Child/baby seats: Which one fits best?

[TheHeiko]

I had a Radian in my wife's 2005 Golf with no issues, it fit both forward and rear facing. It is a fantastic seat!

Thank you for this. If the Radian fits rear facing in a Golf, I would think it would fit in an A4 Avant without issue. How much fore and aft room did the front seat ahead of the Radian have?

We're using a RF Chicco and RF Britax Boulevard in the Avant right now. The Boulevard is nice, but will not leave enough room for a tall person in front (taller than 5'5"or so will likely be uncomfortable). We plan to keep the older child RF as long as possible (she's 2 years 2 months now). Our younger child (6 mos) still has room to grow in his Chicco infant seat. He sits behind me (driver side) and I have adequate room in front (I'm 5'9").

This is very helpful! We have a Chicco Keyfit 30 that we use rear facing. It is used in a Chicco base. It fits fine but I would say that 5' 9" is about the limit in height for the passenger sitting ahead of the Chicco. Maybe someone a bit taller but the seat will not be that comfortable for longer drives. The info on the Britax Boulevard is especially helpful since that one was on our short list for convertibles to run rear facing but I'll rule it out now based on your experience with fit.

We're focusing in on the Radian RXT. Good reviews here and online. I recently discovered the Cleck convertible seats. High tech, good looking, but seriously expensive ($500) and limited life span.

[Blake P]

Our Recaro arrived this week and even though I was expecting it to be large, the size (especially height) was surprising. Haven't test fit yet, but plan to this week and will report back. I imagine rear facing might be impossible in our cars. We shall see!

[NoR32]

I had both rear and now forward and it fit fine with my wife in the front she's 5'9-10" and never one complaint. But it was a Graco rear facing.

[aemulle]

+1. This type of thread would make sense to have and be very informative.

[TheHeiko]

I am reviving this thread hoping for more information.

We did buy a Diono Radian RXT because of the great reviews. It is intended for our C6 A6 so the size was not as important but I did a test fit in my A4 Avant and it is probably too big. By "probably", I mean that it could fit if I get Diono's "Angle Adjuster" that basically cranks up the seat so the passenger seat in front of the Radian has more room. I do not have the angle adjuster so I tilted the Radian as much I would need in order for it to not be touching the driver's seat and it causes the Radian to be nearly vertical. That would not be a very comfortable position for a child and I'm not even sure if that would be safe. (The driver's seat is adjusted for me at 5' 7" and I do like the seat a little farther back than my height might dictate.)

I am back on the hunt for a convertible car seat for my A4 Avant. I am currently focused on the Recaro ProRIDE. I had thought it might also be too big for the A4 but I just read a review on Amazon where someone stated it fit well in a 2009 A4 even with taller front passengers. I also saw a photo there of a ProRIDE rear facing in a 2008 Jetta. I'm thinking that this seat could work in the A4. Does anyone have this model rear facing in their A4?

Blake: Did you get your Recaro? How did it work out? Pics?

Other choices I'm looking at are the Britax Marathon or Boulevard but based on the post by BMWBig6, they sound like they are too big.

[XCELR8]

Take the headrest off the rear seat. You can get the car seat much tighter much easier w/out it there.

[iconoclast]

anybody else have an issue with seat fitment based the position/angle of the rear seat backs?

[Blake P]

I got the Recaro and it fits well in the center seat rear facing, though that only leaves room for one rear passenger to use a seatbelt since the base is so wide. I'll probably turn it around soon because my (almost 14 month) son's legs are pretty cramped. He seems to enjoy it and falls asleep comfortably, so the angle is not an issue.

[typer100]

anybody else have an issue with seat fitment based the position/angle of the rear seat backs?

You may want to use a towel to adjust the angle

[iconoclast]

the seat i have has adjustable bottom so you can adjust the pitch but there isnt any 'perfect' fit... the seatbacks are at a slight angle for semi-reclined mode and the child seats are not.

[TheHeiko]

Take the headrest off the rear seat. You can get the car seat much tighter much easier w/out it there.

I'm going with rear facing as long as possible so the rear seat headrest isn't an issue... yet. Good advice for when we go front facing though.

