Best Buys
Maxi Cosi Cabriofix with Easyfix base
Price: £200
Score: 82%
Our testing has become even tougher since we made this a Best Buy in 2006, but it still passed with flying colours ? achieving our first 'Excellent' child seat result.
Crash protection is excellent, and the instructions are clear.
Britax Cosytot Isofix
Price: £190
Score: 79%
The Best Buy Britax Cosytot Isofix was the first seat for newborns to use Isofix mounting system. It's easy to install and offers excellent stability ? protecting children well in front and side crashes.
Designed for babies from birth to about a year (13kg), this rearward-facing seat uses a support leg that rests on the car floor rather than a strap for the third mounting point. The support leg needs a flat, solid floor, so it won't suit all cars ? always refer to the manufacturer's guidelines before buying.
Recaro Young Profi Plus with base
Price: £95
Score: 78%
This Recaro seat is designed for babies from birth to about a year (13kg) in rear-facing modes. It offers great protection in Isofix mode, although it's not as safe when used with the adult seat belt.
It comes with a base which is secured using the Isofix mounts, and has a support leg that rests on the car floor rather than a strap for the third mounting point. The support leg needs a flat, solid floor, so it won't suit all cars ? always refer to the manufacturer's guidelines before buying.
Britax Evolva 2/3 ISOFIT
Price: £120
Score: 77%
This Best Buy seat from Britax did well in our tests, with a 'Good' overall crash safety rating. It's very similar to the Ultra model, but unusually for a seat in this group, the Evolva 2/3 uses Isofix.
Although the Isofix mounting for the base doesn't actually improve safety, it's more convenient to use than the Ultra version, which isn't held to the car except when the belted child sits in it.
Maxi Cosi Priorifix
Price: £230
Score: 75%
This Best Buy from Maxi Cosi is the safest Group 1 seat for children from one year up to about 4 years (9 to 18 kg).
This seat can be fixed using Isofix mounts or seat belts, and has a support leg which rests on the car floor for additional stability. The support leg needs a flat, solid floor, so it won?t suit all cars ? always refer to the manufacturer?s guidelines before buying.
Maxi Cosi Rodi XR
Price: £95
Score: 75%
This booster seat with backrest is one of the easiest-to-use seats we've ever tested, scoring top marks for every aspect of handling.
Designed for children from 4 to 12 years (15 to 36 kg), it uses the 3-point adult seat belt to secure both the seat and the child.
Britax Evolva 2/3 Ultra
Price: £90
Score: 74%
A highly-rated seat that performed well in our safety tests, this Best Buy from Britax is very similar to the Evolva 2/3 ISOFIT model, except it's not secured to the car with Isofix mounts.
Our experts thought this seat was suitable for children aged 4 to 12. There are good instructions and it's easy to carry.
Concord Lift Evo PT
Price: £90
Score: 72%
The Concord Lift Evo PT ? a Best Buy in 2006 and 2007 ? is comfortable, provides good leg support for the child, and it's easy to move from car to car ? something worth remembering if you're a two-car family.
This seat is a booster with backrest, designed for transporting children from 4 to 12 years (15 to 36 kg). It uses the 3-point adult seat belt to secure both the seat and the child.
Concord Lift Protect
Price: £70
Score: 72%
This seat is a booster with backrest, designed for transporting children from four to 12 years (15 to 36 kg). It uses the three-point adult seat belt to secure both the seat and the child.
Slightly cheaper and subtly different from its stable-mate the Evo PT, this seat has large side ?wings?, which give excellent head support, and the base offers good leg support. It is light weight and very easy to install and it offers adequate front crash protection. Side crash protection is good and is aided by the unusual side ?wings? on the seat, which extend downwards to provide extra protection for the child?s abdomen. The tall back is good for taller children but in some cars it touches the head restraints ? which may need removing to allow the seat to sit flat against the car seat-back.
Maxi Cosi Rodi XP
Price: £95
Score: 72%
This seat is a booster with backrest, designed for transporting children from four to 12 years (15 to 36 kg). It uses the three-point adult seat belt to secure both the seat and the child.
It?s possibly the easiest to use seat we?ve ever tested, scoring top marks for every aspect of handling. As with many seats in this weight category, the tall back is good for taller children but in some cars it touches the head restraints ? which may need removing to allow the seat to sit flat against the car seat-back.
Britax Evolva 2-3
Price: £55
Score: 71%
New for 2006, the Evolva 2-3 looks very similar to the Britax Kid but beneath the surface there are subtle changes. It?s a booster with backrest, designed for transporting children from four to 12 years (15 to 36 kg). It uses the three-point adult seat belt to secure both the seat and the child.It isn?t as light weight as others in the class, but the instructions are clear and it is easy to install.
Like most seats in the class it has a high seat back which can touch the car?s head restraint on some cars. In this case, it can be helpful to remove the head restraint to allow the seat to sit flat against the car seat back. Padding is excellent and it offers very good leg support and front crash loads are low. Thanks to the high side bolsters, side-impact protection is particularly good ? you can adjust the headrest height as your child grows.
Britax Hi-Liner
Price: £80
Score: 71%
This is a forward facing booster with back rest that uses the three-point vehicle belt to restrain the seat and the child. It is designed for children aged about four to 12 (15-36kg).
It is very easy to use, offers very good leg support and excellent padding. While the idea of having one seat for several weight categories is often seen as a compromise, this one does a good job of bridging the gap. Crash ratings are pretty good, with low loads imparted to the child in both front and side crashes. The Hi-Liner has a very high back, which can foul on the car?s head restraints. Stability of the seat can be improved on some cars by turning or removing the vehicle headrest, to allow the high backrest to sit more squarely onto the seat back.
Britax Duo Plus ISOFIX
Price: £170
Score: 70%
The Duo Plus can be used in Isofix mode, with 2- or 3-point (using top tether) mounting, or can be secured with a 3-point adult seat belt. As an Isofix seat, its all round performance is good enough for it to earn the Best Buy recommendation.
This seat is designed for children from around a year old to about 4 (9 to 18kg). It's well made and easy to use, with clear instructions. Padding is excellent, and it offers good leg and head support.
Chicco Key1 Isofix
Price: £150
Score: 70%
This seat doesn?t offer as much protection in a crash when secured with seat belts (the seat-belted version is called the Chicco Key 1 X-Plus) so we can recommend it only as an Isofix seat.
The height of the shoulder straps can be adjusted easily, without having to unthread the harness.
Don't Buys
We recommend you avoid the the Chicco Max-3S, the Recaro Start and the Little Shield Combi 123 as they all use the adult seat belt for a 9kg child (around nine months).
The adult belt comes into contact with the child's neck instead of the shoulder, and can pass over the soft stomach area of a 9kg child instead of the correct pelvic bone area.
This doesn't provide adequate protection in a crash, as our 2007 testing showed ? watch our crash test footage (see 'Crash test video') to see just how badly some of these seats performed.
In our June 2007 magazine, we incorrectly stated that the Mamas and Papas Pro-Tour uses an adult seat belt to restrain a 9kg child. In fact, it has a separate harness for Group 1 (9-18kg) children. But we still don't recommend it, as the instructions state you must remove the backrest for children over 22kg, and in this configuration it provides no protection from side impacts.
We've also found three Don't Buys from 2006, which are the Jané Matrix Pro, and the Mamas and Papas Alto and Revo models.
For 3- to 12-year-old children, avoid ?booster cushions?. These fulfil the legal requirement for children between 15kg and 36kg, but don?t offer protection from side impacts (unlike with our Best Buys).
The most important thing to stress is that any child seat is better than no seat at all ? and it?s now the law to use one.