3 door car, is 360 car seat best?

[Kingy96]

Myself and my husband both have 3 door cars (Fiesta and Corsa). We've decided against the carryable car seat, so will be going with a fixed car seat from birth.

We have been thinking that a 360 car seat would be best (had a look at the Maxi Cosi Mica today ). The only thing is the only people we know with babies all have 5 door cars. So, I'm just wondering what those of you have had babies think before we order the Mica?

We've looked at finances and replacing the cars isn't really a plausible option btw. We will definitely be using 3 door car, it's just which car seat will work best for that.

Nothing helpful I’m afraid but following as we also have a three door car and I’ve been wondering about this too!

Not experienced car seat with 360 seats but I would highly recommend reconsidering the seats where they can be removed from the Isofix base. Clicking the baby in and out whilst still in the seat I feel is the easiest and most convenient for everyone.

However we did have a 360 once the baby was old enough for forward facing and used this in a 5 door and they were fab, especially when parking space limited either side.

Maybe try out a few in your car and see if the 360 is actually what you want. Goodluck ☺️

The 360 bases have an extra bit that goes up the back and add depth to the seat. So with a small car I’d probably avoid this option unless you’re both on the short side and won’t mind pushing the seat in front really far forward to accommodate. We have a Maxi Cosi swivel seat installed behind the drivers seat in a large SUV and still can’t rotate it when DH is driving. I’d go isofix but on a regular non rotating base. Strap baby in outside the car if the angle is too tight to lean over and do it with 3 doors. Then you just dock it on the base which is so much easier than faffing with a seatbelt.

I had a Fiesta when I had my first baby and was adamant I would be sticking with the 3 door and wouldn't be someone who had a baby and then immediately wasted money on a bigger car when a 3 door was perfectly fine. After 5 months my poor back and my temper couldn't hack struggling with The Fucking Carseat any more and we changed to a 5 door with a MASSIVE boot (the Fiesta held our buggy and not much else which is something else to consider).

I had a swivel seat carseat that could dock in and out and I'm not sure as to what was worse, trying to get the baby in and out of the seat (don't underestimate the rage inducing torture that is dealing with a 5 point harness while crouching into the backseat over a flipped gorward seat), or trying to get the baby and The Fucking Carseat in and out.

My recommendation is get a 5 door car. If that's absolutely not possible I'd recommend you get the lightest removable carseat on an isofix base as you can find. And some Kalms.

*flipped forward

@PetticoatSoldier I have nothing to say, but you really made me laugh!! I totally feel every moment of your pain 🤣🤣

@PetticoatSoldier totally agree!!

OP, if you really can't upgrade to a 5 door car, then I'd seriously consider putting the baby seat in the front and switching off your air bags. Not ideal, but do not underestimate the rage that struggling to get the car seat in and out of the back will cause you 😡😡😡

I have a 3dr car and used a carry style seat that came with my pram for around 6 months. It wasn't too bad at all really, for shorter journeys I would just fasten it on the passenger side.
When the seat was getting too heavy with her in it, thats when I looked at swapping to a fixed seat. I got the joie 360 and it's made a big difference not having to faff with a seatbelt.

My LO has just turned 1 and it's still very manageable, though I will upgrade to 5drs in the next year or so I'd imagine.

@PetticoatSoldier

I had a Fiesta when I had my first baby and was adamant I would be sticking with the 3 door and wouldn't be someone who had a baby and then immediately wasted money on a bigger car when a 3 door was perfectly fine. After 5 months my poor back and my temper couldn't hack struggling with The Fucking Carseat any more and we changed to a 5 door with a MASSIVE boot (the Fiesta held our buggy and not much else which is something else to consider).

I had a swivel seat carseat that could dock in and out and I'm not sure as to what was worse, trying to get the baby in and out of the seat (don't underestimate the rage inducing torture that is dealing with a 5 point harness while crouching into the backseat over a flipped gorward seat), or trying to get the baby and The Fucking Carseat in and out.

My recommendation is get a 5 door car. If that's absolutely not possible I'd recommend you get the lightest removable carseat on an isofix base as you can find. And some Kalms.

This does not sound like it will be a fun experience then , as we would love to get a new car, but it isn't really a viable option unfortunately.

I was under the impression that after 6 months the baby will be too big for the carryable car seats. So it would need to be a 360 or a fixed rear facing car seat after that anyway wouldn't it? Or are there removable ones that I haven't seen?

We've looked after our niece in a fixed rear facing car seat, and it is a proper faff in our 3 door cars, which is why we though the 360 might be best.... maybe not :')

We have a maxi cosi mica in a 5 door corsa and it fits fine and swivels all the way around. If the 3 door is the same size you will be fine.
We also fit mountain buggy in boot.

@LanieM87

I have a 3dr car and used a carry style seat that came with my pram for around 6 months. It wasn't too bad at all really, for shorter journeys I would just fasten it on the passenger side. When the seat was getting too heavy with her in it, thats when I looked at swapping to a fixed seat. I got the joie 360 and it's made a big difference not having to faff with a seatbelt.

My LO has just turned 1 and it's still very manageable, though I will upgrade to 5drs in the next year or so I'd imagine.

Glad to hear someone has managed it. I've seen plenty of people with babies in 3 door cars, so knew it must be doable :') And in smaller cars than an fiesta and corsa too.