I got the Recaro and it fits well in the center seat rear facing, though that only leaves room for one rear passenger to use a seatbelt since the base is so wide. I'll probably turn it around soon because my (almost 14 month) son's legs are pretty cramped. He seems to enjoy it and falls asleep comfortably, so the angle is not an issue.

Did you try it in an outboard position? My preference is to have it behind the driver's seat and leave the center and passenger rear open. I am wondering how much I would have to move my seat up or how straight the seat back would have to be to accommodate the ProRIDE, or any other convertible for that matter.

[Blake P]

Did you try it in an outboard position? My preference is to have it behind the driver's seat and leave the center and passenger rear open. I am wondering how much I would have to move my seat up or how straight the seat back would have to be to accommodate the ProRIDE, or any other convertible for that matter.

Nope, never tried. We prefer to keep our son in the center in case of side impact. I'm pretty sure the center seat would become unusable if the ProRide was in one of the outboard rear seats, though that would give the other rear passenger much more room. My wife sits back there with my son alot to feed him on long drives or when we have to leave the house and don't have time to feed before heading out. I'm sure front facing will make this a more challenging task, but I guess we'll cross that bridge soon enough.

[poker838]

Britax Chaperone. It just fits on the middle seat without contacting the front seat backs. I'm 5'10 and my wife is 5'4 and we do sit fairly far up (I don't gangster lean). The Chaperone has a beast of a base and there's no way this would have fit in my old 3 series.

[osideaudi]

Its not a baby seat unless its a RECARO babyseat.

http://www.pyspeed.com/RECARO-ProRID...p/rec-8013.htm

[NoR32]

Britax Chaperone. It just fits on the middle seat without contacting the front seat backs. I'm 5'10 and my wife is 5'4 and we do sit fairly far up (I don't gangster lean). The Chaperone has a beast of a base and there's no way this would have fit in my old 3 series.

Damn that thing is huge

[TheHeiko]

I have been meaning to get back to this thread and post. I wound up buying a Recaro ProRIDE (osideaudi approves). I chose the Recaro mainly because it is one that fits in the A4. (More on that later.) I also really like the Recaro name and the look of the ProRIDE. There are many great child seats and all of them sold in North America are safe but there are no safety standard comparison. I chose Recaro based on its reputation for making great car seats and racing seats. The design is very good too. How the straps work, the shell design, padding, ventilation, belts, etc, are excellent on the Recaro.

I got it in the Opal color combo for a few reasons. One it that is looks nice and matches my A4 Avant the best. Another is that it is the most color neutral in case we re-use it. Third and something that you can't always tell from website, the fabric differs depending on your color choice. The Opal and a few others have a sort of nylon Cordura kind of fabric that feels more durable and easier to clean than the microfiber type fabric you get when you choose gray, black, and one or two other colors. Most e-tailers do not provide this in their descriptions. Luckily I found that out when reading reviews.

As I stated, one of the reasons I chose the ProRIDE is that it fits in the A4. We bought another excellent and highly rated seat by Radian. We got the RXT. It is a bear of a seat! It weighs a ton but it is the highest weight rated for rear-facing and front facing so it will last longer. It is a large seat and has a pretty steep angle to it and it would not fit in the A4 in an outboard position. In the center, maybe, but I didn't try it. We use the Radian in our C6 A6 and it fits nicely with the use of Radian's optional "angle adjuster". I want to use an outboard position for the Recaro so that it is easier to get my child in and out, and so that I can preserve the full use of one of the rear seats. A center position kind of makes the two outboard seats tight. On that note, the Recaro is big but not massive. What presents the biggest challenge is the relatively small aperture of the A4's rear doors. Add that to the higher sides of the ProRIDE and it is a bit of a trick to get my 10 month old in and out. I do a kind of head first scoop in and out.

