car seats for small cars.

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joescrivens

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We have a britax eclipse car seat for my son, but we have a VW Up! and its pretty tight in the back.

We need a new car seat that gives him a bit more leg room, he needs one of the 9kg+ car seats though and it can't be one like this:

http://www.mothercare.com/highback-...rid#?prefn1=brand&prefv1=Mothercare&view=grid

because the seatbelt holders aren't compatible. It needs to be one where the seat belt goes through the back and has a catch to keep it sturdy.

Do you have one of these kinds and a small car? if so be interested in hearing which one you have and if it fits nicely? The best I have seen is a Graco Nautilus.
 
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I think Mothercare and maybe Halfords do a try before you buy service.

The ex-dragon-in-law used to work in the local council's road safety department and would visit the places above and offer "expert" help in making sure kiddy seats fitted properly.
 
yeah I have been in, but they only have a select few to try. I'm looking for people who have found the one that works best that can reccomend
 
Does the up not come with isofix/latch holders? I'd find a seat which fits and uses those. It is much safer.

How much room is there between the end of the child's feet and the rear of the front seats? If you use belts you'd have to leave more room as those belt ones move around in the car in an accident more than the properly anchored sort.
 
joescrivens said:
yeah I have been in, but they only have a select few to try. I'm looking for people who have found the one that works best that can reccomend
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Fair enough although the fitment can vary a lot from car to car, especially something like an Up, I wouldn't imagine too many people on here have one and/or use a kiddy seat in it?
 
Dunno if this will be of any use to you? http://www.incarsafetycentre.co.uk/

The "Application List" may be useful too, you can enter the vehicle details and it lists the seats that are recommended.
 
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srichards said:
Does the up not come with isofix/latch holders? I'd find a seat which fits and uses those. It is much safer.

How much room is there between the end of the child's feet and the rear of the front seats? If you use belts you'd have to leave more room as those belt ones move around in the car in an accident more than the properly anchored sort.
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yes it has isofix but the isofix seats are all HUGE!!! too much space at the back.

end of child feet on daisys is a good amount of space, she has to stretch to reach the seat, but she's in the proper wrap around belt, rather than harness.

finn has to stay in the harness for at least another year as he's diddy. His current seat there is barely any space. hence we need a different one
 
joescrivens said:
yes it has isofix but the isofix seats are all HUGE!!! too much space at the back.

end of child feet on daisys is a good amount of space, she has to stretch to reach the seat, but she's in the proper wrap around belt, rather than harness.

finn has to stay in the harness for at least another year as he's diddy. His current seat there is barely any space. hence we need a different one
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Compromise Joe, small cars are not long distance transporters.
 
tiler65 said:
Compromise Joe, small cars are not long distance transporters.
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there is no need to compromise. There are smaller car seats out there. I have seen one already - the graco nautilus I mentioned in my original post. I am here asking others if they have more recomendations
 
Sounds like there is a gap in the market to make an isofix seat that would work well in smaller cars.
 
Have you tried the VW dealers? I know Ford dealers sell car seats made by Britax, VW may do the same.
 
nilagin said:
Have you tried the VW dealers? I know Ford dealers sell car seats made by Britax, VW may do the same.
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I have looked in the product brochure and they sell two types of car seats but both are bulky

cheers

it looks like the graco one is the best bet
 
I got a cybex pallas after reading a review on which. Most didnt do very well at all. Its not to big. The graco you mention only scores 52%.

Best buys are
Cybex junior fix
Kiddy guardians pro2
Cybex pallas I have 1 but 2 is now availabe
 
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When the daughter needed a seat, Halfords were very good and tried several seats in both the daughters car and her partners, then they wanted to try in mine aswell just in case we wanted to use it, the cars ranged from a small matiz through an escort to my mondeo. I would recommend them, they would not sell a seat until tested and fitting tution given.
 
Joe, is it possible that car seats have to be a certain size legally?
 
a car seat wont fit for long if its too small, they have to be big to get some growing in, hence the age bands they are in. ISOfix are designed to fit all kinds of car and pass lots of crash tests and the like.

the OBVIOUS solution, and the one that im surprised noone has suggested already, is to sell the child.
 
matty said:
a car seat wont fit for long if its too small, they have to be big to get some growing in, hence the age bands they are in. ISOfix are designed to fit all kinds of car and pass lots of crash tests and the like.

the OBVIOUS solution, and the one that im surprised noone has suggested already, is to sell the child.
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And that stupid car he has is not a family car.....he won't admit it though.
 
