From rear to forward-facing with a simple turn

With the introduction of iSize car seat laws, we're seeing a growing trend in rotating car seats.

Why should I buy a rotating baby car seat?

Swivel car seats, which can turn 360 degrees, are great for getting your baby or toddler in and out of the chair easily.  They're also all about safety. This is because they usually offer the flexibility of a rear-facing seat for longer.

Historically, Group 0+ car seats (which last from birth to 13kg or around 12-15 months) are rear-facing, Group 1 car seats are forward-facing from 9kg or around 9 months.  But most car seats in this list allow little ones to sit in the rear-facing position until they are at least 2-years-old.

And when you and your child's ready, you can simply rotate them to forward-facing position. So you have one future-proofed car seat. 

What type of bases do rotating car seats fit into?

Rotating car seats come with bases, and as they enable the car seat to rotate, you'll find that bases are all included in the price (apart from the Jane Matrix).  All the car seats listed in this article have ISOFIX bases, meaning you won't have to use a car 3-point seat belt.  

If you're thinking about buying a rotating car seat, we've got the pros and cons here.

Click through to see our pick of the best rotating car seats on the market.

1. Jané Matrix Light lie-flat car seat, £300 with Jane Platform car seat base (£250) - MadeForMums Awards Silver Winner for Best Infant car seat

Age: Birth to 13kg (approx 15 mths)

i-Size compatible: Yes 

Installation in car: ISOFIX base (additional £250)

Rear-facing until: 15 months

A lie-flat car seat that can also be used as a carrycot on Jane pushchairs and attaches to the Jane Matrix Platform base, which allows you to rotate your infant car seat in and out of the car.  

With 4 recline positions, the Jane Matrix is suitable from birth to around 12 months, and the car seat is safe for overnight sleeping too!

What our MadeForMums judges say about the Jané Matrix lie-flat car seat:

“For a young baby, the lie flat design is an excellent feature. It looks and feels superb quality and I like that it can be transformed from lie flat into curved car seat,” mum of 2, Magda.

“Very easy to install, quite heavy but pleasingly sturdy, and with a reassuringly well-protected lie-flat option so babies can sleep on longer journeys with no danger of oxygen depletion. In fact, you can take the seat out of the base into your holiday home, for example, and they can sleep in the seat laid flat overnight,” Tanya, mum of 2.

You can buy the Matrix Light infant car seat from Jané or Tesco  

2. GB Vaya car seat, £375 - MadeForMums Awards Gold Winner for best iSize car seat

Age: Birth to 13kg (approx 15 mths)

i-Size compatible: Yes 

Installation in car: ISOFIX base (additional £250)

Rear-facing until: 15 months

This 360-degree rotating car seat is suitable from birth to 4 years, being a Group 0+/1 seat.  Tested to ADAC Good standards and a reddot award winner for car seat design, the GB Vaya is also i-Size compatible and very easy to install.

What our MadeForMums judges say about the GB Vaya car seat:

“The GB Vaya took less than 5 minutes to install in the car so very easy to use and, my baby fell asleep in it numerous times so it must have been comfortable.  The seat is set higher than most car seats so baby could see out of the window which I also liked. There is additional safety with the side impact bar so gives peace of mind,” mum-of-one Emma.

“I like how almost every convenience- or safety-related concern has been thought of, and there are a few features I haven't seen on any other car seat,” mum-of-two Hayely.

Available from Pram Centre or Natural Baby Shower

3. Jané Gravity car seat, £314 (base is included)

Age: Birth to 13kg (approx 15 mths)

i-Size compatible: Yes 

Installation in car: ISOFIX base (additional £250)

Age suitability: Birth until 4 years

Rear-facing until: 4 years

A sleek rotating Group 0+/1 car seat with 360-degree swivel, it can be used from birth to 4 years and meets the latest i-Size regulations.

Rear-facing up to 4 years, the ISOFIX connectors are integrated and the seat comes with a newborn insert as standard. The Jané Gravity also has a no-nonsense adjustable 5-point harness and easy-to-adjust headrest, which is why it is a former gold medal winner in the 2017 MFM awards.

We've got the full review of the Gravity car seat here.

You can buy the Jané Gravity i-Size car seat from Kiddicare, Precious Little One, Mothercare, and Amazon.

