The Mrs is pregnant - does a 3 door hatch work?

[morrisk1]

Welshbeef said:

FreeLitres said:

morrisk1 said:

We've just upgraded the wife's car from an Ibiza to a new Qashqai. Just makes things easier, plus better safety features etc. The rear facing seat is big, but still enough room for the passenger in the Q. Would definitely recommend one.

Out of interest, which rear facing seat do you have? Would it fit behind the drivers side in the Q?

Is it the Q+2 or the basic model?

It's the standard model. My wife's only 5'4" so would fine behind her, I think be ok for most people but not tried it as it's fitted to the passenger side.

Base is the Maxi-Cosi 2-way (from Mothercare) with a Pebble seat.

[TheInternet]

kambites said:

Me too, but the few empirical safety tests which I've found seem to be saying that it is.

Which ones have you seen?

[nickofh]

Welshbeef said:

Another thing to think about is that rear facing child seats (up to 5 years old) are 5x safer for infants in accidents so is a big thing in many EU countries and could be coming to the UK.


If they do then a small (think Golf size) car with the huge seat cannot have an adult sat in front its that big.


We've not got one of these things but if and when the law changes you can only have MPV or 5 series size plus cars. 3 door.. Simply wouldn't be possible to get then into the seat due to its swivel max angle.

The rear facing point that welshbeef makes is spot on. We have just had our first 9 weeks ago and I decided to start looking for the next car seat , I really wanted the recaro young sport in red (to match the car) but after more research it was obvious that rear facing until they are much older is far safer.

I picked up a Britax first class + in red for £65 off amazon , it allows them to travel rearward from birth until they are about 3 then go's forward until 4. An extra bonus is that its made in the UK and baby loves it. Back on point though , this seat would be a nightmare in a three door !

[kambites]

TheInternet said:

kambites said:

Me too, but the few empirical safety tests which I've found seem to be saying that it is.

Which ones have you seen?

Well Which have reviewed a few read facing group-1s and whilst they do better than most front facing ones, they aren't coming top of their tests. I found a bad translation of a German group-test too, which came to similar conclusions.

I certainly don't doubt that read facing seats are fundamentally better things in a head-on collision. The question is whether any of the current seats on the market are actually any good and whether any of them will fit in any car which isn't bigger than my house. Even our group-0 seat only just fits between the seat back and the dashboard.

Edited by kambites on Tuesday 31st March 21:45

[Ved]

We have changed to a new rear facing seat (although it does all positions too) recently after our daughter outgrew the first one. It's a Cybex Sirona and fitting it into the Forester would mean my knees touched the glovebox if I sat in the passenger seat. It's probably the most compact one out there from all my tests so I'd go try it first. The best thing is that it faces to the side so loading the baby in there is very easy. It'll still be crap with a 3 door though.

We had to buy a new car to accommodate it so now I've got the STI, Forester and a spanky 3.0R Outback The seat fits fine in the new Legacy and I've got plenty of room as a passenger. There's no way I'd get a forward facing seat. Anyway, it's a good excuse to hunt for a new car

[goneape]

But none of these rear facing child seats seem to take into account the fact that childrens legs are quite long. Look at the pictures on their websites. They all show infants, none that I could see show toddlers or 3+. If you put a 3 year old in that, its knes would be up by its ears or legs up the back seat. If they do make these mandatory for under 5s, you'll need a minibus! It would be more convenient for all concerned to pack the child in the boot and strap the luggage in the seats.

[Hackney]

Welshbeef said:

kapiteinlangzaam said:

Hackney said:

Yes, 1. 4 wks old. So I don't claim to be an expert.
But I know we don't fill the boot of our car with a pram, or need to take a "travel system" to visit the rellies.

We have a city mini jogger, which is a pushchair which folds flat. It takes about about 1/4 of the boot.

Who suggested dumping the baby on the floor?

All the info I can find suggests your pram is not suitable for new borns.... 8Kg min weight.

I concur - unless I'm looking st the wrong one (post a link up to conclude it one way or the other) 16.5lbs new borns are what 7lbs. In 4 weeks its highly unlikely your baby would meet the min weight of baby to use the pram... If that is the case you need to stop using that ASAP and buy one which is suitable.

• minimum* weight?

http://www.mumsnet.com/reviews/pushchairs/3-wheele...

http://www.bestbuggy.co.uk/2012/05/baby-jogger-cit...
"The Baby Jogger City Mini is recommended on many forums as being one of the best (if not the best) lightweight urban stroller to take your child from birth to three."

http://www.babycenter.com.au/thread/1149261/can-yo...

http://www.essentialbaby.com.au/forums/index.php?/...


Cos my wife (and I) did no research on this at all, you know.

[Welshbeef]

Hackney said:

• minimum* weight?

http://www.mumsnet.com/reviews/pushchairs/3-wheele...

http://www.bestbuggy.co.uk/2012/05/baby-jogger-cit...
"The Baby Jogger City Mini is recommended on many forums as being one of the best (if not the best) lightweight urban stroller to take your child from birth to three."

http://www.babycenter.com.au/thread/1149261/can-yo...

http://www.essentialbaby.com.au/forums/index.php?/...


Cos my wife (and I) did no research on this at all, you know.

I see you've used official govt websites and manufacturers websites to confirm weights - or instead Internet forums or bloggers

[Escy]

Welshbeef said:

Um you do realise its medical advice not to keep the baby in a car seat for >2hours as it damages babies back development.

My mum worked in a Barnardo's day care centre about 10 years ago. One of the mothers used to always come in with her baby in a car seat, that was fairly normal so nothing was thought about it. Turns out the baby was in this most of the time. Ended up with a curved spine and load of issues associated with that.

[Hackney]

Welshbeef said:

I see you've used official govt websites and manufacturers websites to confirm weights - or instead Internet forums or bloggers

Someone had already posted the official manufacturers instructions, so no need.
I was quoting a few random consumers / reviews, as someone made up some dodgy info about the pushchair being unsuitable for newborns when one of the key selling points of it is that it's usable from newborn.

But as I said, we didn't do any research just went and bought the first one we saw, obviously.