Jane make some great stuff! It's pricey but is very good quality and hard-wearing.
The Strata car seat is a big, deep seat which boasts a five point harness for extra security and a one handed release button for moving the handle.

Points I make when advising someone about a Strata is that it is fairly heavy, so it's definitely worth popping in to a retailer to try it for size and weight.
Also, the routing for fitting a Strata is different to most infant carriers. The lap belt goes underneath the seat when installing instead of above and over baby. This can be not so straight forward when using it everyday as getting the belt in to the retainers can prove fiddly. But, like most of these things, it's getting in to the routine of becoming used to it.
If you do find it a struggle with the seat belt then there is always an Isofix base named the "Strata Platform" which can be used. It's an Isofix only base with a support leg - so underfloor storage in the car is a no no. It can be had for around £140, but if used everyday it's worth it's price tag.

Hope that helps

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Hi SooperDan,

Thanks very much.appreciate the info very good of you. will defintly be getting the isofix base. best start saving some more.

Hi Guys,

I am looking for a group 1 seat for our daughter. We have a Britax babysafe II at the moment and I would like to stick with the brand [Eclipse or SAFEFIX plus is what I have in mind], would you always pick one of these two over the other? and if so, why?

Do you think the MaxiCosi offer much better protection than Britax? Or are they both pretty decent? I went for the babysafe on recommendation by the ADAC you see.

We have only seen the Kiddi and the Cybex online and working them with the car seat belt each time we want to get baby in and out seems a faf so we have put those aside for the moment.

My wife would prefer a seat that swivels - All I have heard about these is that fixed seats are much much better at impact protection. Keeping with the same brand, how would you rate/mark out of 10 between the Axiss and the Priorifix? Would you always pick one over the other?

We have a 2011 Yaris and according to the website, the two Britaxs I mentioned should fit fine in the car.

Thank you.
-FatVik

The shoulder pads should not be removed. In an accident - like a frontal accident (most happen at high speeds) the child moves into the seat and most likely upwards in it too and into the shoulder pads. The harness will pull through until until the child is completely stopped.

Just to interject, if I may. Britax and Maxi-Cosi are the safest seats you can buy IMO. Both manufacturers test at 44-70mph, so they go above and beyond the bare minimum to pass legislation.
Their seats are much the same in terms of safety, as Lenats say the differences are minimal. The Max-Cosi Tobi, however, has something which no Britax has and that's inertia locking harnesses, meaning the harnesses work much like a standard seatbelt. Quite impressive, I reckon.

I would write Dorel/Maxi Cosi about this. Their car lists have been known for not being up to date. The manufactorers don´t test their seats in all cars. If a car seat retailer finds that a certain seat fits in a car that is not listed, they may send photos of the seat installed in the car to the manufactorer, who will then update the car list.

I have just googled your car to locate the isofix points. I found them in the exact same place as the Audi A4 estate which I have seen a number of times. I tried to upload some photos but the program this forum is using is utterly useless.

So here is the link. Just look at how high up the isofix points are!
http://www.sikkerautostol.dk/wp-content/uploads/20...

The high position of the isofix points in the car levels the car seats. They do get a decent angle in the car. SO it has nothing to do with the shape of your back seats. I think it has a lot to do with the above.

I don´t think it has anything to do with safety. I think the car list is not up-to-date/incorrect. This has happend before with Maxi Cosi. I would mail Dorel/Maxi Cosi about it.

Maxi-cosi have always been rubbish at maintaining their vehicle fitting database. Neither of my Audis are listed for Isofix install with either the Cabriofix or Priorifix we used until recently. What is interesting is that in 2 different Audis from similar era (2002 and 2004 but both in production about the same times) they give very different fit.

Having been involved in legislation/testing in the past I took the view that since the only installation check the manufacturer does is static anyway (no dynamic testing in each model required for obvious cost reasons) and I was quite happy both were well restrained and properly attached to Isofix I would make my own mind up as to their suitability.

On a related subject I've found that the quality of knowledge in high street establishments seems to have taken a nose dive in the last few years - unless you're a well informed customer you could be told black is white with absolutely no idea if they're right or not! They also don't carry much physical stock these days.

What I find more worrying is that when your child gets to 18kg weight limit of the group 1 seats there's so little you can find on the market that you can actually find in stock to try in your car for group 2. To try 3 out of 4 high back boosters we were considering required a 130 mile road trip to a shop with examples on the shelf. After Google Chrome translating ADAC test reports to get some idea of test results we ended up with a BeSafe iZi Up X3 Fix - I particularly liked the fact the centre part of the seat back moves relative to the base and headrest as you adjust it, rather than just the headrest popping up and everything else staying put. Not a cheap seat at £160-170 but they'll be in it a whole lot longer than the previous 2 combined so I reckon it's worth the money. Our now 3 year old loves it but he was in it earlier than I would've liked - the perils of being 98th percentile for weight! He did at least wait until he was 3 before deciding he can now unfasten his seat belt himself when it's time to get out of the car.....

Mini rant over lol

DfT on policy, legislation and research management (around the end of Isofix negotiation before R44:04 and NPACS, which never happened much to my regret) before I moved on to other things. Got involved in the child safety weeks and spent time at Mothercare on Purley Way advising people on installation - always entertaining!

Before that at TRL although not directly with the CRS team - mainly accident investigation/analysis and primary safety

Hiya

Name doesn't ring a bell, although I was a customer of TRL for a number of years after working there! Mainly Marianne and Dinos, supported by Richard Lowne, when I was involved Saw what was at the time their new CRS rig getting commissioned and we used it for quite a lot of testing. All before they moved buildings!

Does Farid still work for Britax? Remember him from Renault days!

This is going way off topic so maybe should take up on e-mail to reminisce?

Hi everyone, my boy is on the verge of outgrowing his current child seat and I would welcome some advice about what to get for him next! He is just over 2.5yrs, and weighs 16kg, so I guess I should be looking at one of the 9mth - 12yrs car seats. He is in a Maxi-Cosi at the moment, a 9mth - 4yrs one.

It will mostly get used in my LS400, and about 25% of the time in my wifes Mk1 Focus 5-door. Neither car has isofix, and I think I would prefer a seat without a detachable base unit, as they seem to be heavier but I don't see what advantage they offer.

I suppose the big issue is height really - he's almost 1m tall, and his shoulders are pressing up on the straps in his current seat. Me and the missus are quite lanky as well, so we have the front seats all the way back, which limits space in the back seats. So we need a nicely compact child seat that can accommodate an extra-large toddler for the next few years! I guess any of the "normal-sized" seats would be fine, but I have no idea what makes/models are best and I don't trust Halfords to give impartial advice. Does anyone have a suitable recommendation?