Baby seat...

[Gumball]

Wife has a kid on the way (found out when car was on the boat) and figured it will work out ok - no way was I canceling my order

So went shopping for baby seats today and could not find any ISOFIX seats as mentioned in the manual... Anyone know of a brand that sells these here?

And tried getting a baby capsule in - does fit but its tight!! Going to be a little annoying till it can sit up in a normal baby seat but oh well.

[Noize]

I have a Recaro forward facing for my 3 year old, it works like a champ. I have to go rear facing for our baby expected next month. That's gonna suck.

[Gumball]

Congrats, really like the look of Recaros but they are not approved in Australia FFS - might just order one from the US anyway

Got the capsules in but they detach so you can take the bed part out. But that did not seem to come out easily and guy at the shop said I will have to leave capsule in and just move the baby in and out. Have no idea how hard that will be!

[Breville]

There are loads of isofix seats out there. We got ours from http://www.BabiesGalore.com.au in Chatswood. It fits in the back of mine no problem (not sure what make it is off hand).

[Dubois]

Congrats on the news. Isofix is not sold in Australia as it has not been recognised by Australian Standards because they will not pull their fingers out of their backsides and approve it. This does not mean it isn't as safe as our standards - it is better. In fact after 12 months, you do not even have to carry your child in a car seat in Oz according to law (but that is changing soon I believe).

I am ordering both an Isofix capsule and carseat from the UK next week as we are expecting soon and both the e92 and Subaru Liberty we own have Isofix as standard.

Going with:

Maxi-Cosi - Cabriofix- birth to 8 months or so
Maxi-Cosi Priorifix - 8 months plus

Best deal so far is from www.lullabys.co.uk but shipping is steep so use an independent shipping agent like www.excessbaggage.co.uk.

[Caduceus]

Originally Posted by Dubois

Congrats on the news. Isofix is not sold in Australia as it has not been recognised by Australian Standards because they will not pull their fingers out of their backsides and approve it. This does not mean it isn't as safe as our standards - it is better. In fact after 12 months, you do not even have to carry your child in a car seat in Oz according to law (but that is changing soon I believe).

I am ordering both an Isofix capsule and carseat from the UK next week as we are expecting soon and both the e92 and Subaru Liberty we own have Isofix as standard.

Going with:

Maxi-Cosi - Cabriofix- birth to 8 months or so
Maxi-Cosi Priorifix - 8 months plus

Best deal so far is from www.lullabys.co.uk but shipping is steep so use an independent shipping agent like www.excessbaggage.co.uk.

I lived in the US for a few years and we had our kids over there. When we did our removal to come home the Australian Customs agent at the Embassy told us that if you try and bring a car seat home without an Australian Standards sticker on it it will be confiscated by customs in Oz and not released to you.

So if your trying to import one you might want to keep that in mind. You could try emailing Customs via their website for definitive advice. They are very helpful.

That said, we did bring a couple of the Isofix (aka "latch") webbing belts home with us and they can easily be used in lieu of threading an inertia reel seatbelt through the seat/capsule. This is exactly the same method as US made seats and IMHO it is far superior (and safer) than the Australian method.

[Gumball]

Hey, that looks good, was just searching and seems ppl have put them in 1ers. How much did shipping cost for the cabriox?

[d3syd]

I don't think Isofix is available in Aust. Problem about baby is contorting oneself to get her in and out of the back seat, and having to drive the beast in a "baby on board" way....

[takahashi]

confisgate the ISOFIX... that is a bit extreme is it?

Where did you get yours WAY?

[WAY]

Got my Recaro from the US. Shipped here via Fedex. And if the front seat is moved forward, there isn't much contorting required. It's pretty easy to take the baby in and out.

[Gumball]

Way, you mean the young profi plus seat??? Baby one?

Still deciding which one to get but def getting one from OS with ISOfix. Seems like a much safer way to secure a seat than the Aussie method!!

[Guran]

Careful looking for ISOFIX baby seat. I've done my research on the subject.

