[Dizzle]

Having recently joined the parenting club I thought I'd share our group 0 car seat selection, as I found it to minefield, especially when trying to get something to suit the wife's Mini and my E90!

We ended up using a combination or the Mamas and Papas Cybex belt fix base and Cybex Aton seat, finshed in black and blue (matching my interior) lol

This solution is really secure, especially when compared to the BMW/Mini car seat which seemed to have a lot of movement in it even when fixed in my the seat belt. Its a quick snap on snap off solution and suits both cars.

I use a towel to protect the leather againest wear for peace of mind

[briers]

Did u try the isofix ones? They went in mine the mrs' and a mini with ease.

I have one of these to protect the seat : http://www.johnlewis.com/230230353/P...x?source=63258

[Dizzle]

The wifes Mini is a very early 2001 BMW mini with no ISOFix otherwise it would have been quite straight forward.

That Prince Lionheart 2 Stage Seat Protector is ideal thanks briers I'll take a look into that

[TMP]

There is a maxicosi base which is both isofix and seatbelt.

I use these for seat protectors, seem good and bit cheaper than JohnLewis. Think halffords have them in as well. http://www.amazon.co.uk/Sunshine-Kid...9246551&sr=8-1

[Captain Chaos]

You really shouldn't use towels etc as seat protectors - most seats come with a warning saying that explicitly now. Protectors like the one briers linked from John Lewis are really good and perfectly safe - we used that exact one. That Sunshine one linked above looks really good actually, nicer price too.

Mamas and Papas do seem to have a good range of Group 0 stuff. We had the Skate all in one system - pram, push chair, car seat etc - and that worked really well even in the e92 with the narrower rear seats.

[the_rangdo]

Child seats are evil. I used the John Lewis protector but there was a part of the chair that contacted the leather (on my previous car) just above where the protector ends.

After a few months it had made a smooth and thinner felling line in the leather.

So as well as the protector I also have some black pipe lagging taped to the back of the seat to cushion that section.

[Em135eye]

Hmm - my seats seem okay with two kiddie chairs in it. Nowt under the ISOFIX base, a towel under the boys seat. I do condition the leather quite often though. Only the seatbelts seem to get a bit of a hammering.

I've got a Maxi Cosi cabriofix for the (one month old) little un that TMP mentioned - in the BM I have an ISOFIX base, in the Landy it just seatbelts in securely. It's a fantastic bit of kit.

For the bigger lad (nearly 2.5) I have a rear facing non ISOFIX Britax Multitech rear facer imported from Sweden (proven to be 5x safer than forward facers for under 4s) and because it won't fit in the Landy, a forward facing Britax Evolva 123. Seems to be a good combination and I'm happy both kids are as safe as possible.

Like most dad's here, I did TONNES of research and even contacted various groups including these bods:

http://www.rearfacing.co.uk

[Captain Chaos]

Interesting info on the rearfacers - thanks for that. My little guy is only 18 mths but he's forward facing and that's provided food for thought as the underlying theory for rearfacers is perfectly logical..

[rich1068]

Originally Posted by Captain Chaos

You really shouldn't use towels etc as seat protectors

That's nothing. I caught my dad using a square piece of inch thick chipboard under the forward facing car seat he uses for picking up my little boy. He said it creased the fabric. Christ knows how long it had been there before I spotted it.

[Dizzle]

We went for the Aton over the maxicosi kit becasie the Aton drops onto the Mamas and Paps Urbo push chair like Captain Chaos its an all in one travel solution system.

Plus the urbo is one of few that fit in the Mini's boot.

I will take a look at the other protectors, though it did say in the manual to use a towel? ahh well.

The Aton will be sufficent for our needs for now, its a LOT safer with that base comparing it to the alternatives. Ideally I would have my own ISOfix and we would leave the Aton in the Mini but I cant justify the expense yet, I'm sure things will change very soon.

[F31-340i]

Looks like a nice solution.

We went with mama and papas primo viaggio Gp 0+ seat with the isofix base - this seat also fits in the Pliko pram/pushchair.

The same base can be used with the 9months-4yrs old Vito seat, so you don't need to change the isofix base and can reuse it.

Not the cheapest option, but not a bad solution.

I usually do loads of research, but on this occasion didn't - "mamas and papas is a nice shop" is about as far as the purchasing decision making went....!