When you first go to buy a car seat you are overwhelmed by the range on offer.
Not only is it a question of design and cost, but also what baby seat goes with what travel system, exactly what Group 0+ or Group 1 or 2 means, and just how long will your child need to have one of these things.
Typically, most parents will usually have to buy at least three car seats – from birth to six to nine months, from about six/nine months to about three years, and then a booster seat until they are are 12 years old, or over 1.35 metres (whichever comes first).
But now Michelin have designed a car seat which can be used from six months to six years, which could see parents being able to save money a skip a whole car seat group and only need a more simple booster after that.
The Michelin Cockpit car seat
Light, but tested to the new EuroNCAP test standards which come in by 2008 (where the crash test speed has been raised to 70 mph), the Cockpit can be adjusted for use when a baby weighs 9kg right up to 25kg.
(Car seats and most buggies give ranges in weight rather than age as the size of a child is more likely to affect safe and comfortable use than actual age.)
The seat is ergonomically designed and can be adjusted to suit different sizes but also for sleeping positions. The ‘extended headzone’ also means that there is substantial protection for the head and neck, from side as well as rear impact, because the headrest can be adjusted as your child gets taller.
The buckle tension changes as the child grows with the seat, but throughout, it is secured with a sturdy fixing so restless children can’t escape!
The car seat also can be easily secured in place because it has a ‘guide and blocking system’ which attaches to the car’s safety belt.
The Michelin Navigator booster seat
If you want a seriously good booster seat, the new Navigator seat accommodates children from 15kg to 36kg, which is roughly three until they no longer need a booster at all. It has protective features for children up to a height of 145cms, which goes safely beyond the demands for a child car seat under the new 2006 car seat law changes.
Michelin’s first ever car seats
These are the first car seats Michelin has ever designed, and are the result of lengthy research, development and testing.
Both the Cockpit and Navigator are finished with hardwearing seat linings and can be easily taken on and off for washing.
There are five alternative trim colours for the Cockpit and three for the Navigator.
The Cockpit has an RRP of £199.99, and the Navigator has an RRP of £139.99.
