Best car seats 2024: the safest child seats for newborns and toddlers

With child car seat makers introducing new developments and enhancements each year, there are now more different types than ever, so choosing the best seat can be complicated.

Some seats for newborns can be reclined so their occupants can lie down while travelling, helping them breathe more easily, plus many seats for younger children can now swivel to face the parent for easier access.

However, it’s a worrying statistic that 69% of child seats in the UK are being used incorrectly, compromising safety. This is based on research conducted by independent advisory organisation Child Seat Safety, in conjunction with police forces across the country.

Together, they looked at 8000 cars carrying child seats and found that the seats were incorrectly fitted in 36% of cases. A further 33% of the seats weren’t suitable for the children using them. While many fitting issues are easily addressed, such as not securing a harness tightly enough, others are caused by some child seats being difficult to install correctly.

To help parents understand the pros and cons of the options available, we’ve tested 22 child car seats in five categories:

Infant carriers suitable from birth to 87cm tall (approx 18 months) 
Birth to 105-115cm tall (four to five years old) car seats
Extended rear-facing car seats suitable for children up to 125cm (7yrs old)
Multi-stage child car seats suitable from birth to 150cm (12 years old)
High-back booster seats suitable for children from 100cm to 150cm (three to 12 years old)

Where a seat is said to be suitable for a range of different ages, we’ve assessed them with babies and older children to see how well they accommodate both.

For parents with three or more children who don't want to change their car, we've also tested the Mulitmac - a three or four-child seat block that can be fitted onto the rear bench of any car.  

You can read about how our team of experts test and rate child car seats, and find out more about the report authors, at the end of this feature.

Best infant carrier - Cybex Cloud G i-Size +
Best car seat for children aged up to four/five years old - Cybex Sirona G
Best rear facing seat for children aged up to seven - BeSafe Stretch B
Best multi-stage car seat - Maxi Cosi Titan Pro i-Size 
Best high-back booster seat - Swandoo Charlie

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Best child car seats 2024

Best infant carriers

1. Cybex Cloud G i-Size +

Suitable for children from 40-87cm tall

This traditional infant carrier can be secured either by a car seatbelt or slotted onto a separate Base G Isofix base. Useful features include single-handed 180deg rotation so the carrier can face a parent for easier access, and a recline function lowering the upper and lower parts almost flat.

The seat and infant inserts are really well padded, and clear labels state the maximum child height it can accommodate. What’s more, all buttons and levers are easy to use and are a paler colour than the rest of the seat, so they stand out.

The fitting instructions are among the best; the QR code on the seat takes you to a long fitting video that you can watch in sections to get all the relevant information, and the list of compatible cars is available online and in print.

The Cloud G is fairly expensive if you buy the seat and base (£23 per month over 18 months), but it’s a more reasonable £13 per month if you buy only the seat.

Safety is good whether you choose the seatbelt-secured or Isofix option, with ADAC rating it as very good in front collisions and good in side impacts. The seat is a little on the heavy side (4kg), as is the base (6.9kg), so transferring them from car to car isn’t as easy as with the lighter, all-in-one, Isofix-secured Pipa Urbn.

2. Nuna Pipa Urbn

Suitable for children from 40-75cm tall

The Pipa Urbn is the only Isofix-secured infant carrier here that doesn’t have to be fitted onto a separate base. However, it’s suitable only from birth to 75cm tall (about 12 months old), whereas most infant carriers can be used for babies up to 87cm tall (18 months old).

It’s a great option if you need to move it from car to car frequently, though, because it’s quicker and easier to install than carriers with a separate base. It’s relatively light, too, at 3.3kg.

The Pipa Urbn scored well in ADAC’s latest tests. It isn’t compatible with some cars, though, so you should check the list of models in which it can be used before buying.

Securing a baby with the harness is easy, although the shoulder pads aren’t attached to it and have to be positioned separately. Useful features include a newborn insert and a recline function.

There’s no fitting video or car compatibility list on the website, but scanning the QR code on the seat takes you to a video showing installation and removal, and the printed quick guide also explains fitting.

