Car seat - any reason not to get 0-4 years?

[VegMam]

Looking to buy a car seat for our first child. I’d prefer to get one that will last a few years (cybex sirona Z looks good and it goes from newborn - 4 years). But I’m trying to understand if there’s any reason not to get one that will last the child a few years (ie why do people buy car seats that are 0-18 months)?

We definitely don’t want a travel system and we rarely use the car.

Thanks

-infant seats are sometimes more comfortable for newborns, at a better angle etc

• they are more convenient if you switch cars or use taxis.

When I had my babies (youngest is now 11), The bonus of having a ‘bucket seat’ (ie one that is moved in and out of the car with the child) is that if your baby is asleep when the journey is done, you can move them easily in to the house and always had somewhere to put the baby while we were out. However, I think, guidelines have changed and you aren’t meant to leave the baby in a car seat for any longer than necessary as they can compromise the baby’s airways.

The main advantages of a group 0 car seat is being able to carry baby easily to and from car without waking them up. But in your case, if you're not going to be using the car / a travel system much, then it would be more cost effective to buy a 0-4 car seat.

Realistically I doubt it will last until 4. It will be a weight limit and in my experience is that's rarely 4.

Not all newborns will fit well at first and the 4 year seats are actually only able to be used until 18kg. So buying a cheaper infant seat like the Joie juva (£50ish) allows you to get a good fit for a newborn and see what centile they follow before buying the next seat up. If they're average or low centile then an 18kg seat is fine but if not then 25kg seat is better. (Plus depending on what seats you go for you'll actually pay less than a 0-4 seat)