The Best Newborn Car Seats in the UK
Safety of your car seat is a top concern for any parent. Thankfully, there's an abundance of choices when it comes to locating the ideal car seat for newborns for your baby.
The Cybex Cloud T offers enhanced side impact protection as well as an adorable inlay. It's the most comfortable new car seat in the UK. It has a one handed recline and 12 positions for the headrest to adjust to your child's changing body.
1. Cybex Cloud T
The Cybex Cloud T car seat is the most popular choice for bringing your baby with you on your journeys from the moment they are born until they become toddlers. It is the latest version of the legendary Cybex Cloud range and features innovative reclining technologies that give your child a lie-flat ergonomic position in the car, or when used in conjunction with strollers as part of the complete travel system. It's also an ISOFIX car seat so it can be attached to your vehicle by using the base provided, it can be turned 360 degrees to aid in getting your baby out and in.
The car seat is constructed of high-quality materials, and is available in a variety of stylish colors, including Moon Black, Lava Grey and Beach Blue Plus. It's a stylish and elegant choice that goes perfectly with the Cybex T range of prams. It also comes with the Newborn Inlay, which is specifically designed for premature and newborn infants. This helps to maintain the baby's head in a flat position, decreasing the possibility that their heads move forward while sleeping, causing breathing issues. It can be removed when your child reaches 60 cm in height.
When it comes to safety the car seat provides excellent protection for your child, scoring an impressive 1.7 result in crash tests by ADAC (Allgemeiner Deutsche Automobil-Club e.V). The Cloud T i-Size comes with LSP (Linear Side-impact Protection) to protect your child from being thrown around in the seat in the case of an accident. Also, it has the unique Flexi-Fix harness system which stretches when your child grows, ensuring that they will always have a safe fit.
If you're planning to use the car seat as part of a travel set-up with a Cybex pushchair, the revolutionary 180deg rotation ensures that getting your baby out and in is easy. No more awkward twisting or reaching. The car seat is capable of fully reclined for added comfort on long car rides. The cost is a bit higher than other car seats in this age however the features it has, including the reclining feature and excellent safety features make it worth the cost.
2. Maxi-Cosi Pebble Plus
The Maxi-Cosi Pebble Plus is one of the most popular infant car seats on the market. It's comfortable for babies and easy to use. It's suitable for babies from birth. It can be used either with Maxi-Cosi FamilyFix, EasyFix base, or with your car seat belt system. The car seat is compatible with a variety of pushchairs, including the Maxi Cosi range, Quinny, iCandy, and Bugaboo, using adapters. The Baby-Hugg infant seat is also included to provide an improved fit, a more comfortable in a more upright position, and also side impact protection.
The Pebble Plus is a Group 0+ car seat which means it is suitable for use with infants from birth to 12 months old (45cm - 75cm). It is in line with the new iSize regulations that require that children remain rear-facing for longer. It is compatible with the 2way family base that lets you change from forward-facing to rear-facing on the same vehicle. It also has a handy rotating feature.
It's still a very comfy seat, but the latest version has a few improvements. It now has a much-improved baby-hugg that is extremely comfortable and looks great. The shoulder straps have been padded and the headrest is adjustable to accommodate the growth of your baby. You can remove it at any time, if you don't want to use it any more.
It is a little heavier at 4.5kg than other infant carseats, however this shouldn't be a problem if your infant spends most of the day in it. It can be used with a handle for more comfortable transport, and it's light enough to get it in and out of rideshare vehicles or taxis too.
It's also a nice-looking seat and you can pick from a variety of patterns and colours to fit your car. It's not the cheapest infant car seat, but it's an excellent investment and worth the extra cost for your child. Once you've mastered it, adjusting the harness size and height is a breeze. You simply pull down on the back panel and squeeze together two buttons to adjust the height or down the straps without the need to rethread them.
3. Joie Calmi
Joie Calmi is the ideal infant car seat. It's easy to use, and it cradles baby like a cot. This dual-use car seat and carrycot is R129-certified. It's built to last with a durable ventilated outer shell and soft padding to protect your baby. It features a 3-point safety harness that is adjusted by a single pull, and softly cushioned covers. Plus, it features lateral positioning to keep your baby's head at the safest position in case of an accident.
The seat's base is compatible with Joie Aeria and Finiti strollers, which means you can easily slide it on and off the frame. It's easy to move even when your baby is asleep, due to the adjustable handle bars. If you're looking to make an entire travel set, the iBase Encore adapters let you to pair Calmi with a MaxiCosi or Britax stroller.
The design of the earlier i-Spin 360 has been improved by Joie. The model earned an excellent score in the crash tests conducted by Which?, and infant car seat uk from ADAC. The model we tested comes with locks to stop the seat from turning too quickly, ensuring that your baby remains rearward-facing as long as possible. It also has a huge sun canopy that is water-resistant and provides 50+ UV protection, and has a mesh peekaboo window that lets you look in without disturbing your child.
If you're looking to purchase a car seat online, make sure you select a retailer that provides free UK mainland delivery on all orders and returns within 35 days. John Lewis has a great selection of baby car seats from top brands, including Cybex, Maxi-Cosi and Silver Cross, and offers free click and pick up to the nearest store (or to an Sainsbury's branch if you're close to one). You can also collect Nectar points on all purchases. Argos also offers a good selection of car seats with prices starting at PS55. You can also enjoy free delivery, same-day collection in-store and free returns to any Argos or Sainsbury's retailer that is a participating one.
4. Silver Cross Motion All Size 360
The trusted British brand is well-known for its high-end prams as well as pushchairs, but the Silver Cross Motion all-in-one car seat is making its mark on the market. Our test subject Jasper loved it, describing it "the most stylish of the bunch, and the one my baby appeared to find most comfortable during long journeys."
This fully rotating R129 certified car seat is suitable for newborns all the way to 12 years old. It was awarded the ADAC 2022 autumn test's award for the best baby, toddler and child car seat. It's also been tested above and beyond the regulations to ensure your child is safe during every trip.
For babies, it has an easy-to-remove and comfortable padded insert made from soft bamboo fabrics that's super comfortable and breathable. It's also antibacterial. The body insert and head support can be removed as your child gets older. You can also alter the headrest and recline positions to suit.
The green light that indicates when the car seat has been properly installed and is ready for use is an unique feature. This makes it an ideal choice for new parents, who may not be familiar with the proper installation and fitting of car seats. It also comes with a convenient stowable strap that can be used either in a forward-facing or rear-facing position.
Another reason to buy it is that it's a permanent vehicle fixture which means you don't have to wake up your sleeping baby to take them out for longer trips. It's not compatible with travel systems like the Britax Romer Dualfix plus iSize or the Joie iSpin 360 iSize. You will need to purchase a separate travel bag.
The downside to permanent fixed car seats such as the Axkid One i-size is that they're not as easy to carry around when you're required to transport them between different vehicles. If you decide to purchase a separate travel bag for your car seat, make sure it's a sturdy one that can keep up with the wear and tear that comes with frequent use. It's worth spending a little more to purchase a bag that will last as long as the car seat of your child.