Australia actually leads the way in many areas of car safety ... seatbelt legislation and child restraints are perfect examples of this. Generally speaking, safety experts regard the Australian baby/child restraint system as world class. It is better than ISOFIX which relies on the two seat-base couplings, sometimes in combination with the seatbelt. Having a top-mount, as in the Australian restraint system, is regarded as being a much more effective approach. So if you buy an ISOFIX seat (I'll accept Duncan's advice that you CAN get them here - I haven't looked), then make sure it has an Australian Standards compliance sticker and includes a top-mounting strap.

BTW, this is why you should ignore the child restraint ratings in EuroNCAP ... because the Euro restraint system is different to ours in Australia. ANCAP do not test for child restraints because the restraints are covered by Australian Standards requirements.

Here's another tip ... you can usually HIRE baby capsules from your local maternity hospital. That's what we did for the first six months or so, until junior was too big for the capsule.

[Breville]

I was wrong about the isofix being available here; got it confused with top mount. Isofix was new when we were in the UK, so we never used it for the first two.
I ditto your comments on hiring a capsule for the first seat.

Originally Posted by Guran

Careful looking for ISOFIX baby seat. I've done my research on the subject.

Australia actually leads the way in many areas of car safety ... seatbelt legislation and child restraints are perfect examples of this. Generally speaking, safety experts regard the Australian baby/child restraint system as world class. It is better than ISOFIX which relies on the two seat-base couplings, sometimes in combination with the seatbelt. Having a top-mount, as in the Australian restraint system, is regarded as being a much more effective approach. So if you buy an ISOFIX seat (I'll accept Duncan's advice that you CAN get them here - I haven't looked), then make sure it has an Australian Standards compliance sticker and includes a top-mounting strap.

BTW, this is why you should ignore the child restraint ratings in EuroNCAP ... because the Euro restraint system is different to ours in Australia. ANCAP do not test for child restraints because the restraints are covered by Australian Standards requirements.

Here's another tip ... you can usually HIRE baby capsules from your local maternity hospital. That's what we did for the first six months or so, until junior was too big for the capsule.

[Gumball]

Considering hiring but really keen on using a Maxi Cosi with a Quinny stroller. Will make it really easy shopping, just take the quinny out of the boot and fit the maxi cosi on it without disturbing the baby. Never had a kid before but guessing this is a good way and have read mothers forums and they are really happy with the quinny/maxi cosi combo.

Been reading excellent safety reports about isofix and I am sure either mounting system will be fine and I sort of prefer ISOFIX with the 135 as it was designed to use it.

[WAY]

Ok Gumball, I guess I should give more imput here given I just went through this a year ago. We bought a maxi-cosi with a quinny zapp (the 4 wheel version - don't bother with the 3 wheeler as it isn't stable enough with the maxi-cosi). It was the best thing we bought! Maxi-cosi base has Isofix and fits in the 135i easily. The baby falls alseep in it and they can continue to sleep as you take them in or out of the car. We also have a Bugaboo with a maxi-cosi adaptor. We used it less as Bugaboo was kept at home while the Zapp is kept in the car due to it's size. When we took the Bugaboo out, it was mainly with the cot it comes with. When our baby was 8 months old, we moved him to a forward facing recaro which is also Isofix. I have used that in my 135i as well and it fits beautifully (as it does on my C63 and X3). Good luck and ask any question you need to. I went through a long process to get to this conclusion and maxi-cosi is the best thing you can buy despite it not being ADR compliant!

[Gumball]

Way, thanks so much!!

So the UK Maxi Cosi fits the US Zapp 4 wheeler fine???

Still unsure if we will go a zapp 4 wheeler and a Bugaboo or just a buzz 4 wheeler but unsure how that will fit in a 135.

Your post has made the wife and I happy and now we are just deciding what colour maxi cosi before we order

And does the Bugaboo fit in the 135? Looking at measurements at it seems to me either the bee (wife fav) and the chameleon will barely fit in the boot.

Thinking about going a 4 wheel zapp, maxi cosi for the car and a bee for her to go shopping etc.

Money money but we do qualify for the baby bonus so the gov can pay for stroller, baby seat craziness

Thanks!

