Child Seat Advice

[mjb1]

We've got a third child on the way, not sure what options we have to get 3 kids across the back seat? At present we've got a pair of britax forward facing seats (not sure of the exact model, looks similar to the britax prince) for our current two (4 and 18 months). We also have a rear facing group 0 baby seat, but there's no way it will fit in between the existing seats in any of our cars.

Is there a double seat available, or can we get narrower seats than the ones we have? Or is there another solution (please, not a people carrier)?

[Adrian E]

Suspect change of car or putting the eldest in the middle with a narrower high back booster will be only options. Narrow seats will make doing up seat belts tricky too. This came up very recently so might be worth checking the last 10 pages of this thread

You're looking at very wide saloons to get 3 child seats in using isofix as most don't have 3 sets. Cars big enough to consider include Jag XJ, BMW 7 series and Audi A8. Jag has 3 sets of Isofix but not sure on the others

Might want to consider a 4x4 with 3rd row of seats? Not a fan of MPVs with rear row of seats right up to the back window in case of rear impact

[mjb1]

Adrian E said:

Suspect change of car or putting the eldest in the middle with a narrower high back booster will be only options. Narrow seats will make doing up seat belts tricky too. This came up very recently so might be worth checking the last 10 pages of this thread

You're looking at very wide saloons to get 3 child seats in using isofix as most don't have 3 sets. Cars big enough to consider include Jag XJ, BMW 7 series and Audi A8. Jag has 3 sets of Isofix but not sure on the others

Might want to consider a 4x4 with 3rd row of seats? Not a fan of MPVs with rear row of seats right up to the back window in case of rear impact

I currently have an Isuzu double cab pickup, and I thought that would be just about as wide as any car. That's why I thought it must be our existing car seats that are extra wide. I know it has isofix mountings, not sure if there are three of them though. Other car is an Altezza (IS200), not a small car, but it's not going to be as wide as an XJ or 7 series.

[SooperDan]

mjb1 said:

We've got a third child on the way, not sure what options we have to get 3 kids across the back seat? At present we've got a pair of britax forward facing seats (not sure of the exact model, looks similar to the britax prince) for our current two (4 and 18 months). We also have a rear facing group 0 baby seat, but there's no way it will fit in between the existing seats in any of our cars.

Is there a double seat available, or can we get narrower seats than the ones we have? Or is there another solution (please, not a people carrier)?

The 'narrow' seats (ie Maxi-Cosi Tobi/Rubi) are slimmer by a couple of centimetres at most.
If the eldest is above the 15kg (33lbs) minimum weight for a booster then they can move up from their Britax. However with having three seats in the back you will really struggle for space. Realistically, without changing car, the only option for a booster seat will be a Bubblebum ( http://www.bubblebum.co/).
Essentially this is a booster cushion, so your eldest won't have the luxury of having a highback, which personally I would recommend them having.
Best thing to do is pop down to a retailer and have a play around with some seats, see if you can magic some space up. At least you'll know the situation a bit better

[lenats31]

mjb1 said:

We've got a third child on the way, not sure what options we have to get 3 kids across the back seat? At present we've got a pair of britax forward facing seats (not sure of the exact model, looks similar to the britax prince) for our current two (4 and 18 months). We also have a rear facing group 0 baby seat, but there's no way it will fit in between the existing seats in any of our cars.

Is there a double seat available, or can we get narrower seats than the ones we have? Or is there another solution (please, not a people carrier)?

I would arrange for a meeting with a car seat specialist - one that offers a wide range of rearfacing seats among others. I have a thing for these seats I know, but they really do make the best practical three-across solutions in cars with only 2½ backseats. While you are there, think ahead and try some booster seats inthere next to the rearfacing one.

For practical reasons - do not put the 4-year old in the centre backseat ever. I´m sure that kind of arrangement will piss you off every time he needs to use it. Getting the hands down to fasten him(self) is going to give you some major headaches.

take it from someone who has done several fittings like this in cars with 2½ seats in the back.

Perhaps put the 4-year old in the front seat for as long as the baby is in the infant seat if you can live with that for a while.

½ a seat in the middle does not have isofix, but then again you won´t need it. The best seats for three across, and mind you none of them are suitable from birth.

Britax Hiway 2
Britax Maxway
Maxi Cosi Mobi
In some instances: Besafe Izi kid/Izi Combi non-isofix and the Britax Two Way Elite.

The Britax Two Way Elite is better suited for older children since it is wide and has low sides at the base.

The others - particulary the first three seats mentioned have narrow bases and installed with a distance to the back of the backseats - giving you and son room to fasten him, sooner or later the 18 month old too.

I have tried to put my own - then 2½ year old son into a Besafe placed in the middle seat in my previous car Peugeot 307SW. he climbed into it on his own via his sister´s booster seat. there was a Besafe Izi Kid Isofix on the otjer side.

