonly missed step and it can have a significant impact on the seat's performance.

The Britax Advansafix/Evolvafix or Silver Cross Balance i-size or various Maxi Cosi Titan i-size seats are all the best rated ones currently. If she's slight, she'll probably do best with Maxi Cosi but honestly look at them in a shop if possible, see which fits her nicely with the most shoulder room.

If you wanted to keep her RF, you could look at Joie Every Stage/Graco Slimfit R129 as these are RF up to 105cm and then convert to booster and have more shoulder space than Cybex Sirona - they have slightly better safety ratings than the forward facing isofix/top tether seats mentioned above, despite being seatbelt fitted. They have no FF harnessed option.

Or Avionaut Stardust might be worth looking at, although it is an expensive seat. That one is RF up to 125cm/21kg or FF harness up to 105cm/21kg and then converts to high back booster. Note the lower FF limit, but unlikely to be an issue.

Or you could consider moving the Axkid into the main car for her and getting a cheaper RF seat for the youngest for the second car - Joie 360 Spin is £119, Graco Turn2Me £129 or Joie i-Pivot £139 currently all on amazon.

Thanks @BertieBotts, I was hoping you would post! The FF convertible seats sound like a good option then. Do you know what the leg room is like on the stardust please? One of the main issues we’re having with the Sirona is the leg space (especially compared to the axkid seat where she has loads of room!).

I haven't seen it in person, but it looks more like the Sirona than the Axkid in terms of leg room. (This is one of their own promo images)

We have the Britax one, and DS2 did like that he could cross his legs in it because the base of the seat is quite wide. He seemed to find that more comfy than them hanging down when he first went into it.

Thanks @BertieBotts , that was my worry! And it’s a lot of money to spend if it doesn’t solve the leg space problem. I think I may try and stretch out the sirona for a couple more months and then switch her to FF in the britax or similar then.

If your child is small then I doubt you’d only be getting one more year out of an extended rear facing seat. My eldest was 50th percentile and outgrew his at 8.5 years, and my youngest was 95th and outgrew his at 6.5. There’s no need to go forward facing.