Because it can be used only for a year or so, the Pipa Urbn’s monthly cost of £25 works out slightly higher than those of the other infant carriers that we tested.

3. Silver Cross Dream i-Size with Isofix base

Suitable for children from 40-85cm tall 

The seat and base of this rear-facing infant carrier are light and compact, and the natural bamboo seat fabric is soft and breathable.

There is a QR code on the seat to allow quick access to a five-step installation video with voiceover on the Silver Cross app, which is clear and easy to understand. You can also access the QR code on the website, but the videos on the site itself have no captions or voiceover and aren't that helpful. 

Fitting the base into a car using Isofix mounts is simple, and the seat clicks easily into place on top of it. The five-point harness has five positions for adjustment as the baby grows; these can be fiddly to set. The straps don’t adjust particularly smoothly, either, while the studs on the seat cover are stiff to undo. The newborn insert’s foam pads can be removed for washing.

Because this seat can be used only from birth to around 18 months, it doesn’t score top marks for value for money, costing £24 per month. It’s versatile, though, because it can be used without the Isofix base and secured via a seatbelt instead. Its ADAC crash test score is the best for an infant carrier. 

4. Avionaut Cosmo +

Suitable for children from 40-87cm tall

The Avionaut Cosmo can be secured with the car’s seatbelt or with the IQ Isofix base. It doesn’t swivel like many other seats to make access easier, but it does have a recline setting so newborns can lie flatter.

It is, however, fiddlier to install than other seats, especially if you’re using the seat base; you have to press the buttons on each side of the base twice separately to secure the seat to the car.

Seat padding is good, and newborns and older infants are held in a good posture. Doing up the harness is easy, but adjusting the position of the straps for a growing child is fiddlier than with other seats.

There are fitting videos on Avionaut’s website, and a QR code on the seat links to these, but the code is too small to be scanned by some phones.

When secured with a car seatbelt, this is the safest infant carrier tested by ADAC recently, rating very good in all crash scenarios. It doesn’t score quite as well with the Isofix base, but its ‘good’ rating is still up there with those of the best rivals.

The seat is light (3.2kg), but the base is heavier than others (7.6kg), so this isn’t the best option if you swap between cars frequently.

The total price of £338 for the seat and base equates to £21 per month over 18 months, or £11 for the seat alone.

5. Joie Calmi and i-Base Encore

Suitable for children from 40-70cm tall 

The Joie Calmi is a modern take on the traditional carrycot. It fits sideways across the rear seats and enables an infant to lie flat – the best posture for breathing and sleeping.

The cot clicks onto an Isofix base, so it’s stable and secure in the car. The base and seat are easy to install, and buckling the child in is easy. Although the QR code on the seat doesn’t take you to fitting instructions, the video on the Joie website is clear and tells you in text form how to fit the base and cot.

The Calmi can be slotted onto the base in one direction only on each side of the car, so the baby’s head is always in the centre of the car – a safer position than next to a door. While this seat doesn’t match the best in its class for crash safety, it is still rated as good.

It’s rated highly for practicality, not only thanks to its ideal seating position but also because it’s extremely light (weighing just 3.6kg). However, it has a low score for value, because it can be used only for infants from birth to 12 months old, so it works out at a costly £33 per month.

That said, if you buy a larger Joie car seat afterwards, you will save money, because you can use the same base with child seats for toddlers and older children. The carrier can also be fitted onto a Joie pushchair as part of the Calmi travel system.

Best car seats for children aged up to four/five years old

1. Cybex Sirona G

Suitable for children from 40cm to 105cm tall

The Cybex Sirona G has lots of practical features, including 360deg rotation. It can face outwards for easy access, and can be turned rearwards for children up to 15 months old, or forwards for older children.

The whole seat reclines to make younger occupants comfy, and an insert provides extra cushioning for newborns. It’s not as well padded as an infant carrier, though, and it doesn’t provide as much support for the head and neck.

Unlike many other seats in this category, the Sirona G is fitted using a separate Base G Isofix base (it can’t be secured with a seatbelt). This means you can lift infants out of the car while still in their seat, leaving the base in place, although there are no handles and the seat is rather heavy (6.5kg), as is the base (6.9kg).