[WAY]

Actually both my maxi-cosi and Zapp (and Recaro) were bought from US. I can't see any reason why UK Maxi-Cosi won't fit though. My friend bought a US Maxi-Cosi on our advice and a local Buzz. The Buzz is quite a bit bigger than the Zapp for sure! The Cameleon will fit the 135i but we don't take that out in the car much. We live in the city by the river and my wife doesn't work, so she strolls him everyday in the Bugaboo. My friend has a bee and it looks like a good little stroller. However it is more a stroller than a pram, which to me means that if you are taking the baby on long outdoor walks, it isn't going to be as comfortable (for you). Oh, the other thing about the Zapp/Maxi-cosi combo is that it is a great little combo to bring with you overseas. We went to Malaysia when he was 3 months old and rented a car there. We fitted the Maxi Cosi straight in and continued to use the Zapp and Maxi-Cosi combo like we do here. Our baby felt comfortable too as it is something he was used to. Good luck with your selection!

[AussieRacer]

Just IMO, but the top securing strap only helps when the seat itself has its own built in restraint. Once a child is older enough to be secured by the car's seat belt, ISOFIX makes much more sense to me.

I got my niece an ISOFIX Recaro (Monza model that ISOFIX built in) for my folks car, and my sister is satisfied enough with the quality and security that I'm now getting another for her car.

My 2 cents, despite me not having kids.

[Gumball]

Way, did you Maxi Cosi have ISOfix? Was told the US versions don't have it.

[Guran]

Our experience was with a hired child capsule mostly used in a MINI Cooper S. Both my wife and I are fairly short (5'6"), so we had no problem putting our baby into and out of the car, while still letting him sleep in the carrier. It even fit behind the passenger seat (just!). Of course, we didn't have a pram that the carrier would slot straight into, but it was no problem for us to carry him with the carrier handles.

All Euro cars sold in Australia are designed to take either ISOfix or ADR compliant top-mounts. However, as far as I'm aware, only Australian Standard restraints are legally available for sale in Australia (thanks for clarifying Duncan). OK, no problem with importing an ISOfix restraint if you don't ever have a crash. But I can't help but wonder what would happen from a legal perspective (let alone the personal tragedy), if you were to have a crash and the use of a non-ADR compliant restraint was found to be a contributing factor in injury to your child. It's not a nice thing to think about, but as a parent, these are the sorts of decisions you need to make.

From my perspective, the ISOfix system has it's limitations. Since it's physically latched to the seat base, the restraint will not move in the event of a crash. Hence the only thing restraining the child is the harness and all the load will be distributed on those thin straps. This is less of an issue with rear-facing restraints. On the other hand, some research suggests that ISOfix offers better protection in side impacts.

The advantage of the ADR-compliant restraints is that the top mount allows the seat-base to rotate forward slightly in a frontal collision, before the seatbelt catches the back of it. This means that the restraint and the harness both combine to slow down the child's movement, spreading the load over a much greater area and cushioning the impact. This suggests there should be a lower risk of injury with ADR restraints compared with ISOfix in frontal impacts. The downside is that the ADR restraints can twist in side impacts and offer a bit less protection than ISOfix.

The critical thing to remember however, is that both systems must be properly fitted everytime they're used. So ease of installation should be something you consider.

If you chose to go with a cheaper and ADR-compliant restraint, then some great advice on selecting a baby or child restraint is available at the following links:
http://www.atsb.gov.au/pdfs/child_restraints.pdf
http://www.mynrma.com.au/cps/rde/xch...restraints.htm
http://www.racv.com.au/wps/wcm/resou...t%20Report.pdf

A detailed comparison study of ISOfix, LATCH and ADR restraints is available here:
http://www-nrd.nhtsa.dot.gov/pdf/nrd.../07-0298-O.pdf

[Gumball]

Been doing a lot of reading and if you are in a accident, baby itself is covered but the insurance company will not pay for a replacement seat.

Ordered a Maxi Cosi from Germany last night and will order a 4 wheel Zapp from the US tommorrow. Going to get a Chameleon when Rudd gives us some cash


Thanks for all the help! Kind of annoying when friends etc keep saying to get a bigger car. There are products out there that make 2 doors and baby's easy

[WAY]

Originally Posted by Gumball

Way, did you Maxi Cosi have ISOfix? Was told the US versions don't have it.

Yes...sort of. US has a version of the Isofix called something else. It's as good as Isofix and just as easy. It's like a seatbelt with a latch. I don't know why they don't standardise these things across the globe like say seat belt is!!!