Child Seat - Rear Facing with Isofix for 12 months and over?

[thetapeworm]

From an aesthetic and convenience point of view a front-facing seat would be my preference now that the 10 month old has just about grown out of the Maxi-Cosi carrier / seat but all the information my wife keeps coming across suggests that rear facing is the safest option for a few more years to come and ultimately I can't argue with safety coming before anything else. However I also can't help thinking that it all depends on accident type etc and ultimately the child needs space for their legs which seems difficult when they face backwards.

Example:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sssIsceKd6U

I can't seem to find a decent selection of rear-facing seats and even less that utilise Isofix rather than seat belts.

So do any of you have experience of group 1 rear facing seats or any words of wisdom that suggest the rear facing thing is nonsense and we can happily move to forward facing seats and expand our options?

Edited by thetapeworm on Tuesday 23 October 12:25

[DJFish]

http://www.securatot.co.uk/

If you're anywhere near Milton Keynes go to the in car safety centre & they'll let you try 'em all.

One thing to consider is that rear facing seats require fronts seats to be quite far forward, make sure you try it behind both driver and passenger seat, and with both you & the other half sitting in each.

[aizvara]

We bought a seat from securatot for my boy when he was one year old, as I'd read the same sort of advice. Of course it depends on the accident, but the current advice is that it is safer to be rear facing. Obviously that becomes impossible at a certain size/age.

The seat we bought can be reversed to forward facing when required, albeit no longer using isofix.

[Pablo16v]

My daughter has been sitting in a BeSafe Izi isofix rear facing seat since she was 9 months old, but the seat has been forward facing since before her 2nd birthday (she'll be 3 in January). What kind of car do you have? The seat is quite bulky and despite having two large cars at the time (a Passat estate and a Saab 9-5 estate) the bulkiness of the seat and size of the door apertures made it quite difficult for my wife to get our daughter in and by the time she was nearly 2 she almost had to be folded in half to squeeze in. If you are dead set on a rear facing seat I'd definitely recommend you go for a fitting to see how you get on.

[gabbo]

We've only ever used forward facing for group 1 and have used with and without familyfax isobase.

We will be buying another group 1 in about a year and are considering one of these http://www.preciouslittleone.com/product-informati...

[Amateurish]

I've got a Britax Roundabout (US model) which has ISOfix and is rated for up to 18kg rear-facing. It's very good.

[tog]

DJFish said:

http://www.securatot.co.uk/

If you're anywhere near Milton Keynes go to the in car safety centre & they'll let you try 'em all.

One thing to consider is that rear facing seats require fronts seats to be quite far forward, make sure you try it behind both driver and passenger seat, and with both you & the other half sitting in each.

We have a Klippan Triofix and it's been great. We needed one that suited both Isofix and belted installation. It is a big seat however, so make sure you can get the child in (harder in lower-roofed vehicles - my W126 is more of a squeeze than the wife's Fabia) but quick and easy to move between vehicles.