The main issues with this car seat are when used for older children as a group 2/3 seat. Our lab experts noticed there were safety issues during the side-impact crash tests. The ones which have highlighted safety issues are now labelled as 'Don’t Buy' and have a safety alert attached to them.

The crash tests go beyond the minimum requirements, with Which? saying: 'we feel our tests more accurately reflect what could happen in a real crash.' Research shows that the longer your child is in a car seat the safer they will be when driving,” says our expert Millie Poppins. “A baby should be in a car seat with a minimum four-point harness for as long as possible. They should also be reverse facing until at least 15 months old. Although they don’t technically need to be in a car seat or booster seat right up until the age of 12, it is best practice for optimising your child’s safety when travelling.” What is ISOFIX? All car seats have to be rigorously tested in accident simulations before they can be sold. ECE R44 was the original European standard. ECE R129 is a more rigorous test, sometimes called i-Size because it takes into account the baby’s height and not just their weight when classifying car seats.R129/i-Size seats are easier to fit, provide better protection from side impacts and can keep children rear-facing for longer. They’re also fully compatible with ISOFIX cars (see above). Millie Poppins, a baby expert and motherhood mentor, tells me: “It is important to consider what your day to day lifestyle will look like once your new baby arrives. If you are in and out of the car often, then something with a swivel base is ideal. If you’re changing cars regularly or using taxis, then something that doesn’t always require a fixed base might work best long term.” It’s suitable from birth to 12 years so you’ll only have to buy one car seat for your child, and it’s about half the price of most others. When fitted rear-facing, which is the safest way for your baby to travel, it has a 5-point harness, and once your little one is big enough, it can be swapped to forward-facing and, ready for booster mode. Impressively, it also has a 6-position recline and 10 headrest settings with side wings that expand outwards as the headrest moves up.

I tested them all the way from when Jasper was born until now, as he approaches one. I also spoke to our mums with older children to get their input. As you can see in my TikTok video above, I installed the seats myself to gauge how fiddly they were, resisting the temptation to make my fiancé do it. There was, as a result, much huffing, puffing and profanity on my part. From September 2023, retailers in the EU and Northern Ireland will no longer be able to sell R44 car seats. At the moment, there is no agreed end date to R44 sales in the rest of the UK. What is a group 1, 2 or 3 car seat?

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verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ Its built-in swivel base also enables 360-degree rotation, making it simple to switch from rear to front facing and for getting your child in and out of the car. Also noteworthy is its unique anti-escape harness system, which makes it nigh impossible for toddlers to wriggle out of. Which? – the UK's consumer champion – has added its 'safety warning' to Chicco, Nuna and Lettas Murphy brands. Silver Cross, the trusty British brand that has been serving the Royal Family for more than a century, won the contest hands down with its Motion All Size 360 model, which will take your baby all the way from newborn to 12 years of age. Available in four colours, with top quality finishing touches, it’s the best-looking of the lot, and the one Jasper appeared to find most comfortable on long rides. Despite passing the regulatory tests for R129 car seats, our lab experts spotted issues when crash testing this car seat in a front impact, which means that it’s a Don’t Buy.

We absolutely loved this car seat for a multitude of reasons, not least the huge range of lively prints it comes in (we went for the Paloma Faith-designed tiger fabric), and the excellent value for money. Suitable from birth all the way up to 12 years, it could have won several categories, but particularly stands out as one you can use as a booster seat for older kids. This model really is built for comfort, with a wide design, a one-handed recline setting, and no less than 12 headrest positions. For hot weather, the ‘Plus’ version of this car seat has a 3D mesh fabric that Cybex claims is six times more breathable than conventional material (Jasper could not confirm or deny this). It’s also available in five colours, including baby pink. An infant is defined as a baby up to one year of age, so for this group you’ll want all the same features as with the newborn category (above). Brand new to the market is the Inglesina Darwin Infant Recline, designed especially for this age range, enabling your baby to safely lie almost flat. These banners can be seen above the paywall – that means you don’t have to be a member of Which? to see them – as we feel it’s important that all parents are made aware of potential safety problems.' Our lab experts spotted the same issues seen in the Chicco Seat4Fix, so both car seats get the same score and safety rating.'

Our tests are respected for being extremely thorough and tougher than the legal minimum regulations. Each car seat had passed the minimum requirements for the car seat regulations, however in the Which? tests – which are conducted at higher speeds and stronger forces than the standard requires, safety issues were spotted. Safe and practical, with a retractable sunshade, cushy three-layer side impact protection and an adjustable handlebar that also acts as an anti-rebound bar inside the vehicle, this car seat is revolutionary – but with some caveats. There’s a good reason the Doona has such a cult following (every celebrity and high-profile mum-influencer seems to have one, Millie Poppins included). It’s the only product of its sort; a car seat that flips Transformers-style into a stroller at the pull of a lever, with no extra frame or chassis to contend with, meaning you don’t have to transfer your (often sleeping!) baby from your vehicle into a pram. This was the car seat we used to take Jasper home from the hospital and the one we used constantly until he was about 8 months old.

I struggled with the idea of buying any seat that only lasts up to 15 months, but there’s a lot to be said for models designed specifically for this age group and if you’ll be using your car a lot during the newborn stage, it’s probably worth it. It does everything we needed it to do, with an easy to operate 360 swivel base built-in, a gentle three-level recline function, removable newborn inlay and eight headrest options. It’s made from soft, breathable bamboo fabric that’s easy to wipe down (crafted from recycled plastic bottles) and has plenty of padding. Safety-wise, it’s top of the range too, and won the 2022 ADAC ‘best baby, toddler and child car seat’ title. Which? has been at the forefront of independent safety testing of child car seats for more than fifty years. If you have a new addition to the family, you may also want to read our recent guides to the best prams and pushchairs, the best travel cots and the best high chairs. I’ve just tested the best baby monitors, too.

Our lab experts spotted issues during the front impact crash test which caused the dummy to twist too much to the side.'