The fitting instructions earn top marks; a comprehensive video with sections is accessible via a QR code on the seat, or via Cybex’s website. The base is easy to slot into a car using the Isofix mounts, and you can slot the seat into it single-handed.

Although the Sirona G’s ADAC safety rating isn’t quite as good as the Swandoo Marie, it is still rated as good.

At £425 for the seat and base, the Sirona G might look pricey, but it works out at a reasonable £9 per month over four years.

2. Joie i-Spin 360

Suitable for children from 40-105cm tall 

As the name suggests, the Joie i-Spin has a rotating function that lets parents twist the seat around to face them when they’re buckling in a child. It can be rotated with one hand and can’t be locked into the sideways position, so there’s no chance of it being misused. There’s also a sliding lock on the front that can be set to ensure that the seat can only be fitted facing rearwards for children up to 15 months old.

The seat covers are made from recycled materials. They have good padding and a washable infant insert with sizing information on it. The seating position is good for both babies and older children.

Fitting is simply a case of attaching the Isofix mounts and positioning the foot. There’s an indicator on the top of the foot that tells you when the Isofix points are inserted correctly. A QR code on the seat takes you to a comprehensive fitting video, but the online car compatibility list isn’t that easy to read.

Although the i-Spin doesn’t score quite as well as the Cybex Sirona G for ease of use, it gains the same four-star rating for practicality. It is rated as good by ADAC for crash protection, offering good protection in a side-on crash, with a very low risk of injury to a child. 

3. Cybex Anoris T i-Size 

Suitable for children from 76-115cm tall 

The Cybex Anoris is the world’s first child seat with a full-body airbag built into the impact shield, which is a thick band that also acts as a restraint for the child, meaning there’s no need for a five-point harness. The airbag inflates in milliseconds and distributes the force of the impact, reducing neck strain, making it up to 50% safer than other forward-facing child seats. It gained the same exceptionally high ADAC score as the rear-facing only BeSafe Stretch, offering very good protection in front and side crashes.

This seat is a doddle to install using the Isofix fittings and stability foot. There’s an electronic indicator on the top of the foot with an image of the seat and lights that turn green when each element has been fitted correctly. The fitting instructions are on Cybex’s website and include a good video (with captions) that is easy to follow.

At 12kg, the Anoris isn’t the lightest of seats, and it can’t be reclined as much as others, so it doesn’t put younger children in the best position. It also loses marks for value, because it’s fairly expensive to buy (with a monthly cost of £9). 

4. Maxi-Cosi Mica 360 Pro

Suitable for children from 40cm to 105cm tall

The Maxi-Cosi Mica 360 Pro is well suited to older babies and toddlers. They are well positioned because the seat isn’t too deep, so they don’t sink into it too much, and there’s plenty of padding to keep slimmer occupants secure. The headrest is easy to raise for taller children, too.

However, the harness positioning was poor for our newborn baby test dummy. The lower parts of the harness sat too low on the baby’s legs, instead of across the upper thighs and hips.

As well as rotating through 360deg for easier fitting and seat positioning, the Mica 360 Pro can be slid out towards the parent, so they don’t have to bend when seating the child. Rotating the seat takes just one hand, and there are five recline positions.

The base and seat are joined and their combined weight is 13.9kg, so it’s best suited to use in a single car. The support leg folds up under the seat, so it doesn’t swing around or catch your fingers when carried. Extending the Isofix fittings to secure the seat is simple.

There are clear fitting videos on the website and accessible via a QR code on the seat.

Safety is good, and so is value: the £350 price equates to £7 a month if used for 48 months.

5. Maxi Cosi Mica Pro Eco 

Suitable for children from 40-105cm tall

The Mica Pro Eco is one of the easiest seats to use. It can be rotated through 360 degrees or reclined using just one hand. In addition, its harness straps glide smoothly when they’re being adjusted, and its shoulder pads are attached to the body of the seat, so they don’t move when the straps are adjusted.

The seat covers are made from 100% recycled fabric. The seat has plenty of padding and a soft, thick newborn insert.

