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Car seats

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Help please - 2 new seats needed

9 replies

MDDR · 06/07/2026 22:57

Hello,
I'm hoping someone can offer some advice - I'm returning to work in a couple of months and as such we need 2 new car seats for our children as both parents will be sharing drop offs/pick ups etc.

I have DS - Currently 32 months old, 50th centile height/70th centile for weight. Who Currently rear faces in a joie spin seat, aiming to RF until at least 4 so would prefer another spin seat if possible/recommended.

DD is currently 9 months and in an infant carrier, she is 91st centile.

Very grateful for any insights, advice or recommendations.

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BrickBiscuit · 06/07/2026 23:30

Do you want them both on the back seat? Some cars won't let you use the middle seat belt with a child seat in the back. So if you might ever need this, check the car. Basically you need the middle belt buckles separate from the outer seat fixings and Isofix points, not overlapping them. I've seen cars where the middle seat belt buckles overlap the Isofix points so can't be fastened with a car seat fitted. Just a thought, and may not be an issue for you.

MDDR · 07/07/2026 01:03

BrickBiscuit · 06/07/2026 23:30

Do you want them both on the back seat? Some cars won't let you use the middle seat belt with a child seat in the back. So if you might ever need this, check the car. Basically you need the middle belt buckles separate from the outer seat fixings and Isofix points, not overlapping them. I've seen cars where the middle seat belt buckles overlap the Isofix points so can't be fastened with a car seat fitted. Just a thought, and may not be an issue for you.

Hi, thanks for this - Yes, both in the back but the middle seat will be vacant.

OP posts:
Bluebonnet3 · 07/07/2026 02:10

Joie every stage / stages can be rear facing and baby to older child adaptable. They are seatbelt fixing and not isofix. (Might have an isofix version, not sure. )

Poppycorn123 · 07/07/2026 02:44

We have the jovi kids spin seat. It can rear face and forward face , has an isofix base and is suitable up to 12. It's quite chunky but I think most spin seats are.

BrickBiscuit · 07/07/2026 09:53

Poppycorn123 · 07/07/2026 02:44

We have the jovi kids spin seat. It can rear face and forward face , has an isofix base and is suitable up to 12. It's quite chunky but I think most spin seats are.

Yes, and Isofix and spin seats are unwieldy and heavy if you're swapping them between cars. However,I find if that's what you need, you can put up with the inconvenience.

Crumpetring · 07/07/2026 10:01

Will you be swapping car seats between cars or do you just want a new set of seats that will stay in the 2nd car?

We have a Jolie spin and the moment because someone had it spare after our last car got stolen. I much prefer belted extended rear facing seats to the Jolie spin. They feel so much sturdier and have more room. Have a look at Britax or Axkid.

BertieBotts · 07/07/2026 15:03

It probably makes the most sense to get one of the 125cm limit ERF seats for DC1 and then DC2 can inherit the spin seat for now, so you have the extra capacity in case DC2 stays on the higher centiles. OTOH at 9 months, it's not uncommon that they drop centiles when they start walking/running and getting into the toddler fussiness with eating, so it might be that their growth slows down a bit.

As DC1 is older, the spin is less necessary and I would consider a fixed seat as they can have better leg room and tend to be much easier for DC to climb into than the spin seats like Joie.

They can get pricey, so I would look at Britax Safeway M, Britax Max Space Pro, possibly the older model of Avionaut Sky (2.0 or Q) - those are the ones which seem to have discounts currently and can be found under £300. If you have a local physical retailer and can pay cash, it is worth asking for a discount when you're buying two products. Sometimes it is possible.

If you did want a spin seat with RF up to 125cm, Avionaut Stardust could work, but it is more expensive at £349, especially if you need two.

If this is too much then another option could be Britax Dualfix Plus, or Cybex Sirona Gi i-Size as both have a slightly higher weight limit of 20kg as opposed to 18kg on the Joie seat, but they do have the 105cm height limit, which might end up being an issue for your younger child later down the line. These are spin seats and they regularly go on offer for under £250.

Lastly Joie i-Spin 360 or Joie i-Pivot are on offer on amazon for about £175 each, the i-Spin is similar to the original Joie Spin, with a slightly higher weight limit (19kg / 105cm) and similarly tight leg room, whereas i-Pivot has 21kg weight limit / 105cm height, and slightly more leg room because it has an anti-rebound bar.

I am not sure which Joie spin seat you have now, but the original Joie Spin 360 has an 18kg weight limit and children usually fit up to about 110-115cm by height, so it can accommodate slightly taller but less weight wise whereas the i-size versions are limited to 105cm height but have a bit more wiggle room on weight.

Personally I would not look to get a spin seat with high back booster mode because 9/10 the high back booster modes on those seats are not very comfortable and don't give a great belt fit. Aside from the Avionaut, which is worth considering because of the better height limit for RF, I would stick to seats which only cover the RF/integral harness stage. When you get to the high back booster stage later down the line, those seats are less pricey anyway.

Jessie3394nc · 09/07/2026 13:32

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MDDR · 09/07/2026 13:54

Thank you all so much for your replies.

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