F1MB

Can anybody recommend one for me. I think that my C-Class (2009 C350) is to small for an infant seat, hope not. Didn't see this one coming!

Thanks!

Ed

MiamiAMG

I have one from MB. It is a great safe seat, that looks good also. A little pricey, but i'm not going cheap on my son's safety. Bought it a few years back when i had the E55. Fit's just fine in my C63.

Benz E55

I have a Graco car seat in my E55 and it fits fine...

Sportstick

As of today, here are the rank ordered ratings for the top 3 infant seats from Consumer Reports, which does fairly extensive testing. These are infant, not convertible nor forward facing toddler restraints:

Up to 22 lbs.
Chicco Key Fit
Maxi-Cosi Mico
The First Years Via 1450

Above 22 lbs
Chicco Key Fit 30
Combi Shuttle 33
Safety First OnBoard 35 (not 35 Air model)

The infant-only ones probably have a better chance of fitting in our C Class's relatively small interior space. But, the ones with heavier than 22 lb capacity will more likely contain your child for the new two year recommendation just published yesterday.

Conrgatulations and good luck...start saving for college!!

NickCats

I believe this is the one we had :

http://www.gracobaby.com/Products/Pa...ductID=1763896

Fits fine in the back center of the c350.


This is what we have now :

http://www.britaxusa.com/car-seats/roundabout

Which can be used forward or rear facing ( 5-35 lbs )


They are now saying rear facing should be used until age 2 :

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/42186101/ns/us_news

Congrats !

Nick

Cycosis

My family's business is actually baby and toddle products and we have sold car seats for 27 years. In my opinion, nothing can even come close to Sunshine Kids or Britax convertible seats. They are rear facing 5-40lbs and forward facing 25-65lbs. Truly amazing seats. Canada has much stricter car seat laws with new regulations coming into play this january. Graco as of yet and peg perego, do not meet the new regulations.

Sportstick

Your experience is an important contribution to help the O.P. In addition, Consumer's Union actually performs sled testing to measure the HIC (head injury criterion) and chest g's using infant dummies. For convertible seats, one seat per weight category performed better than the rest for overall crash protection.

Up to 40lb, Cosco Scenera (btw, don't confuse Cosco with Costco!!)
Above 40lb, Evenflo Triumph Advance LX/DLX

The models you mention received scores of "Very Good", but the above two are the only convertible (can face rearward for infants/forward for toddlers) models to rate "Excellent" for crash protection.

If these fit in the C Class, it would save the OP from buying a second seat in two years.

Nola

If I may, the car seat will be fine... it's the stroller that's the problem! It will take up half your trunk. If you want to go the Euro way, get a Quinny Zapp + Maxi Cosi Cabrio travel sytem. The stroller folds up to about half the size of a normal stroller (less if you remove the wheels), and during the first few months, the stroller with no seat will be a frame for the baby carrier. Later, you use the complete stroller and the kids are perfectly fine.

F1MB

Thanks!
How about that C63 Coupe!!

Sportstick

Very hard to get the infant seat in and out of the rear of a coupe!

Nola

I had one on a W203 coupe. If you use a LATCH/ISOFIX base it is not a big deal, because the infant carrier easily drops in and releases. Once they graduate to the proper seat, then there is no need to remove the seat, and plugging the kid in and out is relatively simple as long as you're fit enough to tie your own shoes without sitting down or kneeling.

EASYDOES1T

Get a Recaro baby seat. I see them on the evo forums all the time. I love those and if I had a kid, I'd go with that... But as of now I don't plan on having a kid for a long time o_O

http://forums.evolutionm.net/evo-x-g...your-kids.html

Sportstick

If I may please ask, as your answer is very interesting to me...why would seeing them around a lot and liking what they look like be more important than how they actually perform in a crash?

EASYDOES1T

Ask away sir. But I assumed seeing them bought and used on another car forum (evolutionm.net) would mean that they are quality seats with high safety ratings. But if you're gonna say that because a lot of people get them doesn't mean they are safe than I can agree with you on that as well. And also I would imagine that since Recaro is a very reputable company that specializes in car seats that they would not want to risk destroying their reputation with a bad seat especially one that is so important for your child. Guess you're right though, seeing that I'm still too young to have a child and I have not done my proper research. Thanks for making me feel like an *** though

Child seats just aren't my forte.. yet! If my recommendation is crappy, kindly disregard my post though.

ulovemybenzo

lame always tryin to be a smartass... GTFO

Sportstick

Sorry if you felt that way...not my intention and I tried to ask as politely as I could. I do read here about people making choices about a variety of car-related subjects for reasons which surprise me (e.g. tinting/blocking lights to please personal aesthetics, for example), so I wanted to understand your thought. What I learned from your answer is not that you are an "***", but that brand name has a powerful enough meaning for you to give you sufficient comfort to make a decision on its own merit, even on a subject of this importance. No need to feel insulted, please.

EASYDOES1T

It's all good lol

Sportstick

Not at all...we just see the world differently. Peace.

559EVO

I have Recaro, and Britax, The Recaro's are better in every category. My wife also agrees with me, for now on Recaro all the way.

Berserker

OP, check out the Sunshine Kids RadianXTSL convertible seats. We have 2 of those, one for our C300 and 1 for the X5. It fits both cars nicely and our son loves it.
It can be RF up to 45 lbs and FF up to 80 lbs. Try to keep our baby RF for as long as possible. You can also check out www.car-seat.org for more useful information.

justthinking

Expecting our 1st child this June and glad there is a thread on this topic..

Nick, the Britax you have, what's the max weight it can support? Will you need another car seat before moving on to booster seat??

Berseker, what do you do w/ infant stroller? I was leaning toward something like NickCats was using, a detachable infant car seat that can fit onto stroller for easy transport, but the one you posted looks really nice..

envyxc350

Recaro or nothing! I can't see ANY other seat out there beating this

Sportstick

The key issue is how each seat performs on Head Injury Criterion, chest g forces, kinematics including head excursion, structural integrity during the crash event, and the convenience of the belt attachment system for quick removal when needed. While no company ever would want to provide an underperforming seat, some do better than others and it is independent of style and brand name. You cannot tell by looking. The performance of a seat can be best measured on impact testing or sled simulators, which all child seat producers do, but have not typically released. The best resource I've seen for crash performance results is Consumer Reports.

I don't think the personal recommendations here were post-impact, and even if so, with crash variability, comparisons become impossible without a standardized measure, such as FMVSS 213 testing and criteria applied to child seats.

NickCats

Congrats !

It looks like the Britax we have is 5-35 lbs rear facing and 20-40 lbs front facing.

( it also looks like it was retired 8/2010 )

There are two new models, the Roundabout 50 which is 5-35 lbs rear facing and 20-50 lbs front facing and the Roundabout 55 which is 5-40 lbs rear facing and 20-55 lbs front facing.

Good question about needing another seat before moving on to a booster seat, never thought about that before...

Nick

fefo25

Chicco key fit 30!