Babies and Children in Lotuses....... can it be done?
Discussion
Hello... I don't know if anyone can help me but I read somewhere, ages ago, that there is some company which makes child seats for sports cars... like the Elise, for example. I'm not really a hot hatch person and after saving up for it for 13 years the idea of binning my Elise causes severe pain. It would be nice to be able to keep both my babies not to mention ferrying Mini Me around in something classy and not SUV or MPV shaped.... I suppose there's always one of the really rudimentary landrovers or a 1960s Mark II Jag but if I can stick with the Lotus I really would like to.
Any ideas anyone?
Cheers Sweary
Any ideas anyone?
Cheers Sweary
Hi Scary. Not too sure about baby/infant carriers but have had my four year old in her Britax seat in the 'liz with no problems. The Britax in question straps in via the seatbelt and is then tightened with a looking foot.A towel or similiar protects the leather. Never sure about Halfords (can remember their 'expert' being unable to fit an isofix seat into our Audi satisfactorily) but our local Mothercare were happy for me to put different seats in and out of cars to our hearts content till we were happy. Incidently I'd go for one with good side impact protection for the head - used to be an area that wasn't too well covered on child seats.
I often take my nephews/nieces out..and have friends who took their newborn out in their Elise ....the mum used her Elise regularly during pregancy so the baby is used to the noise and likes to goto sleep in the Elise more than their Beemer 
They went down Mothercare and they let them take the seats out to the car and try them - quite a few fit OK in the Elise....
They went down Mothercare and they let them take the seats out to the car and try them - quite a few fit OK in the Elise....
Brilliant!
Thank you, you are all stars, I am now thoroughly reassured.
Believe it or not, actually I'm sure you do, I have been enduring sleepless nights about letting my luscious car go, after all, however luscious my child grows up to be it will look like Winston Churchill or Mr Potato head to start with... not a patch on an Elise eh?
Sounds like the Britax seat might be a good one, lots of people have recommended it to me. The cheesy grin is now back in place...! Smashing!
Cheers
Scary!
Thank you, you are all stars, I am now thoroughly reassured.
Believe it or not, actually I'm sure you do, I have been enduring sleepless nights about letting my luscious car go, after all, however luscious my child grows up to be it will look like Winston Churchill or Mr Potato head to start with... not a patch on an Elise eh?
Sounds like the Britax seat might be a good one, lots of people have recommended it to me. The cheesy grin is now back in place...! Smashing!
Cheers
Scary!
A word of caution.
I too have tried to find a seat that 'fits' the Elise, and to date without success. Some of the models that have been mentioned in other threads as fitting the elise, simply DO NOT!
Please note that I have only tried group 1 & 2 seats to date and have not tried any exclusively group 3 booster seats (these are suitable 4+, so I have another year to wait to try these)
A few seats fit OK, but do not fit properly. Those of you who have fitted seats succesfully please furnish us with the make and model so we can try them.
A summary of the issues is as follows:
Does the seat fit within the wings of the elise seat? (sitting on the wings of the seat is not safe)
Does the profile of the child seat fit the profile of the elise seat? (partial contact DOES NOT constitute correct fitting)
Does the seat belt secure the seat correctly? ie. Is there any submarining?, Is the seat belt buckle obstructed, or foul on the child seat?, Is the backrest of the child seat secure in the recline position when fitted?
Every seat I have tried has failed at least one of these tests, some have got close and I could have convinced myself that they 'fit' OK. However, ultimately they do not.
Be objective and be safe.
Regards, Neil
This thread appears every now and again, perhaps if those of us who have tried child seats in the car were to provide make/model and an assessment of fit we can develop a definitive guide to transporting our loved ones safely in an elise.
I too have tried to find a seat that 'fits' the Elise, and to date without success. Some of the models that have been mentioned in other threads as fitting the elise, simply DO NOT!
Please note that I have only tried group 1 & 2 seats to date and have not tried any exclusively group 3 booster seats (these are suitable 4+, so I have another year to wait to try these)
A few seats fit OK, but do not fit properly. Those of you who have fitted seats succesfully please furnish us with the make and model so we can try them.
A summary of the issues is as follows:
Does the seat fit within the wings of the elise seat? (sitting on the wings of the seat is not safe)
Does the profile of the child seat fit the profile of the elise seat? (partial contact DOES NOT constitute correct fitting)
Does the seat belt secure the seat correctly? ie. Is there any submarining?, Is the seat belt buckle obstructed, or foul on the child seat?, Is the backrest of the child seat secure in the recline position when fitted?
Every seat I have tried has failed at least one of these tests, some have got close and I could have convinced myself that they 'fit' OK. However, ultimately they do not.
Be objective and be safe.