The fitting instructions on the seat and online are good. Installation is easy using the car’s Isofix mounting points, and an indicator on the bottom of the stability foot turns green when it’s positioned correctly.

In terms of value for money, the Mica Pro Eco is reasonably affordable to buy and works out at £6 per month. It can be used facing rearwards for infants and then forwards for older children, but it takes up a lot of space in rear-facing mode.

Its safety rating isn't as good as the best seats in this group because it doesn’t provide as much protection in a side impact. ADAC says the risk of injury to a child in a side-on crash is low (rather than very low for the Joie i-Spin). As with the i-Spin, the risk of injury in a frontal impact is low, too. 

6. Swandoo Marie 3

Price £499

Suitable for children from 40cm to 105cm tall

The Marie 3 is a one-piece, 360deg rotating seat that’s permanently attached to an Isofix base. It doesn’t recline to lie a newborn baby flat, but there are some practical touches, such as eyeline indicators on the headrest that you can line up with your child’s eyes to ensure it’s set at the correct height. It also has a slim support leg that clicks onto the base of the seat and doesn’t flop around when you’re carrying the seat.

Although the Marie 3 is less bulky than other toddler seats, it’s heavy (14.9kg), so it’s best suited to families with a single car. It’s not as easy to fit as other seats; the pull-out tabs are fiddlier than the chunky buttons on the Maxi-Cosi and Cybex. Buckling a child in and adjusting the harness and headrest are easy, though.

The fitting diagrams printed on the seat are clear and comprehensive, and there are good videos on the Swandoo website, which can be accessed via a QR code on the seat. There are also clear instructions advising when to stop using the newborn inserts.

At £499, this is a pricey seat, but it works out at a reasonable £10 a month over four years of use.

It's also safe, gaining a good rating from ADAC. 

Best extended rear facing seats for children aged up to seven

1. BeSafe Stretch B

Price £539 
Suitable for children from 40-125cm tall 

The BeSafe Stretch B is a seatbelt-secured seat that keeps children facing rearwards from birth to the age of seven. It’s our top scorer in this group mainly thanks to its exceptional performance in safety tests; ADAC says it presents a very low risk of injury to a child in a front or side impact, and it has passed the stringent Swedish Plus Test.

This seat scores strongly for practicality, too. It has five reclining positions, enabling babies to lie almost flat and older children to sit more upright. There’s a bar at the foot of the seat that extends by up to 26cm to provide more leg space as youngsters grow. There are comprehensive fitting instructions on the seat (via a QR code) and on a laminated paper guide. 

The Stretch B is fiddlier to install than Isofix-mounted seats, though, requiring you to fit two floor-mounted tethers and a stability foot after securing it with a seatbelt. The tethers have a tensioner to help you get a sturdy installation, and the foot sounds a warning if it’s not touching the floor, so you won’t forget to fit it. While it’s not the cheapest to buy, the Stretch is still good value for money, working out at £7 a month. 

2. Axkid One+2

Price £675 from Amazon 
Suitable for children from 40-125cm tall 

The Axkid One+ 2 is an extended rearward-facing seat that can be used up to the age of seven. It’s the first rearward-facing i-Size seat suitable for children up to this age, its Isofix fittings make it easier to install than seatbelt-secured alternatives.

Fitting instructions aren’t as good as what some rival brands provide – there’s no QR code to let you watch an installation video – but numbered stickers dotted around the seat guide you through the correct procedure. There’s no car compatibility list in the printed user manual and the online checker is hard to navigate.

The infant insert comes with printed information on the size of the child it should be used with, and the seat recline feature is a button you twist – great for getting a precise seat angle.

While the One+ 2 takes up quite a lot of space, it can be slid forward by up to 30cm to allow better access, if your car has enough room. It's the priciest of all our seats to buy but can be used for a full seven years, so it’s still reasonable value for money, at £7 a month.

As for safety, the One+ 2 has passed the Swedish Plus Test, but it didn’t do as well in the ADAC test as the BeSafe Stretch, being rated as good rather than very good. 

3. Avionaut Sky 2.0

Suitable for children from 40-125cm tall 

This rear-facing only seat is suitable for use from birth to around seven years old. If used for the full term, the Avionaut Sky 2.0 represents great value for money (just £4.50 per month), but so-so scores for ease of use and safety mean it’s at the tail end of this group overall.

