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Original poster

Rear Facing Car seat - which should i choose?

15 replies

Lucky13 · 29/05/2009 10:18

My DD is now 18mo and has finally reached 9kg and is getting too tall for her baby seat.

I would like a rear facing seat but don't know whether to get a volvo one (we have a volvo V50) or

the Recaro Polaric here

or the BeSafe here

I don't want it took take up all the room so that the driver or passenger has no space and i also need to fit it in an Audi A3

Anyone have any experience or advice?

OP posts:
Verity79 · 29/05/2009 11:14

I'd get a 2 Way Elite to be honest. They are quite tall with high top slots. You may even get to 6 rear facing but definately 4 (unless your DD has a very long torso).

As it is quite upright it takes less space than the Britax Nordic Secura we have for DD2. We have a Mazda Premacy and my DH is 6'2" and he has just about enough room! 2 WAy is behind DH.

DD1 is a tall 3 year old and still has 1 lot of slots to go but as rear facing harnesses are AT or BELOW shoulders you have quite a bit of leeway. Britax rear facing seats are out grown when the tips of the ears are level with the top of the seat back.

The Polaric only goes to 18kg as does the BeSafe but the 2 Way ELite goes to 25kg. If you or DD don't want to go that long rear facing you can turn it around and use it as a harnessed forward facing seat to 25kg. It can also be used as a booster from 15kg but I wouldn't to be honest. When the time comes for a booster get one with belt guides (2 way doesn't have these).

I got ours here. It's under £200 but the Polaric is £225 and the BeSafe is £270.

Try contacting the Essex In Car Safety Centre they give great advice over the phone and if you are able to travel to them they will be able to help you choose the perfect seat for your car. They don't sell seats them selves but you can try lots of different ones out to see how they fit.

silverfrog · 29/05/2009 11:20

I have a BeSafe IziKid (Isofix). I can't remember now, but I thought the BeSafe Combi wasn't as recommended as the Kid (might just be the forward facing aspect, though)

I have mine in a Honda CRV, and it fits fine.

Very easy to insstall (I know all Isofix seats are, but the tehters can sometimes be a pain)

I used to have the volvo one (do they still supply the Britax one? Can't remember the name, sorry), and the BeSafe is far better (feels a lot more secure once installed, better protection all round for dd)

have you read this site?

it also has a forum, so you could ask for experiences there too

hth

norktasticninja · 29/05/2009 11:29

We have the BeSafe iZi Combi. It's great and fits in our Ford Ka with enough room to still sit comfortably in the passenger seat, so it should be absolutely fine space-wise in an A3. In fact, IIRC, the BeSafe takes up the least space of all RF seats.

Original poster
Lucky13 · 29/05/2009 11:34

Thanks for the replies.

Verity79 - is the 2 Way Elite - isofix - as we need that - couldn't see that it was?

Silverfrog - where did you get your BeSafe seat from?

OP posts:
Original poster
Lucky13 · 29/05/2009 11:36

norktasticninja - great name - do you think that the Combi is secure and well padded?
Glad it will fit in both cars.

OP posts:
silverfrog · 29/05/2009 11:41

I imported mine, as it was the only option at that point (we were going on a cross-europe journey, and wanted new seat before we set off).

it is a lovely seat, and has a good recline (which the Britax didn't really). Nicely padded, very cosy, and dd2 looks a lot more secure in it than she ever did in the Britax one, especially around the head area - much more padding in the BeSafe

norktasticninja · 29/05/2009 11:44

It's certainly secure, absolutely rock solid! As far as padding goes it's fine but not totally luxurious, DD seems to find it plenty comfortable enough though.

Original poster
Lucky13 · 29/05/2009 11:48

Silverfrog - Thanks for that - sounds reassuring. Can't see any other than the combi on sale in UK though - so may have to import. I see its 430 euro for the IziKid or £270 for the Combi - hmmm wonder how much difference there is?

OP posts:
Original poster
Lucky13 · 29/05/2009 11:49

Definitely sold on the BeSafe then - just which one...

OP posts:
silverfrog · 29/05/2009 12:05

I went for the Kid because I don't like Combi seats (personal opinion - I don't htink that a combi seat can be as good as a single use seat, surely some compromise has to be made somewhere to be able to get both uses out of it? am not an expert though, and is just my opinion )

Verity79 · 29/05/2009 20:05

2 Way Elite isn't ISOFIX but a seat belt install is as safe as an ISOFIX one it's just a different way of installing it.

Good for you choosing to keep your DD as safe as you can. Far too many people just move up to the next stage just because.

Tangle · 29/05/2009 20:53

We have an A3 sportback and the Izi Kid (non-Isofix) fits in fine - DH and I are both reasonably tall and whilst it does take some room out of the front passenger seat we haven't found it to be a problem (I'm about 5'8 with a 32" inside leg, and I was quite happy on an 8 hour trip).

We tried the Britax seats and found they took up more room and didn't look as comfortable for DD. We found that the angle of the rearseat cushion in the A3 is such that they seemed very VERY upright, even when fully reclined.

Silverfrog has given the logic I've heard - if a seat is going to turn around you have to make compromises and/or there's more to go wrong. The Essex ladies are fantastic - very helpful over the phone and even if you can't get to them they may be able to come to you (they get hired out to do many of the free car-seat safety checks around the country, and brought 3 RF seats for us to try when they came near us).

As an aside, the Izi Kid is approved to 25kg in Sweden, where they use a test that is considered more stringent than the ECE ones - but under the ECE regulations its only tested to 18kg. From a safety point of view I don't have a problem with keeping DD RF beyond 18kg in the seat, but I do have niggling doubts about what leverage that could give an insurance company if we did have an accident and DD was injured. What a wonderful world

BCLass · 29/05/2009 21:30

Watching with interest as at some point need a rear facing group 2 for DD to fit in BMW 320 touring - will give Essex ladies a call I think.

Would prefer isofix.

When we bought the group 1 I looked at Which? and bought the most highly recommended. Is there something similar for group 2 RFs??

And where can I get a kist of those I need to consider??

Sad that some of my ante natal friends had their babies FF at 6 mo. What's the rush??

BCLass · 29/05/2009 21:37

Also - do you still have tether straps with isofix RF seats? Only have a hazy idea about how they work!

BCLass · 29/05/2009 21:49

ah - getting confused - need group 1 seat; have group 0!

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