Here it is in my A4 Avant. Rear facing is safest and as long as we can do it, we will. I did have to use a couple of pool noodle sections to prop of the rear to make the seat as level as possible. (This is recommended by Recaro. An alternative is a rolled up towel or two.) Our back seats are fairly sloped so without the pool noodles the Recaro was way too angled. I used the LATCH anchor points and did my best contortionist strong man to get the seat anchored in to reduce movement and the LATCH points to 1 inch or less. I bought a purpose made seat cover by "Prince Lionheart" to help protect my seat and reduce movement by the Recaro. The Recaro is in the fully reclined position as the manual instructs for the rear facing position. For reference, I am about 5' 7" and my seat is probably a little farther back than my height would require. The seatback is not "gangsta lean". It is fairly upright. As you can see, the Recaro fits quite nicely. You will notice what I meant about the small aperture.

I hope this helps others trying to decide. I had a helluva of a time finding photos and information specific to the B8 A4 so here it is. FYI: I bought it from Amazon for about $225 plus tax. Shipped 2 days free with Prime.

[Bonger]

My wife and I are expecting in a few weeks and we recently went to a baby safety class where they covered this stuff. From what I gathered Britax is among the safer and good looking and thats what I'll be going with.

[Erwheezy]

My wife and I are expecting in a few weeks and we recently went to a baby safety class where they covered this stuff. From what I gathered Britax is among the safer and good looking and thats what I'll be going with.

Our son is 7 months old and we used the maxi cosi mico. We liked it a lot and the seat itself is one of the lighter ones we tried. Just a heads up. Congrats on the baby

[NoR32]

My wife and I are expecting in a few weeks and we recently went to a baby safety class where they covered this stuff. From what I gathered Britax is among the safer and good looking and thats what I'll be going with.

Congrats that's what I currently have.


That's what's up!

[TheHeiko]

Congrats Bonger!

The Britax seats are excellent. They have a very good reputation. We used a Chicco Keyfit 30 for our baby until she got tired of it when she grew. We liked the base system since we bought two - one for each car - and were able to click into either car. I thought about the Britax Boulevard instead of the Recaro but thought the Recaro would fit better in the A4.

This car seat stuff is nuts and only usually discussed on mommy forums. I'm glad that we can share some of this information here for us cool guys.

[rayray]

Wife and I are expecting very soon too and we went with a Britax set (B-Safe) also. Test fitted great in both the A4 and Q5. We like their line and will probably get another one when our little one get bigger.

[poker838]

Damn that thing is huge

yeah. It's a beast.. like 20+ lbs for the seat and a 22 lb capacity. The base is a monster too, partly because of the rebound bar (I call it a roll bar LOL). I'm happy that it doesn't impact my rear view visibility, although right now I'm already seeing it to be a pain to lift over that tall base.

[formula1guy]

Have Recaro Pro-ride seats in each of our cars for our 16 month old little boy. The race seat look and safety made the Pro-ride an easy choice (at least for me). Plus, the little guy can't wait to get in it every time we leave the house:)

Dropped my Avant off at the dealership again yesterday and one of the lot guys who jockeys cars around even complemented me on the seat.

[vwong]

Wow...there are definitely a lot of daddies and daddies-to-be here.

My wife and I have twin girls, they're now 2.5 years old. We kept them as long as we could in the Chicco KeyFit30 infant seats, then switched to Recaro ProSport forward facing seats when they were 18-months old. So we didn't go with the bulky convertibles. Both the Chicco and the Recaro seats fit fine in our E92 and B8. Both of these seats have very good safety ratings, and both have rounded edges on the bases so they won't scratch the leather. They do leave indentations on the leather, maybe I should add the foam mats as suggested by someone here on the bottom of the car seats.

Here are some pictures.

[Bonger]

A 2-door coupe E92 to boot. Looks good We have the Chicco Keyfit 30 as well

[Bonger]

Britax Chaperone. It just fits on the middle seat without contacting the front seat backs. I'm 5'10 and my wife is 5'4 and we do sit fairly far up (I don't gangster lean). The Chaperone has a beast of a base and there's no way this would have fit in my old 3 series.

Hey Poker838, not to be a stickler but I don't think car seat are rated for the center seat. You need to use the intended safety hooks built into the seat frame/body. We recently went to a baby seat safety seminar where they covered car seats and gave a download of all the need to know info. Just passing on what I've been told.

[TheHeiko]

I just saw a recall on some Britax seats. FYI guys....

http://www.parenting.com/blogs/show-...ible-car-seats

[NoR32]

^good looking out


That's what's up!