Regards, Neil
This thread appears every now and again, perhaps if those of us who have tried child seats in the car were to provide make/model and an assessment of fit we can develop a definitive guide to transporting our loved ones safely in an elise.
Neil
I am by nature a very paranoid person - we spend about 2 hours or more with some very good poeple (That's My Baby in swindon - op the porsche / lotus etc dealers) and found only one seat which fitted - I'll get the details tonight when I get back to the car.
To address the issues you raise:
Does the seat fit within the wings of the elise seat? (sitting on the wings of the seat is not safe) - yes - the seat sits on the base of the seat. We used a rubberised mat (again I'll give the details tonight) which provides a little extra hieght on the seat (mm no more) but more imporatntly prevents any slippage or damage to the seat.
Does the profile of the child seat fit the profile of the elise seat? (partial contact DOES NOT constitute correct fitting) - yes - the existing (Britax clip in type) did not match the rake of the seat so was rejected (hence buying a new one). The lady we dealt with (Launa) was extreemly clear that they did not condone the practice of packing the gap which some people suggest as being OK.
Does the seat belt secure the seat correctly? ie. Is there any submarining?. - I have to admit I don't know and I'm not sure how I'd know without crash testing. Certainly the child seat does not move around in the seat. Can you give me any suggestions on how to test this? At the moment the seatbelt goes throught he back of the seat and my daughter is secured in using a normal child harness arrangement within the child seat so I;m not sure how she'd sub out of it.
Is the seat belt buckle obstructed, or foul on the child seat? - No - the arrangement of the belt is both each and safe - again Launa was pretty through on checking this (as she was on the last seat we bought)
Is the backrest of the child seat secure in the recline position when fitted? - there is no recline position on the child seat it is basically a bucket!
I hope this helps - whilst no parent will intentionally place their child at risk (i'd hope!) both my wife and I are very paranoid people
I will look for the details when I get home and if you can let me know about the test for subing I'd be grateful.
Miles
I am by nature a very paranoid person - we spend about 2 hours or more with some very good poeple (That's My Baby in swindon - op the porsche / lotus etc dealers) and found only one seat which fitted - I'll get the details tonight when I get back to the car.
To address the issues you raise:
Does the seat fit within the wings of the elise seat? (sitting on the wings of the seat is not safe) - yes - the seat sits on the base of the seat. We used a rubberised mat (again I'll give the details tonight) which provides a little extra hieght on the seat (mm no more) but more imporatntly prevents any slippage or damage to the seat.
Does the profile of the child seat fit the profile of the elise seat? (partial contact DOES NOT constitute correct fitting) - yes - the existing (Britax clip in type) did not match the rake of the seat so was rejected (hence buying a new one). The lady we dealt with (Launa) was extreemly clear that they did not condone the practice of packing the gap which some people suggest as being OK.
Does the seat belt secure the seat correctly? ie. Is there any submarining?. - I have to admit I don't know and I'm not sure how I'd know without crash testing. Certainly the child seat does not move around in the seat. Can you give me any suggestions on how to test this? At the moment the seatbelt goes throught he back of the seat and my daughter is secured in using a normal child harness arrangement within the child seat so I;m not sure how she'd sub out of it.
Is the seat belt buckle obstructed, or foul on the child seat? - No - the arrangement of the belt is both each and safe - again Launa was pretty through on checking this (as she was on the last seat we bought)
Is the backrest of the child seat secure in the recline position when fitted? - there is no recline position on the child seat it is basically a bucket!
I hope this helps - whilst no parent will intentionally place their child at risk (i'd hope!) both my wife and I are very paranoid people
I will look for the details when I get home and if you can let me know about the test for subing I'd be grateful.
Miles
Excellent response Miles 
The best way to check for the child seat submarining, as far as I know, is to sharply pull the front edge of the seat and see if there is any movement/ slippage forward.
If the seat has a 3 point harness then the child should be secure in the seat. Personally, I would keep my child in a harness far as long as is possible before moving to the traditional seatbelt.
It sounds as if you have done some extensive research, and I am very interested to find out which seat you chose. (I know of one young man who will be delighted
, and one somewhat older)
It may also be worthwhile mentioning the model and year of elise you are fitting it to. The seats fitted have changed over the years.
Regards, Neil
PS I also reckon iwilson could be onto something, if you packed them in tightly enough....
The best way to check for the child seat submarining, as far as I know, is to sharply pull the front edge of the seat and see if there is any movement/ slippage forward.
If the seat has a 3 point harness then the child should be secure in the seat. Personally, I would keep my child in a harness far as long as is possible before moving to the traditional seatbelt.