Although it has passed the Swedish Plus Test, it is rated as only good for safety by ADAC, being criticised for its “slightly unfavourable” seatbelt routing.

The Sky 2.0 comes with an infant insert and a wedge for smaller babies. There’s decent padding for younger children, but the pads don’t have removable covers, and the main cover is fiddly to unzip for removal. There’s no bar for children to put their feet on, and the seat should be fitted with it touching the car’s rear seatback, so taller kids might have to sit cross-legged.

At 6.6kg, the Sky is one of the lighter seats of its type. Installing it can be fiddly, though; after securing it with a seatbelt, you have to attach and tension two straps and fit a stability foot. Indicators on the foot turn green when it’s installed correctly.

Fitting instructions on the seat are minimal, but the user manual and website provide comprehensive information, including a captioned video. 

Best multi-stage car seats

1. Maxi Cosi Titan Pro i-Size 

Suitable for children from 76-150cm tall 

This multi-age, forward-facing seat accommodates children all the way from 15 months to 12 years old, making it a very cost-effective option, working out at just £2 a month.

Fitting involves slotting the Isofix points into place and securing a top tether – a task that can be fiddly if there’s a headrest to negotiate. The instructions are good and can be found on the seat, via a QR code or on the brand’s website.

The seat offers good head and neck protection, but it isn’t as well padded as those specifically for younger children. The harness – which is employed up to age four, with older children using the car’s seatbelt – slides easily for adjustment and the shoulder pads have two useful features: they stay in place next to the seat, so they don’t need to be altered when tightening the straps, and they have magnets in them so they can stick to the bottom of the headrest, keeping them out of the way while the child gets into the seat. 

The seating position is good for both younger and older children, and there are four recline settings for children less than 105cm tall. The seat is relatively heavy (12.5kg) and the base is wide, but it’s not too deep, so it should fit in smaller cars. 

2. Silver Cross Motion All Size 360 

Suitable for children from 40-145cm tall 

Suitable for a wide range of children from newborns up to the age of 12, the Silver Cross Motion All Size 360 represents fine value, working out at just £2.60 a month if you use it for the full length of that term.

It can be mounted facing rearwards for children up to age four, then rotated to face forwards for older children. The 360-degree swivel function works no matter which way the seat is facing. There’s no lie-flat option, and although there are three reclining positions, it's not as suitable for newborns as an infant car seat.

The seat materials are a combination of recycled plastic and bamboo. There’s plenty of padding and soft inserts for keeping children snug, while the harness is easy to buckle up and adjust.

Fitting instructions can be accessed via an app or the website, but the website video has no voiceover or captions, so it isn’t the most informative. However, fitting is easy using the Isofix mounts and support leg. It’s not a seat you’ll want to move too often, though, because it weighs 14.4kg.

The foam padding in the infant insert can be removed for washing. Although the information in the book on when to remove the additional padding is good, the website doesn't provide specific information on this. 

3. Joie Every Stage

Suitable for children from 40cm (with newborn insert) to 145cm tall

The Joie Every Stage has the same basis as the Graco Slimfit, but it has better padding and softer, higher-quality upholstery, and that’s reflected in its slightly higher price.

Like the Slimfit, the Every Stage can be used rearward facing from birth until a child is 105cm tall, and can then be rotated to face forwards. It has limitations for use as an infant carrier because the infant insert isn’t the most supportive, there’s no lie-flat function, and you have to lift the child over the car’s seatbelt to get them in or out. It has the same six-seat tilt positions as the Slimfit, only two of which can be used with the seat facing rearwards.

A seatbelt-secured seat, the Every Stage is more complex to install than Isofix alternatives, but the harness is easy to buckle up and adjust. The Every Stage scores higher for installation than the Slimfit; a QR code on the seat gives access to a comprehensive fitting video. There is also a car compatibility checker on the website and a printed version with the paper instructions.

The ADAC safety rating is good rather than very good, but that still means occupants face a low risk of injury.