[Disco Moo]

Hey Poker838, not to be a stickler but I don't think car seat are rated for the center seat. You need to use the intended safety hooks built into the seat frame/body. We recently went to a baby seat safety seminar where they covered car seats and gave a download of all the need to know info. Just passing on what I've been told.

It's a gray area to be sure but the guidelines is that the hooks need to be between a certain distance apart for the latch system to be approved for the Britax seats. In the case of the A4 the inside hooks of the left and right anchor points are well within this maximum distance, therefore according to the guidelines you can latch to the center. You can also use a lap belt. Other places will recommend the center to be the safest place for the seat since it is furthest from any potential impact point, i.e. where you will be t-boned....

We have a B-Safe in the same spot, believe it is supposed to be more compact than the Chaperone, but it is still tight, however it does sit flat. Will post picture at the w.e. If we put behind the seat the front seat has to go forward to a less than ideal place...

(Also the recall - "chewed off by kids", damn bitey buggers)

[poker838]

It's a gray area to be sure but the guidelines is that the hooks need to be between a certain distance apart for the latch system to be approved for the Britax seats. In the case of the A4 the inside hooks of the left and right anchor points are well within this maximum distance, therefore according to the guidelines you can latch to the center. You can also use a lap belt. Other places will recommend the center to be the safest place for the seat since it is furthest from any potential impact point, i.e. where you will be t-boned....

We have a B-Safe in the same spot, believe it is supposed to be more compact than the Chaperone, but it is still tight, however it does sit flat. Will post picture at the w.e. If we put behind the seat the front seat has to go forward to a less than ideal place...

(Also the recall - "chewed off by kids", damn bitey buggers)

Hey Poker838, not to be a stickler but I don't think car seat are rated for the center seat. You need to use the intended safety hooks built into the seat frame/body. We recently went to a baby seat safety seminar where they covered car seats and gave a download of all the need to know info. Just passing on what I've been told.

+1 to what Disco Moo said. That being said, I'll look into it. However, technically speaking the LATCH points were only made available for the outboard seats and not the center seat. The base that I have can use LATCH, the seatbelt.. even the seat on its own have hooks that can be used to anchor down directly using the car`s seatbelt.

Additionally the LATCH points supposedly have some kind of weight limit.. in my mind, the adult seatbelts have a much higher capacity so I`d rather use those.

Read more about the weight limits here:

http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/money...tch/55452346/1

[TheHeiko]

I'm bringing this thread back to life! My baby girl is now old/heavy/tall enough to go front facing! 18 months flew by!

A quick review of how the Recaro ProRide worked for me in my Avant. The fit was a bit tight, to be honest. Rear facing in the B8 A4 required the Recaro to be fully reclined and that intruded on the fore/aft position of the front seat. The angle of the seat bottom required the use of foam "pool noodles" to level off the Recaro. The high side bolsters of the Recaro got to be challenging given the small aperture of the rear doors on the Avant. When my baby was smaller it was easy but recently it require a sort of cradle and scoop technique. I opted to not go with the middle seat position due to the difficulty in getting all the way in the middle and then plopping my baby in the seat. Overall, I live the Recaro in terms of safety and quality. The fit was fine but for someone tall, rear facing with the Recaro could be problematic and could force use of the middle position, which may not be bad anyway.

Now that my girl is bigger, her legs were getting a bit cramped up against the seat back in the rear facing position so it's time to turn around. I found an older thread here about using the top tether strap being weird. Indeed it is. The top tether anchor point for the Avant is on the top of the seat back on the cargo side. It's a chrome "D" ring. It is quite close to the back of the Recaro and even taking up all of the slack on the tether strap, there was still a couple of inches of play once hooked to the anchor point. I don't know if this is typically supposed to be pulled taught but there is no way to do that in the A4. (This is the same conclusion in the older thread.)

I had to move the headrest to its highest position and then I had to wedge the top of the Recaro under the head rest in order for the back of the Recaro to rest against the seat surface. I then thought that it might be a good idea to push the headrest down again and use it to sort of clamp the Recaro in. With the LATCH clips tightened and the headrest pushed down to wedge the top of the Recaro, the thing is pretty rock solid. My question is whether this as safe as I think it is?