You may or may not need a whole new set of child seats. Not for sure, but you have to be prepared for that. Either way, it is certainly cheaper than new cars.

Just had a look at your car, it looks as if the buckle stalks are long, but the seats mentioned above can handle this quite well. Long buckle stalks pose a risk for buckle crunch which is an absolute no-go. It´s dangerous.

The In Car Safety Centre stock all the seats. they have avery decent supply of all types of car seats. It may cost you a long ride, but it will highly like save you a lot of money in the end and less risk of you headbanging a brickwall several times a week in the near future.

Edited by lenats31 on Wednesday 12th June 19:42

Edited by lenats31 on Wednesday 12th June 19:52

[lenats31]

Vauxhall Zafira 1997 right here.
http://www.sikkerautostol.dk/stoleseats-25-kg55lbs...

Looks like there is no room to fasten the child in the Besafe Izi Up. The sides of the seat move up with the headrest by turning a handle on both sides of the seat. It has been adjusted to the right height of the 4 year old in this family , and so not to full lenght which would add more room.

[lenats31]

Tokar said:

Hi gang,

We already have a rear facing seat in our main car (a Britax Max way in a 2003 C max) and are on the lookout for a second seat for relatives to use on an infrequent basis. Nobody else appears to be comfortable fitting the maxway into other cars (regardless of mine and the fitters instruction and the benefits of using a rear-facing seat!).

Daughter is nearly 2 years old so I'm looking to get a seat that will last her until she no longer requires one.

I'm currently looking at the Britax evora 1-2-3 Plus and wondered if you have any safety information or recommendations about this seat at its not forthcoming from numerous internet searches.

Thanks in advance for your assistance.

It´s going to last to the very end of her child seat years. It grows to full booster lenght - like Kidfix. You´ll may want to check it for seatbelt lenght. It requires a long seatbelt. It WILL take her all the way to 18 kg with the inbuilt harness as it grows quite tall with the harness in use. There are photos of my then 4 year-old and 110 cm tall daughter in the rearfacing version of it (Multi-Tech) in a previous thread. She was not in the top harness slot.

[barchetta_boy]

Great thread!

Hope one of the experts can help. I have a Porsche 928 which is a 2+2 which small back seats ideal for kids. I have retrofitted 3 point rear belts from a later 928 and these work perfectly (Porsche included the chassis mounting points in all 928s even those fitted only with rear lap belts).

I have a Porsche Comfy seat which works great for my 3 1/2 year old - it works with the seat belt and keeps the edge away from his neck.

My other son is 1 and a bit. I'd like to get a seat for him to go in the back of the 928. Any recommendations? How about something like this

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Matching-Pair-of-Recaro-...

Cheers,

Joel

[SooperDan]

barchetta_boy said:

Great thread!

Hope one of the experts can help. I have a Porsche 928 which is a 2+2 which small back seats ideal for kids. I have retrofitted 3 point rear belts from a later 928 and these work perfectly (Porsche included the chassis mounting points in all 928s even those fitted only with rear lap belts).

I have a Porsche Comfy seat which works great for my 3 1/2 year old - it works with the seat belt and keeps the edge away from his neck.

My other son is 1 and a bit. I'd like to get a seat for him to go in the back of the 928. Any recommendations? How about something like this

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Matching-Pair-of-Recaro-...

Cheers,

Joel

At 1 and a bit years old he can't go in a booster seat as shown in the link. He's has to be in either a Group 1 or 123, ie a seat with a 5 point harness. This means you'll have to find a seat which fits nice and safely in your 928.

Looking at 928 rear seats, they look downright terrible for car seats! However, it could be worse.
I would try a Britax Prince on recline position 2 (or maybe 3).
http://www.kiddicare.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet...
This is a basic seat, but with it being on recline it should touch all of the seat (we look for at least 80% coverage when fitting).
The Prince also has a tall routing guide, meaning it should come flush with your high buckle. This should get it tight, also a Grip It mat underneath the seat will help with movement if you have leathers.

Right now I can't think of any seat which I know of that might fit. The proof is in the pudding though, so get down to retailer that knows it's beans and has a big range of seats to choose from to try some out in the car.

Doff my cap to Dads like you!

[barchetta_boy]

Brilliant, thanks, can you recommend such a retailer? I had a bad experience at Toys R Us with the 928, had them bringing out seats and they couldn't tell me anything about them I couldn't read on the info car.

Cheers,

Joel

PS: I'm in London / Kent

[Adrian E]

You will struggle to find a non-chain supplier in the South East - I've used http://www.baby-nest.co.uk/ on Purley Way before but not really tested their range to that extent.

When we were looking at group 2 seats we had to travel to http://www.pushchairsandcarseats.co.uk/ off the M40 to find any level of stock of what we were interested in buying.

[SooperDan]

barchetta_boy said:

Brilliant, thanks, can you recommend such a retailer? I had a bad experience at Toys R Us with the 928, had them bringing out seats and they couldn't tell me anything about them I couldn't read on the info car.

