group 1 car seat connundrum and query!

xyz123

hi

looking for a group 1 car seat for little one. dont have isofix and only have one car so quite confused with so many car seats to choose from. it seems every tom, !!!!!! and harrry is making car seats these days. few queries and may be a bit of a rant so sorry for that.

i plan to stick to either britax or maxi-cosi as those seem the decent brands to me!

at the moment quite like the maxi cosi axxis (stretching our budget of £150) but a query if anyone has it. Can the reclining be done with child already in the seat e.g. halfway into a journey!

Maxicosi and britax seem to be making so many models starting from £50 to £200odd. what is the easiest way to identify the differences between these seats as obviously all seats go through same testing for safety but presumably one may have metal fastners and other plastic for example!

we looked at joie stages but find the seat belt situation quite annoying! as to the whole rear facing debate but at the moment we are thinking that if it really made that much difference why does the low allow it. we dont really do much travelling in car except supermarket trips in london and very occassional motorway journey!

are there any particular recommendations out of maxicosi priory/tobi/axxis and britax ecplise/evolva/prince?

thanks for reading!

Northern78

Hi!

We have the Maxicosi Tobi and have used it since out DS was 9 months, he's 2 and a half now. He sits quite high up in it so can see out of the window and seems comfortable in it. I read a lot of the reviews before hand and a lot said that some kids had got their arms out of the straps, we have never had this problem. As long as you adjust the headrest to the correct height and have the straps tight (marker turns green when they are tight enough) then they are safely strapped in.

It is quite bulky if you have to move it between cars but we only have the one car. That said while ours was out of action last week being repaired (a lorry decided to play dodgems with us) it was easy enough to transfer to the courtesy car. Our insurance are also going to replace the car seat which is an added bonus.

balancelife

We had the tobi and both of mine managed to get their arms out even when the green mark was shown. It's easy to recline during a journey though and goes quite far back. I'd go and test one on your little one....mine are both skinny and would just twist to escape.

We got this one : http://www.halfords.com/camping-car-seats/car-seats-child-travel/booster-seats/graco-nautilus-child-car-seat-orion?cm_mmc=Google+PLA-_-Car+Seats+and+Child+Travel-_-Booster+Seats-_-192875&_$ja=tsid:60494|cgn:GoogleShopping|kw:192875&istCompanyId=b8708c57-7a02-4cf6-b2c0-dc36b54a327e&istItemId=xmqiqta&istBid=tzpt&_$$ja=cgid:8475776884|tsid:35522|cid:166296844|lid:47422198208|nw:g|crid:44739949084|rnd:456636005196916792|dvc:t|adp:1o1|bku:1&gclid=CjwKEAjwgMieBRCB3bqB94e9lD4SJABW3sTN6TfnQZx-dX-H35XUTV1-DqnHZZy2_cXdoGsA1ThZbBoCP4rw_wcB which we've been happy with though it doesn't recline as much.

thecoffeehouse204

We have a maxi cosi axiss and you can recline once the child is in the seat, it's quite awkward to do it whilst the car is on the move as you need both arms really but if you have chance to pull over it's easy.
The only problem we have found is it doesn't fit well in a lot of cars. We bought it for our ford c-max but ended up having to get another seat as there was a lot of movement in the seat and a big gap between the seat and the backrest of the carseat even when fitted correctly. We ended up using it as a spare seat in our second car which was a ford focus and then later a hyundai i10 and it fitted fine in both those. Seems to also fit ok in the in laws vw golf but not my friends kia ceed so you might be best finding somewhere that stocks it and can take it out to your car to test as the fitting guide on their website isn't accurate.

Other than the fitting issues I love it as its so much easier to put our little girl in compared to our other seat which is a maxi cosi priori xp especially now shes getting heavier. It's definately not as awkward to lift her in when you can turn the seat towards you. Would definately recommend it if it fits well in your car.

Mrs_Soup

We had the Britax Eclipse- actually two - one for each car and that reclines with the child in it.

bex2012

Whether you have a £30 car seat or a £350 car seat, the best car seat (regardless of brand) is one that fits your car properly! Have you looked to see if there is a car seat fitting centre near you? Often they are council run. They will check lots of car seats in your car, and make a recommendation on one that fits properly.

As to the rear facing issue, broken legs will mend, broken necks and backs not always.... This is why the law is changing and all children will have to be rear facing up until 15months.

freebiequennie

Pay a £1 for which reports really opens your eyes especially when babies r us say oh it doesn't matter all tested to same level yes a basic level which tests are more extreme

We have a maxi cosi priori based on the which reports n 4yr old is still in it will go in booster when really has to

Gillyx

We have the Britax Two Way Elite, before this we had the Britax First Class Plus. Would recommend both, we only Made the second purchase to continue rear facing

xyz123

Thanks for replies. Little one is 14 months old and is rear facing in group 0+ car seat.

We don't seem to have a car seat fitting centre run by our council (hillingdon council in lindon).

Will look at which reports if I can get gold of them, but u never know what to make of it E. G. One of the few rear facing group 1seat joie stages is a don't buy. Don't know exact reason someone said due to poor side safety protection and some said just for being awkward to fit.

xyz123

Gillyx wrote: »

We have the Britax Two Way Elite, before this we had the Britax First Class Plus. Would recommend both, we only Made the second purchase to continue rear facing

Thanks. Where did u buy it from? Doesn't seem to be widely available.

freebiequennie

Maxi cosi offer an extended rear facing car seat now as well it's about£350 but I found when looking few yrs ago what limited choice we had to chose from actually they took up alot of space n made front seat very cramped as has to be so far forward for seat to fit behind if that makes sense