Why are car seats so important? One of our primary concerns when it comes to motoring is safety. That concern takes on a whole new dimension when you find yourself becoming a parent. Making sure that our children are as safe as possible is not only a parental instinct but also the law. Whether it’s a Costatto car seat or otherwise, car seats are mandatory for transporting babies and children under twelve years of age or who are less than 135 cm tall. It’s also worth checking that the seat you are buying meets ECE R44.04 (or R44.03) or the new i-size standard (R129). Look for the E mark.
By law, your baby must be in a rear-facing car seat until at least two years old and up to four years old. This is where Group 0+ (birth-15 months) and Group 0/1+ (birth-18 months) seats come in. Group 0+1/2/3 seats go from birth to approximately 12 years old. Babies have fragile necks, so in the event of a collision, your baby could be at risk of spinal cord damage if they are facing forward (the way you are driving). You can get more details from the Government’s car seats law page. So, what type of car seat do you need? Well, to be honest, from Joie car seats to Nunas and Axkids, there are hundreds of different models, types and variations on offer. This makes the decision appear initially slightly overwhelming.
But once you get to grips with the different types and their advantages and disadvantages, it becomes easier to focus on what’s the right choice for you. Do you need ISOFIX fastenings? What are the best seats for a 1 year old? Do you need to buy multiple seats?
The best car seats at a glance:
Editor’s choice: Nuna TODL Next and BASE Next – Buy now from Mamas & Papas
Best rear-facing: Axkid Minikid – Buy now from Axkid
Best 360 swivel car seat: Joie i-Spin 360 – Buy now from John Lewis
Hopefully, by the end of this article, we’ll have answered some of those questions for you and given you a clearer idea of the best one for your situation. To make our list as informative as possible, we teamed up with a group of parents who have been testing baby car seats for our sister publication, Mother&Baby. They’ve been using the seats on a daily basis, so have first-hand knowledge of their ins and outs. We’ve included some of their comments to give you a clearer picture of which one will suit your needs.
The best car seats
Editor's choice
There are five reclining positions and six headrest positions, and the shoulder harness is fully adjustable so that it grows with your baby. Plus, it has the additional bonus of a side impact protection pod.
Pros
- Suitable from birth to four years
- Machine washable
Cons
- Not suitable for over 105cm or 19KG weight
- The Mother&Baby tester review: "I believe this is the smoothest car seat I've ever used. Add on the ease of installation (you can install it with the seatbelt if you do not have ISOFIX in your vehicle), its sturdy but lightweight build, and its age range being suited to most family's needs; you won't go wrong opting for this seat."
Best multi-stage car seat
It's R129 certified and comes with a healthy 5-point harness, 4 reclining positions, and dual lock-offs for installation with the car's 3-point seatbelt.
Pros
- R129 Compliant
- Ranges widely in child's early years
Cons
- Not the most age-versatile out there
- The Mother&Baby tester review: "This car seat is similar in design to my current multi-stage one, but the features and usability of the Toria Elite are much better. I'd definitely recommend it to other parents."
Best 360 rotation car seat
No more awkward bending and stretching; this seat pivots smoothly, allowing you to access your little passenger with utmost ease. Comfort for your youngster has been factored in, too, with six reclining positions to provide a restful journey.
Pros
- Isofix compatible
- 360-degree rotation
Cons
- Needs two hands to swivel
- The Mother&Baby tester review: "I have not seen a lot of seats in the shops that have all the functions this seat has. Having i-Size with recline and the 360 swivel elements, as well as being Isofix. The seats that I have come across usually only incorporate a few of these elements or have one or two missing that I would require in a seat."
Best car seat for easy washing
The seat is suitable for three to 12-year-olds, features thicker fabrics for high comfort levels and has seven easily adjustable positions.
Pros
- Compatible with ISOFIX
- Easy to install and remove
Cons
- Not much cushioning
- The Mother&Baby tester review: "It was incredibly easy to install due to the Isofix. I prefer a booster to have Isofix really because it means they don't move around if the seatbelt isn't fastened. It also feels safer. The cover also seemed very easy to remove for cleaning. Some of our car seats have been virtually impossible to remove. With this, there is a zip up the back, and it didn't appear to have any difficult areas to unhook etc., although I did not fully strip it."
