This is doing my head in

We needed a new car seat for our wee girl (14 months old) so we got belt fitted seat thinking it would fit all the cars we need it to - we tried in her clio2 at the time and it fitted perfectly.

So I figure I'd better try it in my C-max - and it doesn't fit at all ( there is something about the way the seatbelts pull on it from way back in the boot - it really is useless )
We always figured we'd need another seat for my car anyway but this means we need one sooner than planned


The c-max has ISOfix, so it should be easy, but the problem comes when you get to the underfloor storage.
As I understand it the rear tether option is actually the 'proper' ISOfix mounting method and the stupid leg things are only a semi-isofix anyway so I'd be perfectly happy with a tether.
But I'd rather have an extended rear facing seat if at all possible and this is were I've got an issue....

There are still only a handful of extended rear facing seats out there and nearly all of them seem to be ones with stupid legs and no option for a tether
The maxi-cosi axisfix is about the only one I can find, but its £350 and only available from one shop...

Anyone got any other suggestions' ?

I have a Recaro Young Sport for my little ones. They are on the pricey side for a car seat (£145) but will adapt to fit up until they no longer need one and can be used from 9 months. They really are good, well designed, well made and fit brilliantly. The peace of mind of the safety and build quality was worth the money.

Remember the new legislation

Height-based car seats
Height-based car seats are known as ‘i-Size’ seats. They must be rear-facing until your child is over 15 months old. Your child can use a forward-facing car seat when they’re over 15 months old.

You must check the seat to make sure it’s suitable for the height of your child.

Weight-based car seats
Weight-based car seats must be rear-facing until your child weighs more than 9kg.

Which seat they use after then will depend on their weight.

would the child seat fit in the front? - but de-activate any airbag if doing this!

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Originally posted by emsfactory
Remember the new legislation

Height-based car seats
Height-based car seats are known as ‘i-Size’ seats. They must be rear-facing until your child is over 15 months old. Your child can use a forward-facing car seat when they’re over 15 months old.

You must check the seat to make sure it’s suitable for the height of your child.

Weight-based car seats
Weight-based car seats must be rear-facing until your child weighs more than 9kg.

Which seat they use after then will depend on their weight.

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I post that it totally tailored to me! I have a 16 month old and a Cmax! If your Cmax is a older version then you might have to cut the seats with a stanley knife to expose the isofix bars that are buried in the foam of the seat. You can get a kit to cover the holes from eBay which is essentially just some bits of plastic that clip in the hole.

We have the old max and I have cut the seats myself and its not hard to do. We don't do designer labels at all and most of our kids clothes have been bought secondhand but the missus insisted on the best when it comes to car seats. We went rear facing before the law changed as its safer. Now the laws changed so they kiddies have to be rear facing for longer.

We ended up buying a Cybex Sirona and I must admit its pretty fabulous. It cost us a whopping £375 but the key thing is that it rotates so the kid is pointing towards you for ease of access. I can't describe how easy this makes things, when the pesky tike pulls his socks off in the car you can rotate him so he's facing towards you to put the shoes/socks/coats etc back on with him in the seat. There is no leaning over the seat to buckle him in/out breaking your back etc. I wish the build quality was as good on my kitcars seats. They are beautifully made. Once he outgrows it and goes front facing I think we'll have to sell it though, there is this big buckle thing that keeps them in when their front facing.

We have the under floor storage in our CMAX and the foot sits directly on the slightly flimsy storage lid. I have to say that in my mind I am happy with the situation. If you sit and think about the forces involved in a accident then I am not sure the foot is even needed. in a head on impact the seat is flung forward and is halted by the ISOFIX, some of that force will be transmitted downwards through the foot onto the floor and into the flimsy storage lid. However the baby seat sits on the seats anyway so I am not sure what the foot actually does. If your worried just put a Yellow Pages in the storage compartment.

Theres lots of hype on the net about the storage cupboard collasping in a crash but as the seat can't move downward anyway due to the fact it sits on the seats I'm not worried.

I'd rather have my kid rearward facing in a accident with or without a foot rather than forward facing any day of the week.

we used these for our two I am sure we swapped them between the cmax and A6

http://www.toysrus.co.uk/Babies-R-Us/Travel-and-Pushchairs/Car-Seats-and-Boosters/Car-Seat-Accessories/MaxiCosi-EasyFix-Car-Seat-Base-ISOFIX(0025847)< br />
as the isofix at the rear is the main tether never worried about the leg on the hiddy hole cover I have stood on it ( 16 stone ) and it take my weight. If it really worried you is the leg not long enough to hit solid metal if you removed the cover ?.

but this is likely for the baby seat rather that the year 1.

agriv8

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Originally posted by loggyboy

New legislation is currently running along side the old. So unless you have an Isize system you dont need to worry about the 15month rear facing rule.

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Originally posted by Irony
I post that it totally tailored to me! I have a 16 month old and a Cmax! If your Cmax is a older version then you might have to cut the seats with a stanley knife to expose the isofix bars that are buried in the foam of the seat. You can get a kit to cover the holes from eBay which is essentially just some bits of plastic that clip in the hole.

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My kids are now 4 & 6 so use different seats, but we took both our cars to Mothercare and tried the chosen seats in the cars before purchase, this gave us the peace of mind they fitted and were easy to use. Im sure we paid a tad more than 'tinternet but the ease of service was worth it. We found that first couple of choices suited one car but not the other, so it was worth trying before buying imho.

At 4 & 6 yrs old im looking for a seat with built in straight jacket and muzzle nowadays ;-) little blighters lol

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Originally posted by Irony

We ended up buying a Cybex Sirona and I must admit its pretty fabulous. It cost us a whopping £375 but the key thing is that it rotates so the kid is pointing towards you for ease of access.

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Originally posted by smitht82

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Originally posted by Irony

We ended up buying a Cybex Sirona and I must admit its pretty fabulous. It cost us a whopping £375 but the key thing is that it rotates so the kid is pointing towards you for ease of access.

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We've also got this seat and although costly (and chunky) its brilliant! a little tip, don't spend ages on the net looking for a discount as these are never discounted.

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if its pre 2010 c max then the lid on the storage box should be open or removed and the leg should extend to the bottom of the floor, thats the official line from Ford and britax who supply the Ford seats.