The Every Stage is a low-cost option (just £1.40 a month over 12 years) that might be suitable for occasional use in a second
car, or by grandparents.

4. Graco Slimfit

Suitable for children from 40cm (with newborn insert) to 145cm tall

The Graco Slimfit is a multi-stage seat that can be used from birth until a child is tall enough to no longer need a child seat. It can be used facing rearwards until a child is 105cm tall and then turned around to face forwards. However, it’s not best suited to the youngest babies; its infant insert provides less head and neck support than an infant carrier, and babies can’t lie flat like in some other seats. There are six recline positions, but only two can be used while the seat faces rearwards.

Another limitation for younger infants is that the seat and base are combined, so you have to leave the seat in place when lifting out a baby.

The seat is seatbelt-secured only, and threading the belt around it is more complicated than using Isofix mounts, plus you have to lift the child over the extended seatbelt to put them into the seat.

The diagrams on the seat don’t clearly show where the lap belt should go and the instruction booklet doesn’t place the fitting steps into a clear order. The video on the Graco website is good, but there’s no QR code on the seat to access it swiftly.

ADAC rated this seat as good for safety, but its score is a little lower than the most recent toddler seats tested. At £125, it’s a low-cost option; that’s just £1 a month over 12 years.

Best high back booster seats

1. Swandoo Charlie

Price £229 Suitable for children from 100cm to 150cm tall

The Charlie is Swandoo’s largest seat for children aged from around four to 12 years. It beats the Cybex Solution and Maxi Cosi RodiFix for installation ease; it can be fitted one-handed using the Isofix mounts, which pop out from the seat base when you pull the strap at the front of the seat. It’s also easier than others to remove, with handy pull straps on each side, plus there’s a chunky, well-marked guide that clearly shows where to pass the seatbelt through.

The instruction booklet is comprehensive and friendly, and the fitting video is easy to access via a QR code on the seat, as well as on the website. Car compatibility lists are available in print and online.

Neat design features include eye-level indicators for getting the headrest in the right position, and a boomerang-shaped installation tool to help you refit the cover if you’ve removed it for washing.

There are 11 height positions for the headrest and the seat base increases in width as the headrest is raised. There’s no recline feature, though.

The Charlie performed pretty well in safety tests; ADAC rated it as good for side impacts and average for front-end collisions.

Although it’s pricier than the others in this category, the monthly cost is still only £2.10 if you use it for eight years.

2. Cybex Solution S2 i-Fix 

Suitable for children from 100-150cm tall 

This high-back booster seat can be used for children from three and a half years old up to the age of 12. Although the seat doesn’t recline, it has a tilting headrest that can be angled to prevent a child’s head from tipping forward when they’re asleep. It also has 12 height settings and can be adjusted with one hand. Its safety rating is very good, too.

Fitting the Cybex Solution S2 is simply a case of slotting the Isofix fittings into place and using the car’s seatbelt to secure the child. The seatbelt routing is clearly marked on the seat, and fitting instructions are in a book stored in the seat and online. The fitting video is clear and has captions, while the Cybex website has a good car compatibility checker.

At 6.2kg, the Solution S2 is light enough that it can be swapped between cars easily. It’s fairly compact, but the headrest can potentially clash with that of your car’s seat in its higher settings. The seat is well padded yet fairly wide and roomy, so it might not suit slim children. The covers can be removed and washed.

The Solution S2 is great value for money: use it for eight and a half years and it will cost £1.45 per month. 

3. Maxi-Cosi Rodifix Pro 2

Suitable for children from 100cm to 150cm tall

The Maxi-Cosi Rodifix Pro 2 can be used from around the age of four until a child no longer needs a seat. It can be secured with Isofix mounts or a seatbelt. Fitting isn’t quite as easy as with the Swandoo Charlie, but slotting the Isofix connectors into place is fairly simple, and the big, colour-coded gap by the child’s shoulder is easy to slide the seatbelt into.

There are three recline settings for the comfort of younger or napping children. Reclining the seat is easy – simply tug on the bottom. However, with no pointers on the seat itself, we had to look this up in the instructions. Fortunately, a QR code on the seat takes you directly to these, and the directions on the seat are otherwise comprehensive.