4. Joie 360 Spin car seat, £250 (base is included)

i-Size compatible: No

Installation in car: ISOFIX only

Age suitability: Birth until 4 years

Rear-facing until: 4 years

The 360 Spin is a Group 0+/1 car seat, meaning it's suitable from birth to 18kg or until approximately 4 years.  Babies can sit rear-facing up until 4 years, or parents have the option of facing little ones forward from 9 months, if they want to.

It also features a Grow Together™ multi-height headrest and harness system that adjusts simultaneously, meaning there's no re-threading of the harness and has five recline positions; three rearward and three forward facing.

And as we've come to expect from Joie, the 360 Spin will be sold at an affordable price.  

Check out the full Joie 360 Spin review here.

You can buy the Joie 360 Spin from Kiddicare or Argos.

5. Britax Dualfix, £340 (base is included)

i-Size compatible: No

Installation in car: ISOFIX only

Age suitability: Birth until 4 years

Rear-facing until: 4 years

Featuring a 360 degree swivel, 3-position recline and ISOFIX base, the Group 0+/1 chair comes with side impact protection and 'performance chest pads'.  It's not been tested under the i-Size law, but it has rear-facing up until 18kg, which is around 4 years. 

Check out the complete Britax Dualfix review here

Buy the Britax Dualfix on Amazon

6. Cozy ‘N’ Safe Merlin, £299 (base is included)

i-Size compatible: No

Installation in car: ISOFIX only

Age suitability: Birth until 4 years

Rear-facing until: 4 years

A new car seat company that has launched recently in the UK is Cozy ‘N’ Safe, the British brand has a mission to make safe, high-quality and affordable car seats. 

Cue the Merlin Group 0+/1 car seat, suitable from birth to 18kg (around 4 years), it has a rear-facing for longer option, meaning you’re little one can sit in the safest position up to 4 years.

The Merlin features a very well-padded and deep seat, that’s sure to be comfy for any child, it has 4 rearward recline positions and 3 forward recline positions.

Scoring an impressive 5/5 in our in-depth review, our professional tester found it safe, sturdy, easy to use, and just loved how deep and comfy the seat felt for her little one.

Read our full review of the Cozy N Safe Merlin car seat here.

7. Maxi-Cosi AxissFix Plus, £395 (base is included)

i-Size compatible: Yes

Installation in car: ISOFIX only

Age suitability: Newborn to 4 years

Rear-facing until: 2 years

The updated version of the Maxi-Cosi best-seller the Axiss, the original version mainly focused on the ease of getting kids in the car and only swivelled 90 degrees. But this i-Size car seat now rotates a full 360 degrees, is rear-facing from birth until little ones are 87cm tall or around 2 years old.

The AxissFix Plus also grows with your little one expanding from 61cm to 105cm with the adjustable headrest. 

Here's the review of the Maxi-Cosi AxissPlus car seat

Buy the Maxi-Cosi AxissFix Plus from Halfords and Kiddies Kingdom.

8. Cybex Sirona, £375 (base is included)

i-Size compatible: No

Installation in car: ISOFIX only

Age suitability: Birth until 4 years

Rear-facing until: 4 years

Certainly is one of the most stylish rotating car seats on the market, while the Cybex Sirona is not i-size, it is rear-facing for longer - from birth up to 18kg (around 4 years) - has a safety design called telescopic Linear Side-impact Protection (LSP) system and can be fitted in the car with ISOFIX.   

Your child can sit rear-facing up to 4 years with this seat, and there's also an adjustable safety cushion for forward-facing, which can be used from 9 months. 

Here’s the full Cybex Sirona review

You can buy the Cybex Sirona from Natural Baby Shower

The pros and cons of rotating car seats...

If you're thinking about buying a rotating car seat, we've got the pros and cons:

Pros:

• Easier to get little ones into the seat
• Usually rear-facing for longer
• Most new rotating car seats are usually I-Size compatible
• Usually multistage

Cons:

• Expensive
• Quite bulky
• Limited leg-room when rear-facing
• Not usually travel system compatible
• Usually heavy in weight, not easy to move between cars

Rear-facing for longer: Research shows that rear-facing car seats are 75% safer than forward-facing ones when involved in an accident.

Two hour rule: It's recommended that babies don't stay in car seats for no longer than two hours at a time, we explain why here. 

We've got more rear-facing car seats...

• 10 of the best rear-facing group 1 car seats
• Rear-facing car seats explained
• See all of our MadeForMums Awards 2017 winning products here