Cheers,

Joel

PS: I'm in London / Kent

I never wish to plug but there's a Kiddicare in Thurrock or there's one opening in Croydon in July. They will stock major car seat brands, including the Britax Prince.
Also, if you go to Croydon when it first opens there should be Britax, Recaro and/or Maxi-cosi fitters there, which I know don't just recommend their seats but recommend what's best for your car and child.

[havoc]

There's an independent place on the outskirts of Orpington - where we went to check/buy the Gp1 rear-facing Max-fix.

Not sure that they had a massive range of stock, but they offered good advice and took time to help us.

[SooperDan]

I will say that if you do choose Croydon I would seek out a brand rep. It's a specialist fitment so you're going to need someone with experience to help you out. Can't speak for Thurrock store, but the feedback I've heard is that's it's pretty good for advice.

I can contact the best fitter I know from Britax to see if he's had any experience with a 928. He's responsible for creating the majority of Britax's Fit Finder so hopefully he can help out with it a bit more.

[SooperDan]

Had a chat with Dom from Britax, he says that a Kiddy EnergyPro might be worth a try but personally I wouldn't recommend one.
These use an impact shield instead of the conventional five-point harness and from the feedback and information I have received about them they don't offer the same all-round protection a harness seat does. I think Lenats will agree with me here.

[lenats31]

SooperDan said:

Had a chat with Dom from Britax, he says that a Kiddy EnergyPro might be worth a try but personally I wouldn't recommend one.
These use an impact shield instead of the conventional five-point harness and from the feedback and information I have received about them they don't offer the same all-round protection a harness seat does. I think Lenats will agree with me here.

I certainly do Dan. I have met my share of parents whose children have managed to escape fromt these seats. The current recordholder is a 3 year old.

The test dummies lack meassuring devices in areas that are important to estimate the risk factors and safety of this type of seat such as the lower neck and the abdomen. serious injuries and even death have occured at low speed.

Some tests - which include a recent one by VTI in Sweden indicate that neckloads aren´t better nor worse than in the forward facing seats with a harness.

So for me, and a forward facing seat: I would certainly choose one with a 5-point harness.

[RocketScience]

I've given up on the MaxiCosi Cabriofix as I want to ensure it has been approved for use in a 2012 Passat.

The other chair that will fit my Oyster Stroller is a Britax SHR II with ISOFix base.

The Britax website said it fits in the Passat.

Have you tested the Britax SHR II? Any good?

Thanks

[Cjd8279]

Hi. I just wondered if you could help!! I have a 4 yr old who has a recaro monza nova isofix booster seat. I recently test drove a peugeot rcz, and as it had isofix mountings in the back( very small seats) I fitted him in the back. The seat fitted but because the seat was small and not very deep the booster seat hung of the edge. So consequently when he fidgeted and leant forward, so did the seat!!! I decided this was not safe as it put too much stress on the isofix points.
I phoned recaro to enquire about top tethers as there is a fitting in the car, but they don't do them, and I have been told that no booster seats have them.
My question is are there any isofix booster seats out there that the seat is maybe a little less deep that will fit in the back of an rcz without hanging over the edge. My issue is as I have not bought the car I can't take it to mothercare for help!
If no isofix, are there any high back boosters available, although I do prefer isofix.
Thanks very much.

[lenats31]

Cjd8279 said:

Hi. I just wondered if you could help!! I have a 4 yr old who has a recaro monza nova isofix booster seat. I recently test drove a peugeot rcz, and as it had isofix mountings in the back( very small seats) I fitted him in the back. The seat fitted but because the seat was small and not very deep the booster seat hung of the edge. So consequently when he fidgeted and leant forward, so did the seat!!! I decided this was not safe as it put too much stress on the isofix points.
I phoned recaro to enquire about top tethers as there is a fitting in the car, but they don't do them, and I have been told that no booster seats have them.
My question is are there any isofix booster seats out there that the seat is maybe a little less deep that will fit in the back of an rcz without hanging over the edge. My issue is as I have not bought the car I can't take it to mothercare for help!
If no isofix, are there any high back boosters available, although I do prefer isofix.
Thanks very much.

The only booster listed for that car as far as I can see is the Britax Evolva 123. But it is not approved for the rearseats. It is only approved for the front passenger seat. that would likely have something to do with the height of the car backthere also.

regarding booster seats with isofix. The isofix mounts only hold the seat in place. The child is restrained by the 3-point seatbelt only and not the isofix system. this is different from the seats with a 5-point harness.

[lenats31]

RocketScience said:

I've given up on the MaxiCosi Cabriofix as I want to ensure it has been approved for use in a 2012 Passat.

The other chair that will fit my Oyster Stroller is a Britax SHR II with ISOFix base.

The Britax website said it fits in the Passat.

Have you tested the Britax SHR II? Any good?

Thanks

That´s another very good quality and safe infant carrier.