[NoR32]

That seems like a lot of extra effort for the Recaro, but it looks sweet

[BMWBig6]

I'm bringing this thread back to life! My baby girl is now old/heavy/tall enough to go front facing! 18 months flew by!

While your child may have reached the minimum weight or height, are you sure about the minimum age? 18 months was acceptable practice a few years ago, but the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) changed their recommendation on the minimum age to turn children from rear-facing to forward-facing from 1 year to 2 years, "or until they reach the maximum height and weight for their seat." The latest recommendations suggest up to 4 years of age (up to the limits of the car seat of course), because that's when toddlers' bones and bodies are strong enough to sustain the forces generated in forward-facing crashes.

But don't take my word for it. Check out the AAP or NHTSA guidelines yourself.

Keep your 1 to 3 year old children in REAR-FACING car seats for as long as possible. It's the best way to keep them safe. They should remain in a rear-facing car seat until they reach the top height or weight limit allowed by your car seat's manufacturer.

Note that some European countries with stricter safety standards rear-face their children even beyond 4 years of age (granted, with larger seats designed to support that practice). Anyway, not trying to tell you your business, just want to make sure you're making an informed decision. You have some great looking seats. And by the way, I do practice what I preach (still rear-facing both my 3 year old and 1 year old in my Avant).

[Blake P]

While your child may have reached the minimum weight or height, are you sure about the minimum age? 18 months was acceptable practice a few years ago, but the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) changed their recommendation on the minimum age to turn children from rear-facing to forward-facing from 1 year to 2 years, "or until they reach the maximum height and weight for their seat." The latest recommendations suggest up to 4 years of age (up to the limits of the car seat of course), because that's when toddlers' bones and bodies are strong enough to sustain the forces generated in forward-facing crashes.

But don't take my word for it. Check out the AAP or NHTSA guidelines yourself.



Note that some European countries with stricter safety standards rear-face their children even beyond 4 years of age (granted, with larger seats designed to support that practice). Anyway, not trying to tell you your business, just want to make sure you're making an informed decision. You have some great looking seats. And by the way, I do practice what I preach (still rear-facing both my 3 year old and 1 year old in my Avant).

Either your 3 year old has short legs or just doesn't mind having his/her knees in his/her chest. By 15 months my son was way too cramped to keep him rear facing any longer. More power to you, bud.

[TheHeiko]

While your child may have reached the minimum weight or height, are you sure about the minimum age? 18 months was acceptable practice a few years ago, but the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) changed their recommendation on the minimum age to turn children from rear-facing to forward-facing from 1 year to 2 years, "or until they reach the maximum height and weight for their seat." The latest recommendations suggest up to 4 years of age (up to the limits of the car seat of course), because that's when toddlers' bones and bodies are strong enough to sustain the forces generated in forward-facing crashes.

But don't take my word for it. Check out the AAP or NHTSA guidelines yourself.



Note that some European countries with stricter safety standards rear-face their children even beyond 4 years of age (granted, with larger seats designed to support that practice). Anyway, not trying to tell you your business, just want to make sure you're making an informed decision. You have some great looking seats. And by the way, I do practice what I preach (still rear-facing both my 3 year old and 1 year old in my Avant).

Either your 3 year old has short legs or just doesn't mind having his/her knees in his/her chest. By 15 months my son was way too cramped to keep him rear facing any longer. More power to you, bud.

Thanks for the info, Ben. I trust your information. My wife and I want to keep our daughter as safe as possible and we would like to keep her rear facing as long as possible. We can do that in her Q5 because we use a Radian RXT in her car and that seat fits differently and there is sufficient room for our girl rear facing. The problem with the Recaro in my A4 is as Blake mentioned. As much as I would like my daughter rear facing, she's at the point where her legs are folded up and she's cramped so as a matter of her comfort and development we have to turn the seat around. Another reason for this is that we live in a very hot area and she will get more AC front facing. I know that's not a huge deal but it's a bonus.

