Are your children’s vaccines up to date?

Set a reminder

Please or to access all these features

Parenting

For free parenting resources please check out the Early Years Alliance's Family Corner.

Ford ka car seats for baby?

5 replies

minnieot · 04/05/2024 15:37

Hi all, I'm expecting a baby in September and have a Ford Ka edge which is obviously a small car. I'd rather not get a new car if I don't have to, has anybody made it work with a Ford ka? I'm a bit confused by the concept of an isofix and unsure if one even exists for my car? Any advice would be massively appreciated.

OP posts:
Are your children’s vaccines up to date?
BertieBotts · 05/05/2024 15:59

Don't worry, you can definitely fit car seats into small cars Smile

Isofix is sort of like a socket you can plug the car seat into, to attach it to the car without using the seatbelt. It was invented because people often make mistakes when using the seatbelt to attach car seats - isofix is much easier.

If you push your hand down into the back seats of your car where the backrest cushion and the seat cushion meet, you'll feel some little square metal loops - those are the isofix brackets.

All cars since 2013 have had isofix and most cars since 2006 have had it, so it's likely that your car does have this unless it's older.

For the first stage, most people like to have a car seat that they can carry around and attach to a pram. These last up to about 12-18 months. For these, if you want to use isofix to fit, they normally have a base available to buy. You fit the base using isofix, and then you can just press a button to lift the car seat on and off the base, which is much quicker than fitting it using the seatbelt. This works well for 3-door cars as you don't have to climb right into the back, you can just lift the seat in and out.

The other option for a 3-door car is to disable the passenger airbag and fit a car seat using seatbelt on the front seat. Sometimes you'll even have isofix on the front seat, though this is rare. You MUST disable the airbag when using a rear facing baby seat - this is law because children and babies have been killed by airbags.

It is also possible to buy a longer-lasting car seat which stays in the car all the time, but this is a bit of a pain with a 3-door car, because babies have to be rear facing at least until they are 15 months old (preferably longer) so it can be tricky to get them in and out of the seat like this. Also these seats don't usually give a very good fit for newborns. So it makes sense for most people to opt for the "infant carrier" type seat first.

If you go to a shop that sells different baby seats they will normally let you try them in the car for size and to check how practical they are to get in and out which will be even more important if you have a small car. John Lewis is a good chain to go to, or if you have an independent nursery specialist near you, they tend to be even better. If you want to give a rough area I can have a look for you.

BertieBotts · 05/05/2024 16:00

Actually, the biggest headache tends to be finding a buggy you can fit in the boot!

minnieot · 06/05/2024 10:01

BertieBotts · 05/05/2024 15:59

Don't worry, you can definitely fit car seats into small cars Smile

Isofix is sort of like a socket you can plug the car seat into, to attach it to the car without using the seatbelt. It was invented because people often make mistakes when using the seatbelt to attach car seats - isofix is much easier.

If you push your hand down into the back seats of your car where the backrest cushion and the seat cushion meet, you'll feel some little square metal loops - those are the isofix brackets.

All cars since 2013 have had isofix and most cars since 2006 have had it, so it's likely that your car does have this unless it's older.

For the first stage, most people like to have a car seat that they can carry around and attach to a pram. These last up to about 12-18 months. For these, if you want to use isofix to fit, they normally have a base available to buy. You fit the base using isofix, and then you can just press a button to lift the car seat on and off the base, which is much quicker than fitting it using the seatbelt. This works well for 3-door cars as you don't have to climb right into the back, you can just lift the seat in and out.

The other option for a 3-door car is to disable the passenger airbag and fit a car seat using seatbelt on the front seat. Sometimes you'll even have isofix on the front seat, though this is rare. You MUST disable the airbag when using a rear facing baby seat - this is law because children and babies have been killed by airbags.

It is also possible to buy a longer-lasting car seat which stays in the car all the time, but this is a bit of a pain with a 3-door car, because babies have to be rear facing at least until they are 15 months old (preferably longer) so it can be tricky to get them in and out of the seat like this. Also these seats don't usually give a very good fit for newborns. So it makes sense for most people to opt for the "infant carrier" type seat first.

If you go to a shop that sells different baby seats they will normally let you try them in the car for size and to check how practical they are to get in and out which will be even more important if you have a small car. John Lewis is a good chain to go to, or if you have an independent nursery specialist near you, they tend to be even better. If you want to give a rough area I can have a look for you.

Wow, thank you so much for all the advice, much appreciated! 😊 we're near Leeds and York so anywhere in that sort of area really x

OP posts:

Interested in this thread?

Then you might like threads about this subject:

BertieBotts · 06/05/2024 12:29

In Leeds you've got Newbie & Me, Nurseryland, and even the Kiddies' Kingdom showroom. (No idea what their advice is like but their prices are usually cheap).

In York there is Paul Stride which is meant to be really great for car seat advice.

Also Precious Little One not too far from both.

So lots of options :)

MariaVT65 · 06/05/2024 12:33

BertieBotts · 05/05/2024 16:00

Actually, the biggest headache tends to be finding a buggy you can fit in the boot!

Op take note of this as i could not literally not fit our buggy into my KA ( we swapped for a focus). So be careful when buying a buggy.

New posts on this thread. Refresh page