It sounds as if you have done some extensive research, and I am very interested to find out which seat you chose. (I know of one young man who will be delighted
, and one somewhat older) It may also be worthwhile mentioning the model and year of elise you are fitting it to. The seats fitted have changed over the years.
Regards, Neil
PS I also reckon iwilson could be onto something, if you packed them in tightly enough....
Hmm.... I can see this might be more complicated than I thought - despite iWilson's fine photo... Complicated, yes but not impossible.
NJS and Miles, many thanks for the info so far and Miles for the promise of more. Clearly, I will have to try some seats out in a couple of weeks when I hit the 12 week mark. My Lotus is a very early Series 2 with the Sports Tourer bundle (I had to, I have a thing about Suede) so the seats are a little more buckety than some of the ones I've seen in the Series 1. On the up side, being that suedy alcantara stuff undoubtedly makes them grippier - I good thing I suspeect.
It may be I could change the seats to the flatter type, or just the one, until Junior Scary is larger... 'Definitely sounds like a trip to Swindon could be in order although it's a bit of a detour from Cambridgeshire so I will await Miles' information. If or when I find a seat that fits I will certainly post the results... possibly with photos. I am also more than happy to write up the results of the solution in more detail and e-mail them to anyone who might find them helpful!
Cheers
Scary
NJS and Miles, many thanks for the info so far and Miles for the promise of more. Clearly, I will have to try some seats out in a couple of weeks when I hit the 12 week mark. My Lotus is a very early Series 2 with the Sports Tourer bundle (I had to, I have a thing about Suede) so the seats are a little more buckety than some of the ones I've seen in the Series 1. On the up side, being that suedy alcantara stuff undoubtedly makes them grippier - I good thing I suspeect.
It may be I could change the seats to the flatter type, or just the one, until Junior Scary is larger... 'Definitely sounds like a trip to Swindon could be in order although it's a bit of a detour from Cambridgeshire so I will await Miles' information. If or when I find a seat that fits I will certainly post the results... possibly with photos. I am also more than happy to write up the results of the solution in more detail and e-mail them to anyone who might find them helpful!
Cheers
Scary
OK...details:
Seat: Britax Elist (says on the instructions (hidden in a pocket behind the zipper if you're looking in a shop) that it is suitable from approx 9 months to 6 years (9 - 25Kg)
Car: 111s S2 - my04 on a 53 plate with leather seats
Rubberised mat thing: Grip-it "the ultimate car seat gripper (good god can you imagin being in marketting and having to come up with that!?)
Hope this helps.
Miles
Seat: Britax Elist (says on the instructions (hidden in a pocket behind the zipper if you're looking in a shop) that it is suitable from approx 9 months to 6 years (9 - 25Kg)
Car: 111s S2 - my04 on a 53 plate with leather seats
Rubberised mat thing: Grip-it "the ultimate car seat gripper (good god can you imagin being in marketting and having to come up with that!?)
Hope this helps.
Miles
one thing scary - i noticed the " Clearly, I will have to try some seats out in a couple of weeks when I hit the 12 week mark" I'm hoping that this does not mean that mini you is 3 months old? If so the seat will be well too old for your child (sorry if I missed this in your original post!).
Having said that I woudl suggest that TMB may still be able to help and if not...it's only 6 months to wait (and dear god that time flies!)
Miles
Having said that I woudl suggest that TMB may still be able to help and if not...it's only 6 months to wait (and dear god that time flies!)
Miles
No,no... I'm talking 12 weeks pregnant but obviously the first thing that occurred to me when I discovered my condition... er... on Wednesday, at 10 weeks, was NO! What if I have to sell the Lotus! Mini Me has floated into existence on unpasturised cheese, prawns and a lake of red wine... half a bottle a day to be precise...!
Oh well.
Oh well.
Thank you. And thanks for your help and advice too... much better to forgo the pleasure for the first nine months than have a seat that does one to nine months and no further! Nine months to six years... now that's what I call a sensible product!
My Elise is a 51 bog standard... except for the drilled sports tourer "bundle" brake disks et al... model... I have trashed the front underside on a level crossing so it had bits of fibreglass hanging off which I had to glue back(the shame). However I still can't stop grinning when I drive. Sometimes I wish I could soup it up just that tiny little bit more.... but perhaps I'll do that when Mini Me is older and less expensive.... so.... probably after s/he's left home then!
Cheers
Scary
My Elise is a 51 bog standard... except for the drilled sports tourer "bundle" brake disks et al... model... I have trashed the front underside on a level crossing so it had bits of fibreglass hanging off which I had to glue back(the shame). However I still can't stop grinning when I drive. Sometimes I wish I could soup it up just that tiny little bit more.... but perhaps I'll do that when Mini Me is older and less expensive.... so.... probably after s/he's left home then!
Cheers
Scary
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