[sclarke]

I realise I promised pictures but didn't deliver - here is the Britax B-Safe in the back of an Avant. I am 6-1" and my seat is pretty much all the way back and lowered, the wife is 5-10. The B-Safe fits between the seats, putting it on the passenger side does not really leave any comfortable room in the front. Mostly it has been fine, apart from dragging her out of the center of the car, the squeaking of the carseat offa the front seats and the release handle which is between the seats (the light coloured plastic between the seats in the second picture). Overall we have happy with the setup, it is a solid seat and doesn't move a inch when fitted.





We were considering the Britax Boulevard for the next step (she is approaching a year now) but based on the feedback looks like it will not work. Am hoping that the Recaro will fit on the passenger side, but looks good. Thanks for the pictures TheHeiko, huge help!

[Spooner]

Good info here. We recently bought an A4 for my wife as she is 6 months pregnant and are having a hard time finding a seat that fits comfortably. Luckily neither of us are very tall (I'm 5'9", she's 5'4") so I know we will find something. We had planned on getting the Maxi-Cosi something or other but that thing was HUGE when we test fitted it because it lays really flat. Luckily we have a little time to figure out all this car seat stuff.

[TheHeiko]

I realise I promised pictures but didn't deliver - here is the Britax B-Safe in the back of an Avant. I am 6-1" and my seat is pretty much all the way back and lowered, the wife is 5-10. The B-Safe fits between the seats, putting it on the passenger side does not really leave any comfortable room in the front. Mostly it has been fine, apart from dragging her out of the center of the car, the squeaking of the carseat offa the front seats and the release handle which is between the seats (the light coloured plastic between the seats in the second picture). Overall we have happy with the setup, it is a solid seat and doesn't move a inch when fitted.

We were considering the Britax Boulevard for the next step (she is approaching a year now) but based on the feedback looks like it will not work. Am hoping that the Recaro will fit on the passenger side, but looks good. Thanks for the pictures TheHeiko, huge help!

Thanks for sharing the pics of your Britax, sclarke! Glad I can help as you did. After turning the Recaro around, my 18 month old daughter is much more comfortable and enjoys seeing us as we drive. She also gets the benefit of the rear A/C vents now and with our hot summer, it really helps keep her more comfortable. Again, I prefer the safety of rear facing but it was just no longer comfortable for her at her size.

Good info here. We recently bought an A4 for my wife as she is 6 months pregnant and are having a hard time finding a seat that fits comfortably. Luckily neither of us are very tall (I'm 5'9", she's 5'4") so I know we will find something. We had planned on getting the Maxi-Cosi something or other but that thing was HUGE when we test fitted it because it lays really flat. Luckily we have a little time to figure out all this car seat stuff.

That's why I started this thread and as someone else posted, lots of us are dads (and moms) or are expecting and as cool as all the go-fast/get-low mods are, car seat info was hard to find.

[poker838]

Anybody have feedback on convertible seats that are slim? I'm happy with the Britax infant seat but the next stage convertible seats seem gargantuan. Note - Recaro is not an option in Canada. I hope to find one that keeps encroachment to the other seats to a minimum.. but not compromising on safety obviously.

[TheHeiko]

Anybody have feedback on convertible seats that are slim? I'm happy with the Britax infant seat but the next stage convertible seats seem gargantuan. Note - Recaro is not an option in Canada. I hope to find one that keeps encroachment to the other seats to a minimum.. but not compromising on safety obviously.

Check out the Radian line. (Formerly known as Sunshine Kids.) They bill themselves as being narrow and being able to fit 3-across in most vehicles so if you want minimal intrusion into the other seats, this might be your seat. Their RXT has a wide age range from infant to 120 pounds. We bought one for my wife's A6 Avant and continue to use it in her Q5. It is very narror relative to other child seats and is very sturdy but it is very heavy so you would not want to be lugging it in and out. You should also look at the Radian R120 that does not have the "wings" which may be good for when the kid gets taller and those wings can be in the way of shoulders. I did not get one for my A4 because the overall size would not work for rear facing but it sounds like you are at the front facing stage so it should work in an A4. I have not tried ours in my A4 though.

A quick look shows the Radians are available on Amazon.ca.

http://www.amazon.ca/Diono-Radian-St...rds=radian+rxt

http://www.amazon.ca/Diono-Radian-R1...rds=radian+rxt