Best 360 swivel car seat
The seat's sturdy construction and six recline positions ensure comfort whether you're on long journeys or they just need a quick nap. Additionally, the excellent safety features include guard surround safety panels, which automatically extend when a child is placed in the seat, as well as 19 adjustable leg support positions to provide more stability.
Pros
- Easy to adjust
- One-handed swivel
Cons
- Difficult to move between cars
- The Mother&Baby tester review: "The car seat is easy to use with its spin feature that can be adjusted with only one hand when putting my toddler in the car or taking her out. It prevents us from having to lean into the car and twist to place them in it and also allows me to get into tighter spaces in car parks/driveways where I don't need to open the door as wide to manoeuvre them in/out. Once we'd worked out how to adjust the Isofix bars on the bottom, we found it fairly straightforward to switch between vehicles with only the hanging strut causing a bit of trouble where it wouldn't stay folded up."
Best car seat for comfort
Pros
- 360 rotation
- Grows with baby
Cons
- Stiff rotation
- The Mother&Baby tester review: "I really like the 360 rotation. It makes life so much easier when getting the baby in and out of the car. Once set up in the car, the car seat feels very secure and safe, and the side impacts are an extra peace of mind that your child will have extra protection in the event of a car accident."
Best rear-facing car seat
It's a rear-facing seat suitable for those up to about six or seven years of age. It goes without saying that the Axkid Minikid has undergone the highest possible levels of crash testing to ensure your child's safety.
Pros
- Easily adjusts to baby's size
- Easy to install
Cons
- Heavy
- The Mother&Baby tester review: "This car seat is wonderful. It looks and feels very sturdy, and the baby appears to be very comfortable sitting in the car seat. It sits quite high; therefore, the baby can see out of the window. This car seat made the process of going out for the day a lot easier as the baby was happy to use the car seat."
Best detachable car seat
This is the first modular 360-degree rotating baby car seat designed for lightweight carrying as the carrier locks effortlessly into the safety shell and easily clicks onto the FamilyFix 360 rotating base.
Pros
- ISOFIX compatible
- Easy to install
Cons
- Bulky
- The Mother&Baby tester review: "The ability to remove the insert from the car seat and carry baby in it - that was really useful. The car seat itself is quite bulky, but being able to remove just that part was really clever. The Isofix base was really easy to install, and the three-light check gave me peace of mind that it had been installed correctly. It was simple to unload the whole car seat from the base when necessary."
Types of baby car seats
You’ll most likely need to invest in more than one car seat as your child grows up. There is the option of investing in a toddler seat until your child grows before getting a larger one. Alternatively, you could look into a complete multi-stage car seat, which will stretch from birth to 12 years old. There are also quite a few terms to get your head around when it comes to the things.
The first is ISOFIX. This is a system that allows you to fit a seat into your cabin. It’s an alternative to fitting the car seat using a seat belt. An ISOFIX setup uses two metal bars attached to the frame of your car to click the seat into place. Be mindful, however, that not all ISOFIX setups are approved for use in all ISOFIX points. So, always check if your ISOFIX child seat is approved for your vehicle. Many have a list on their website that shows which ones are approved for what vehicles.
Next up is rotating car seats, which are incredibly handy for getting babies in and out of a fixed seat. They’re able to rotate 360 degrees. So, you can turn your baby to face you as you get them in and out of the vehicle and then turn them to rear-face, with the car seat locking into place. The last term to get your head around is i-Size. All the new baby car seats in the UK need to be i-Size. This is a European-wide car seat regulation, ECE R129) and should also have side-impact protection (SICT). They also need to use ISOFIX (an international standard for attachment points for baby seats in passenger vehicles).
Alex Boyd is a Commercial Content Writer at Bauer Media writing for Parker’s and CAR, and loves travel, gardening, DIY and music.
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