Which newborn car seat did you choose?

[Littlebees]

I'm after one with an isofix base. I had decided on the maxi cosi pebble plus until I realised the isofix base had to be bought separately making it £400!

Ideas please

I'm no use to you because that's exactly the one I went for. It is expensive alright but if you plan to use the pearl for extended rear facing then the base is suitable too as far as i know.

I'm not going to be any help here either. Any of the ones I would recommend are tres expensive! BUT, let's be honest is it REALLY worth the risk?

Have you seen the ADAC safety test? Its far more stringent than the standard EU one and tests seats at around 80mph. It rates them Excellent / Very Good / Good or not.

We chose the IziGo BeSafe based on this report, admittedly it wasn't cheap and we've recently just had to buy the next size up as it only lasts 12 months - which reminds me, if you want to buy ours (with isofix) you're very welcome to make me an offer ;)

We have gone with the Cybex Aton. We did a fair amount of research and although expensive it had really good safety ratings and we felt that was important

I went Maxi Cosi and base, mainly to get the 2-way Pearl for extended rear facing. I know it’s expensive but honestly if you are going to splash out for anything I think the car seat is what you should spend money on!
For what it’s worth DD should about to move onto her high back booster and the Maxi Cosi system has been brilliant! She’s always been comfortable and it’s easy to install and use. DC2 will move into it when they arrive. So it’s lasting well and should see DC2 through to their high back booster... that’s almost 8 years of car safety for £400... not too bad when you look at it that way

We went for the cybex Aton isofix

We went for the maxi cosi pebble for our little one (who is now nearly 2) and loved it. We made it more budget friendly by buying the car seat new but getting the ISO fix base on eBay for £50 (it was in perfect condition) from a lovely family who lived just a few miles away.

We had the pebble , thought OH was going to pass out in John Lewis over the cost. We did get a good price when we sold it

We went with Maxi cosi. Pricey at the beginning, but worth the money.

We had the Maxi Cosi Pebble with the Family Fix base. I went for the Axkid Minikid when my DS outgrew the Maxi Cosi so base was only used with the Pebble.

Cybex Aton brand new but isofix base 2nd hand.

Have you considered one of the spin around ones? That's what I have and it makes it so easy to get the baby in and out.

www.mothercare.com/combination-car-seats-group-0-1/cybex-sirona-combination-car-seat/LA6021.html

www.mothercare.com/combination-car-seats-group-0-1/joie-spin-360-combination-isofix-car-seat/LGA313.html

To be fair though, first stage car seats are so easy to strap in that I dont think I'd splash out on a base again.

Check out the car seats from BBC Shop Well for Less (series 3 episode 1). Cozy n Safe Merlin lasts from birth to 4, has isofix and spins 360 degrees for under £200, apparently does well in tests.

Maxi Cosi cabrioifix, without the base. Did eventually shell our for a base when we got the pearl later.

I have the Recaro Zero one elite, yes it’s £420 but it lasts until around 4.5years old. I absolutely love it. It swivels around to get them in and out easily and the newborn bit is very light and just unclips and you can use it in your travel system. I have the zero one for my 3yo and she is still very comfortable in it rear facing. It’s fab.

I have the Maxi-Cosi Cabriofix plus base. Probably the most popular seats are the Cabriofix and the Pebble from Maxi-cosi and they are compatible with a huge number of travel systems if that's your jam. Infant carriers are very easy to belt in though and belting in is just as safe - the base is totally optional, truly.

In general I would recommend buying seats from brands which do their own testing on top of the legal minimum which include Joie, Maxi-Cosi, Cybex, Recaro, Axkid, Diono, Britax. There are a lot of cheap generic seats out there. The FB group Car Seat Advice UK is excellent. Joie is a very good choice for budget seats that are tested beyond the minimum.

Maxi cosi cabriofix, purely because it went with the pram we'd chosen. Knew nothing about car seats at the time, and it's been fine (though not sure would be considered a 'bad' car seat?). It does seem heavy though. For all I know they all are, as I didn't try many others!

I would definitely recommend getting an Isofix base because it's just so worth being able to simply plop the seat on without leaning over to strap in. You'll do enough bending when baby arrives and your back will thank you for that little luxury! As suggested by a PP do get the base second hand if you can.

We got maxi cosi pebble plus I size with the family fix base so we can use base until he’s 4. It’s a lot given he’ll outgrow it at 12 months but I liked what I’d read in reviews, it is compatible with our buggy and we are planning a second quite quickly (god willing) due to my age so figured we’d use it for number 2 also. Think real bind is going to be having to get one for MIL’s car and DH’s car when I go back to work in April as then he will only get a few months use out of it, but again, can be used for second child

We've gone with the Jane Matrix 2 as we wanted a car seat that would lie flat in the car. It's also safe for overnight sleeping, so can double as a travel cot - which would have been an added expense.

Maxi Cosi Pebble here - Although won't use any bases this time round as we have under floor storage compartments so the leg doesn't reach the floor of them.

Already have two kiddies in Axkid Minikids and will get another when youngest eventually outgrows infant car seat to maximise how long they rear face.

Seats which use Isofix will always be limited to lower weights due to this so for after the infant seat it's belted / Swedish Plus Tested toddler seats which rear face to 25kg for us.

@shirleyschmidt just like you wouldn't buy a car seat second hand if you don't personally know it's history you should never buy a base second hand.

You just don't know what they have been through or how they have been treated.

It's not worth the risk especially when if money is tight you don't 'need' a base at all you be safer just having a brand new car seat.

We went for the kiddy luna fix pro. It's a lie flat seat

@Patienceofatoddler fair enough. It didn't occur to me there'd be a scenario where the base itself could be compromised as all they do is sit on the back seat, and the maxi cosi ones indicate with a green light whether the seat is attached securely. I suppose there's no way to know whether the bit that attaches to the car is sound though.

Not a nice thought that anyone would sell such an item if it had been accident but I guess you can't be too safe. Certainly if you know the history then I still think second hand is a no brainer.

Cybex Aton Q i-size & base (sold separately) from Mothercare. They currently have some money off the seat.

Kiddy evo luna 2 as it's lie flat and safer for long journeys