General Car seats
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General Car seats
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We used a Maxi Cosi Cabriofix which is the most popular Group 0 seat in the country I believe. We used it with the seat belt in the 500L but with the ISOFIX base would be fine too. We had the ISOFIX base in our other car.
The ISOFIX points are nicely prominent in the 500L so you won't mark the fabric and you won't need ISOFIX guides. Also as there is so much rear legroom in the 500L the rearward facing seats won't kill the front legroom too much and you should still be able to drive the car unless your DD is >6'2"
Sounds silly but many cars you cannot get rearward facing seats behind the driver if the driver isn't a midget.
Now he's a little bigger he's in a Kiddy Guardianfix Pro 2 (Group 123) which is a little pricey but is the best available IMO and being 123 it will last a long while. One problem is that the ISOFIX connectors protruding from the seat cover the seat belt hole on the drivers side rear seat so he's had to go in the passenger side. Even if we weren't using the ISOFIX (you don't have to use it, the seat is the same as a Guardian Pro 2 then..) I think it would still be very fiddly to use the seat belt socket on the drivers side rear seat. With this in mind, when your DD's DBs are a little older and you're on the lookout for Group 1+ seats be very careful. You will need 2 seats so won't have the luxury of simply swapping sides that I did! Go to somewhere like Halfords, Mothercare etc. and try a display seat in both sides of the car. Not quite sure how it will work brilliantly as that socket is too far toward the middle of the seat that I guess it will be fiddly with most seats. I suppose you could use a seatbelt extender assuming that doesn't lift up the seat.
HTH.
The ISOFIX points are nicely prominent in the 500L so you won't mark the fabric and you won't need ISOFIX guides. Also as there is so much rear legroom in the 500L the rearward facing seats won't kill the front legroom too much and you should still be able to drive the car unless your DD is >6'2"
Sounds silly but many cars you cannot get rearward facing seats behind the driver if the driver isn't a midget.Now he's a little bigger he's in a Kiddy Guardianfix Pro 2 (Group 123) which is a little pricey but is the best available IMO and being 123 it will last a long while. One problem is that the ISOFIX connectors protruding from the seat cover the seat belt hole on the drivers side rear seat so he's had to go in the passenger side. Even if we weren't using the ISOFIX (you don't have to use it, the seat is the same as a Guardian Pro 2 then..) I think it would still be very fiddly to use the seat belt socket on the drivers side rear seat. With this in mind, when your DD's DBs are a little older and you're on the lookout for Group 1+ seats be very careful. You will need 2 seats so won't have the luxury of simply swapping sides that I did! Go to somewhere like Halfords, Mothercare etc. and try a display seat in both sides of the car. Not quite sure how it will work brilliantly as that socket is too far toward the middle of the seat that I guess it will be fiddly with most seats. I suppose you could use a seatbelt extender assuming that doesn't lift up the seat.
HTH.
Thanks for that, these are my first grandchildren and I am used to land rovers so it will be a learning curve for me as I have had a seatbelt fixed seat for my niece who is now in a booster she,s 6. But my husband has decided we are messing up a 50grand car and has sold his jag and took the landrover back so I have to have a smaller car so his stays pristine, it's been a long time since I had a small car so I have chosen the 500L as it seems spacious with lots of room in back and boot!! Just hope I get along with it ok when it arrives
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Group 0 rearward facing belt or isofix fixed seats will be fine, just watch out for the drivers side rear seatbelt socket being covered when moving on if your seat has isofix AND belt. Suppose if not isofix you can just shove the seat in against the door to leave the socket exposed; more room for someone to sit in the middle then too
Here's the group 123 in.. Isofix and belt seat, not only better for safety but means you don't have to belt the seat if the child isn't in it!
Here's the group 123 in.. Isofix and belt seat, not only better for safety but means you don't have to belt the seat if the child isn't in it!
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Re: Car seats Isofix
Apologies for bumping a massively old thread, but I wanted to highlight and say thank you for this information.
We've spent two days straight trying to find a 1,2,3 seat that fits either with or without ISOFIX to no avail. As we have the current seat on the passenger side, all the test fits have been on the drivers side. After reading this, I drove back to one of the stores and tried again on the passenger side and got a seat to fit.
We've gone with a Britax Advansafix 2 in case anyone else is looking.
Apologies for bumping a massively old thread, but I wanted to highlight and say thank you for this information.
We've spent two days straight trying to find a 1,2,3 seat that fits either with or without ISOFIX to no avail. As we have the current seat on the passenger side, all the test fits have been on the drivers side. After reading this, I drove back to one of the stores and tried again on the passenger side and got a seat to fit.
We've gone with a Britax Advansafix 2 in case anyone else is looking.
Re: Car seats Isofix
Hi Solel
Glad that you found a seat which works for you, on a personal level, my DD is now 7 years old and we had a Recaro Young Sport 123 seat, which I can wholeheartedly recommend as we only finally moved onto a basic booster seat at the beginning of this year.
For the 6 Years we used the Recaro seat, it has been easy to set up/transition to the next stage etc. and the quality was excellent throughout.
Just another recommendation for anybody else looking for a 123 seat which more than justified it's price by being useful for a very long time.
Have fun out there
Hi Solel
Glad that you found a seat which works for you, on a personal level, my DD is now 7 years old and we had a Recaro Young Sport 123 seat, which I can wholeheartedly recommend as we only finally moved onto a basic booster seat at the beginning of this year.
For the 6 Years we used the Recaro seat, it has been easy to set up/transition to the next stage etc. and the quality was excellent throughout.
Just another recommendation for anybody else looking for a 123 seat which more than justified it's price by being useful for a very long time.
Have fun out there
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Re: Car seats Isofix
The Recaros are great, I've got one to fit in the Panda (the newer hero version). Unfortunately we found it didn't fit the 500l anywhere near as securely, with too much movement.
Hi Solel
Glad that you found a seat which works for you, on a personal level, my DD is now 7 years old and we had a Recaro Young Sport 123 seat, which I can wholeheartedly recommend as we only finally moved onto a basic booster seat at the beginning of this year.
For the 6 Years we used the Recaro seat, it has been easy to set up/transition to the next stage etc. and the quality was excellent throughout.
Just another recommendation for anybody else looking for a 123 seat which more than justified it's price by being useful for a very long time.
Have fun out there
The Recaros are great, I've got one to fit in the Panda (the newer hero version). Unfortunately we found it didn't fit the 500l anywhere near as securely, with too much movement.