It’s a good seat for broader children, because the seat base is wide and the side of the upper section extends from 44cm up to 51cm. At a relatively light 6.1kg, it shouldn’t be too much of a strain to switch between cars.

The RodiFix’s ADAC crash test score is just average, and although it provides good protection in side impacts and stays stable in the car, it only provides average protection in a head-on collision.

Priced at £170, it’s not the cheapest option, although the monthly cost is just £1.60 over eight years.

4. Silver Cross Discover

Suitable for children from 100cm to 150cm tall

The Silver Cross Discovery can be secured with Isofix mounts or a seatbelt, but other high-back boosters here are easier to fit. We found the Isofix fittings clunky and not as easy to slide out from the seat base as rivals’. Feeding the seatbelt through the shoulder guide was also tricky, and the reclining action was the least smooth of the high-back boosters tested.

A QR code on the seat takes you directly to the fitting directions. You can also find them on the website and app, but the latter requires you to select your seat from a list rather than taking you directly to the relevant information.

The Discovery is heavier than others tested (7.8kg), so it’s harder to move around and switch between cars. It’s a good option for larger children, though; it has 10 headrest height positions, the upper sides expand to 57cm and it’s the only seat tested that has adjustable thigh support.

It also has better padding than other high-back boosters, and the bamboo inserts are soft and breathable. Four recline positions make it comfy when children fall asleep.

At £150 (or £1.40 per month), it’s a little more expensive than the most affordable options for older children. Safety isn’t up with the best, either, with an ADAC rating of average for both front and side impacts.

What Car? says…

Claire Evans, What Car?'s consumer editor said: "The best child car seats can prevent or lessen injuries if your car is involved in a collision, so this isn’t a purchase to be scrimped on. And we would advise parents never to trust a second-hand seat.

"Although many seats that can accommodate toddlers and older children come with inserts for newborns, our testing shows that they don’t always offer as much head support as infant carriers, and they might not enable you to position the harness straps in the correct position for the tiniest travellers. So, we think it’s better to opt for an infant carrier with a lie-flat function for the first 18 months or so of your child’s life, before moving them on to a rear-facing seat.

"The multi-stage seats we tested are also better suited to older infants than to newborns, but they’re a good, affordable option for occasional use in a second car.

"As well as choosing a seat that’s the right size for your child, it’s vital to make sure the seat fits well in your car and that you can properly install both seat and child. This is why it’s disappointing that, of the 11 seats we tested, we could award only four the full five stars for ease of use.

"So, don’t just buy the cheapest child seat you can find. Check the car compatibility lists on seat manufacturers’ websites and visit a shop that has a trained seat installation expert. They’ll be able to provide advice about how well various seats will work in your car, and how to fit them correctly."

How to fit three or four child seats in a car

There is another option for families who don’t want to swap their existing car for an MPV or seven-seat SUV: the Multimac. It’s a three or four-seat child seat block offered in seven different sizes, enabling fitment to the rear seat of pretty much any car – from a Mini to a Rolls-Royce.

The concept was first envisaged in 1995, when mechanical engineer Kevin Macliver became a dad for a fourth time and decided to design a seat that would enable all his children to sit side by side in one vehicle. The seat was eventually approved for sale in 2008, and has recently gained R129 safety accreditation, putting it up there with the latest single child car seats for safety.

The seat is secured via two hefty tether straps bolted into the floor of the car, and it has two support legs at the front. It’s far heavier and more cumbersome than single child seats, but once the tethers have been fitted, the Multimac can be lifted in or out of the car in less than a minute.

Each of the Multimac’s three or four seats can be tailored for use by children from birth up to 150cm tall, so (in theory, at least) it could be the only child car seat you’ll ever need to buy.

The smallest option is the Minimac infant carrier – a rearward-facing seat suitable from birth until a child is 82cm tall (around 18 months old). It slots onto the Multimac, with carry straps enabling babies to be lifted in and out in their car seat. It comes with a head-hugger and two different foam inserts so newborns and older babies alike are positioned correctly. It weighs 9kg and costs £499.

