Question Car seat recommendation for use in UK taxis / travel

Hello!

We are a British-American family living in the UK for the next year or two with an 11 month old daughter who weighs around 20 or 21lbs. We do not own a car in the UK and have been using a Maxi Cosi infant seat in combination with a Quinny Buzz stroller up until this point. She has outgrown the height limit on this seat while we are on a long visit to the US and I need to find a seat to bring back over on the plane so that we have something we can use in the taxi when we return to the UK. I have previously looked into purchasing a seat in the UK but there are VERY limited extended rear-facing options and the only one or two we found were way, way, way over our budget, especially given that we have only ever ridden in a car with our daughter there a handful of times.

Here are the main considerations we are using with our search:

-We want to rear face until at least 2, or longer if the seat allows

-The seat needs to last about a year and a half at minimum (until our daughter is around 2 and a half), as this is when we are likely to move back to the US and can purchase something more suitable for car owners then.

-The seat will be used mostly in taxis or family members' cars and needs to be suitable for use in smaller cars, as UK cars are tiny compared to US cars!

-LATCH is not an option in most (all?) UK cars and the seat MUST be easy to install using a three-point seatbelt (preferably, no extra clips or components needed)

-Safety is more important to us than cost: we don't mind spending a bit more money within reason (the UK prices we saw on extended rear-facing seats averaged around $400 or more, which is too much).

-Preferably, the seat needs to be lightweight / compact enough that we could travel with it if we needed to. When we go to the US, we can leave the seat with the taxi company and use a seat that a family member has, so we won't *need* to take it on a plane with us all of the time, but we may need to take it with us on trips to visit friends in other EU countries.

Is there any seat you can recommend that would fit our needs?! I am at a loss!

Forgot to add that I know it is illegal to use a US seat in the UK but because our trip to the US lasted longer than expected and my daughter had a HUGE growth spurt while here, I have no option but to purchase a seat here to take back as the only way I am able to get home from the airport is by taking a 2 and a half hour taxi ride and her infant seat absolutely cannot be used when we go back now.

Our usual recommendation for a compact and light weight travel seat is Britax Hi-Way or Britax Max-Way. MW is the newer model with a built in head support and a slightly taller seat shell.

The seats are light weight at 6.5 kg, compact and fits well in pretty much any car small to large. Rear facing weight limit is 55 lbs and length of use is usually to age 4 and 110 cm with HW and age 5 and 120 cm with MW.

Installation of the seat requires about 2-3 minutes. A downside is that it needs tether straps. These can be attached in pretty much any car but requires a minute or so in extra installation time.

If you often will be using the same cars from other family members a couple of extra pairs of tether straps can be purchased. Installation of the seat is then just 1-2 minutes and very easy.


Hi-Way or Max-Way are not perfect choices but are in these situations a good compromise to keep the little one safe.

OP, i think people are confused.

She needs a seat she can buy now in the states and can take home and use at home.

The coccorro is a great travel seat with a flash stroller, but it is not a great seat for exrf. It doesn't last much longer then an infant seat. Many travel with the scerena because it is light, but some are easier to install often.