laurasaur

This is our second car seat and what an amazing workhorse of a seat.
The best features:
Can be used rear facing till 25kgs in the front and rear seats of the car (front seat with no airbag, and you can use it in the middle rearseat)
Can be used forward facing and as a booster. You should never really use any car seat forward facing though if you can avoid it.
It is really one of the easiest RF seats to install ever. No support leg, just tethers.

Other positives
Lovely zip off cover
I think it will fit all cars really. Especially for older children where you have it in the upright position. I’ve installed it in the front and rear of a 4 door Renault Clio (1999 shape) and it’s just fine. Remember only to install it in the front if you have NO airbags. It easily fits in a BMW 7 series (2002 shape) and gives much more legroom than the BeSafe Izi.

The downsides:
It does look kind of basic, compared to say the BeSafe IZi Combi x3, it doesn’t have the same level of padding and head support/side impact protection. In saying that, I have no problem putting my son in it, it looks sturdy and comfortable.
To adjust the shoulder straps or recline angle (just 2 reclines) it’s kind of a mission. Adjusting the shoulder straps requires re-routing the straps through the shell. The recline is even more tricky and means re-installing the seat.

All in all an amazing seat – one of the cheapest around for extended rear facing. Pics coming soon.

This was our first extended rear facing car seat, and is permanently in one of our cars until R outgrows it. It is a gorgeous seat, very plush and has tons of fancy features that really make this a luxury car seat – and as such comes with an accordingly high price tag. I think you can get this for around £260 if you shop around.

The main plus points for this seat are:
It is one of the highest scoring ERF out there. With excellent side impact protection as well.
I think the softest, comfiest, most solid rear facing seat money can buy.

Other great points
Has an amazing magnetic belt system, which keeps the straps out of the way so you don’t have to fish them out from under your baby when buckling him in.
Wonderful shoulder/headrest adjustment system. You just grip a bit on the back and pull up, which at the same time moves the shoulder strap height. Really easy.
Multiple reclining positions. This would be a huge plus in most other cars than ours. Our rear seats (7 series BMW) have a very steep angle on them which means that the most reclined position is barely reclined at all, and the most upright position is too upright. But a huge plus in other cars. You just lift a lever under the seat and adjust with your hand.

Negatives
It is huge and weighs a ton.
The first time we installed it was rather fiddly. I have since removed and installed it and it was much easier, although I’d be lying to say it is a piece of cake.
And yeah… once again it is pretty huge. I’m going to see if it fits in the middle soon but I think it probably wont due to how wide it is and how far back my husband needs his seat to drive.
It only rear faces to 18kgs. This is probably ample for some kids but my son is pretty huge and I can imagine we will have to retire this seat at some point unless we have another baby!