Buying a car seat for your newborn? Here's our pick of the top-performing Group 0+ and Group 0+/1 car seats for your baby
Safety should be your priority when choosing a car seat, not looks or budget bargains. While price is important, and not actually an indicator of how safe it is, don’t settle for second best – or secondhand!
One thing to be mindful of is how easily the seat can be correctly installed in your car. Incorrectly fitted seats can be dangerous. Either make sure you get it professionally fitted, or check that it’s easy to install right if you need to swap the seat from your car to your buggy chassis (as part of a travel system) and back again. You'll also need to buy a rear facing seat.
Not all cars have ISOFIX, so before you charge ahead and purchase an option that can’t be installed with the car’s own seat belts as well, check your car is compatible with the seat. Some manufacturers offer a quick online checking service, such as Britax’s Fit-Finder or Maxi-Cosi’s car fitting list. Have your car’s make, model and year of production close to hand for fast checking.
There's a confusing choice of seats out there, so take the stress away by clicking through to see our pick of the 10 best 'from birth' car seats and visit our step-by-step buyer's guide for advice.