I didnt want to say that, i might get banned for arguing/trolling...but you're right.
 
Similar size to the P45 Jeremy was testing last night...
 
Can the Up take roof bars?
The weathers warming up now.......
 
tiler65 said:
Can't have roof bars as Joe's head pokes through the sunroof.
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That must be some sunroof to get Joe's head through, must be like rolling back the roof on the millennium stadium.
 
tiler65 said:
And that stupid car he has is not a family car.....he won't admit it though.
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Lol

For once I know you are wrong. Sometimes it's just opinion, but I actually have the car and can actually say it. This is a joyous moment for me :clap:
 
Just buy a whole car Joe instaead of two halves ;)

Talking of car seats - we've been been playing musical children over the last day or so.:bonk:
 
You can`t get a pint in a half pint glass Joe.Get a bigger car.
 
fracster said:
You can`t get a pint in a half pint glass Joe.Get a bigger car.
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But we don't need a bigger car. Why would I get something we don't need?

As I have said the graco fits perfectly, I was looking to see if anyone had other recommendations so I can compare. So far there haven't been, so I am going to order the graco today.
 
rjbell said:
I got a cybex pallas after reading a review on which. Most didnt do very well at all. Its not to big. The graco you mention only scores 52%.

Best buys are
Cybex junior fix
Kiddy guardians pro2
Cybex pallas I have 1 but 2 is now availabe
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Didn't see this post. Thanks will take a look at these models too.

Cheers

edit: took a look at this but none would be suitable. They are very bulky and would be very difficult to get in an out of in a small car.

The graco it is :thumbs:
 
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Joe, I know they are larger than other seats, but i wouldnt put my kids in anything else but isofix seats if your car has isofix fixing points, why risk their well being?
 
Davec223 said:
Joe, I know they are larger than other seats, but i wouldnt put my kids in anything else but isofix seats if your car has isofix fixing points, why risk their well being?
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Here's the thing. You can go as far as you want when it comes to safety - I could say - why risk even taking them out in the car in the first place?

Isofix is all well and good and we have had it in our other cars when they were newborns. But at this moment it's not right for our situation.
 
joescrivens said:
But we don't need a bigger car. Why would I get something we don't need?
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Safety. These cars might have four seats but they are not designed as family cars - they are city cars designed for a couple of people and down to a price.

If you're going on a long journey with the family I'd hire a Focus/Mondeo or equivalent and use Isofix.

Yes, there's risk with everything these days but why not try and minimise it where it's easy to do so. You wouldn't fly Aeroflot , would you. :thumbs:
 
That Up thing is a 5 star ncap so not that bad....

It is a family car as long as Joe is happy travelling on the roof rack with his mrs driving ;)
 
Spuff said:
Safety. These cars might have four seats but they are not designed as family cars - they are city cars designed for a couple of people and down to a price.
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I would say I probably know more about the car than you since I have it.

Its a great family car. We've had a polo and a golf and I wouldn't swap this back for either of them.

It really depends on the size of your family. We have two children 3 and 2. With the new car seat finn will have plenty of room, and daisy already does. When they become bigger children it will start to get too small, but not till they are 10+ I wouldn't imagine - depends how quickly they grow I suppose.

The boot is deceptively large, it has a faux floor that makes it double up into a much deeper double boot, its really useful when shopping because you stack your bags in three layers, boot, faux floor then parcel shelf. Last week I had around 10 bags of shopping and still had space.

If you need a large pushchair, it's not a car for you but it will fit in a buggy that folds. We dont use a pushchair anymore, both our children walk everywhere.

The moral of the story is this - the car is perfect for us. It's funny how you start a thread asking for recomendations for car seats and people start telling you how the car you bought is not the right one for you. :lol: :bonk::bonk:
 
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Joe, does that faux floor cover where a spare wheel would be if you had forked out the extra few quid for that over the next to useless reflator thing?

As for car seats, whichever you can find that has room for child growth and is safe enough to satisfy you and your wife.
 
People have offered opinions Joe, last time I looked that was not against the forum rules, only the rules that state nobody must disagree with the almighty Scrivens, for he is the font of all knowledge and his word must be taken as gospel,in his opinion.

If the car suits you then fine, I always preferred something more substantial when transporting my daughter about, but each to their own.
 
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