Perfect, hearing about specific seats is exactly what I need to hear . Was that the joie 360 spin then? And does it fit ok behind your seat, as someone else said about their 360 car seat being a bit bulky?

I've been wondering about this too...

I loved the Cloud Z 360 seat, but the advisor in John Lewis said it wasn't worth it, as the second seat for the same base is really inconvenient to spin, and would be even more of a nightmare in a three-door car.

He advised us not to have a 360 if we wanted to keep the three-door, as they are bulky seats...

To be honest we've put off thinking about car seats since then, so I'm hoping for some good recommendations too! It feels wasteful to change the car, and we're in the middle of buying a new house, but equally I'm worried that the majority of people who stick it out with a three-door seems to regret it. And I don't want to do my back in!

Why can't you sell one of your cars and buy a used 5 door? You could get a used Skoda Fabia for example, they are good value and have a decent amount of space for car seats. Or did you get your cars on finance and still tied in, is that why?

My advice is to join the Facebook group Car Seat Advice UK and search for posts about 3 door cars and what people recommend.

I would have thought an infant seat with an isofix base would be by far your best and easiest option. Then by the time your baby outgrows the infant seat (around 15-18 months depending on size of baby and how roomy the seat is) you might be able to get a 5 door car at that point.

If you really want to skip the infant seat and get an 0-18kg seat that stays in the car, you'll need to buy two seats (whereas one infant seat could be used in both) and I would suggest making an appointment at the in car safety centre or your local specialist retailer to get advice and try different seats in your cars.
www.carseatadvice-uk.com/specialist-retailers.html

I would second the 5 door car, sorry! I got a cheap 2005 low mileage polo as my Sensiblemobile when first pregnant and it’s freakishly roomy inside for a small car, takes a spinning isofix seat in the back no problem. So it doesn’t have to be an expensive ‘upgrade’ as such

Oh, and the bounty offers mailing list has some chunky discounts off joie 360 car seats at the moment. I have a spare spammy email address for just this purpose - saved £100 on the joie plus tested spin safe which is ERF to 25kg and spins halfway, to face the door either side but not the front.

Yes I have a 3 door mini and still have it now that my DD is 14 months. I’m only thinking about getting a bigger car cause I’m pregnant with #2 atm. We have a 360 car seat in the front seat (check if your car has front seat isofix) with the airbag disabled. We also have a docking type normal car seat (cybex so really heavy) for our other car and I’ve never been able to lift the car seat with the baby in it, esp cause I had a c section and my baby was massive.

We have a three door small car and a Jane Matrix 2 seat, which does click into the base and swivel. Can be used flat when baby is tiny or rearfacing. It was pretty easy to get in when flat - is a bit harder now DD sits up in it. Goes up to 13kg (sitting up - 10kg lying down). Now that she's sitting up the front passenger seat, which it's behind, does need to be fully forward, so not advised if you're regularly going to have two long-legged adults in the front. However, we rarely all go in the car together (once a week for church, which is 15 minutes away) - it tends to be only one of us, or one of us with the baby, so it's still working for us.

I'm not sure how much difference the seat swivelling makes to how easy it is to get DD in if I'm honest. I've found (when I've put her in the seat in the car, rather than putting her in the seat and then clicking the seat in) that I have to get into the back with her to do up the harness either way. I do not have to do this if I'm just clicking the seat into the base. So I'd recommend a seperate base over the ability to swivel the seat.

Have just realised you were asking about 360 swivelling though - ours doesn't do that - it will swivel to face either side, but not to face the front - and that might make things easier.

I have the 360 Joie for my grandchildren. I have a 5 door T Roc, and it’s a struggle for me to remove the seat, but as it stays in my car most of the time this isn’t an issue. The seat is big! I’d say if you going to have to move the seat between cars regularly, you’ll probably scratch the paintwork on both cars badly! The other issue is that the seat comes quite forward so the front seat needs to be pulled right up, minimising the leg room for the driver / front passenger.
If I were you, I’d go to Halfords and ask to try different seats in your car - I did this and got some good advice.

Not Halfords they're terrible for car seat advice.

@NameChange30

Not Halfords they're terrible for car seat advice.

My branch was fab!

I was under the impression that after 6 months the baby will be too big for the carryable car seats. Most babies can be in a carryable seat for around 14 months or so. Cue loads of people saying their extra tall baby didn't fit after 5 minutes. But you should get a minimum of a year out of a carry seat. And with an isofix click base that will be the easiest way to get the baby in and out. It also means you can get one seat and two bases to switch between cars.

@Kingy96 Glad to hear someone has managed it. I've seen plenty of people with babies in 3 door cars, so knew it must be doable :') And in smaller cars than an fiesta and corsa too.

Perfect, hearing about specific seats is exactly what I need to hear . Was that the joie 360 spin then? And does it fit ok behind your seat, as someone else said about their 360 car seat being a bit bulky?

It is totally doable, I personally don't think you "need" to get a 5dr car in order to cope.

Yes I have the joie 360 spin, it is a bit tight behind the passenger seat, but there's still plenty of room at the front, my brother is 6ft 3" and struggles a bit, but it's fine for short journeys. I find I have to get in my side with her. The seat spins to face the drivers side. There's not enough space to do it via the passenger side.