When they outgrow the Minimac, children can sit in a forward-facing seat with a five-point harness. There’s a choice of headrests and a low-profile seat cushion so taller children can sit lower down.

We fitted a four-seat Multimac in a Tesla Model 3 and tested it with our baby and toddler dummies. Despite looking quite narrow, the seats proved roomy enough for both children, with good support.

Starting at £2299, the four-seat Multimac seems like a big investment, but it actually works out at a reasonable £3.99 per month per child, when used from birth to 12 years old.

Should I buy a second-hand child car seat?

In a word, no. While saving money by buying a second-hand car seat might be tempting, it could mean risking your child’s life. That’s because it might not protect them as well in a crash as a new one.

“Even if a seat comes from a trusted source, you don’t know how it’s been used, treated and stored,” explains Charlotte Hall, from Child Seat Safety.“And even if the seat has never been in a collision, age can bring a natural degradation of parts, such as the Isofix attachments and buckles, which are crucial to the seat’s safety. There may also be hairline cracks in the bodyshell, or loose parts that aren’t easy to spot.”

Recent European research has shown the potential dangers that second-hand seats pose to children. In a study of 10 randomly purchased second-hand seats, 90% failed to uphold regulatory standards in crash tests, making them unfit for purpose. In a few cases, the crash test dummy was ejected from the child seat, and in others, the Isofix bars completely broke off.

The researchers also noted that 80% of the seats were sold without an instruction manual, something that Hall says also results in a higher risk of misuse and the incorrect fitting of seats and children into those seats.

With common errors – such as incorrectly fitting harnesses, seatbelts and headrests – putting the child at risk of serious injury or death in a road accident, the presence of instructions is crucial.

How we test and rate child car seats

To rate each child seat, we considered four key areas: ease of use, practicality, value for money and safety, taking into account a number of aspects within each category.

Four factors were considered for ease of use: how easy the seat (and base if there is one) is to install, how easily a child can be installed in the seat, how clear the instructions are on the seat and online (and whether there’s an easily accessible fitting
video), and whether there’s a printed or online car compatibility list that’s easy to use.

To find out how easy (or otherwise) each seat is to install, we fitted them by turn into the back of a large SUV (a Volvo XC90 seven seater and a small hatchback (a Ford Fiesta), with the front seats set so that 5ft 8in-tall adult occupants were comfortable.

For fitting instructions, our starting point was to use the directions provided on paper or via a QR code printed on the seat to access an app or website. QR code access is useful because it means parents can check how to fit a seat when they’re with the car.

Practicality encompassed four areas: how heavy the seat is, how much interior space it takes up, how well padded it is, and whether the child is seated in a good position. To judge this, we enlisted not only children but also two lifelike dummies, because this gave us more time to assess each seat.

To judge value for money, we looked at the cost of each seat (and seat base where one is needed), and how long its age/size range enables it to serve a single child for, and calculated a monthly cost accordingly.

Our safety ratings are based on the crash performance of each seat in German ADAC tests. We chose these because they are carried out at higher speeds than the mandatory R129 certification tests and measure both front and side impact collisions in a real car instead of a test sled.

When calculating overall scores, we took into account 100% of the category scores for ease of use and ergonomics, but added a 25% weighting to the safety score because this is the most crucial factor. To offset this, we took 25% from the weight of the value for money ratings.

About the author and testers

Claire Evans has been a motoring and consumer journalist for more than 30 years. Prior to joining What Car? she worked as motoring editor for Which?, overseeing its child car seat testing and reviews. She has also contributed to the motoring supplements of The Times, The Telegraph and various parenting magazines including Junior.  

Two child car seat experts from the independent advisory organisation Child Seat Safety assisted Claire Evans in assessing the child car seats for practicality and ease of use. Between them, Claire Waterhouse and Julie Dagnall have more than 50 years’ experience in the road safety industry, and they specialise in child car seat fitting.

The pair run the UK’s only child seat fitting courses accredited with the Institution of Occupational Safety and Health, providing training to a wide range of people, including the retail experts who help parents pick the most suitable seats. Julie is also Road Safety GB’s national expert on in-car safety, advising local authorities on all aspects of child car seats.  

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