Booster with or without isofix?

Hello, I'm hoping someone can help me out

1. I was hoping to get the Britax kidfix XP sict for Miss 6, however after having a better look in the backseat of our new car I've discovered the isofix points are off-center and vertical. It also has forward of the bight buckles.
Any isofix booster would sit on top of the buckle strap(but not on the actual buckle). Is that Allowed?

Am I correct in thinking I will never fit an Isofix booster in this car?

Unfortunately I won't be able to try it in my car, as I'll be getting it on holiday in Norway, and taking it back to Australia.






2. I've also been looking at the Britax Kid XP, which is basically the Kidfix xp sict without the isofix and sict cushions. Would this be a good non-isofix option?

Does the weight of the seat matter? In Australia all boosters over 2 kg must be tethered to ''prevent a child from being crushed between it and the seatbelt''. Any truth to this? (They also claim isofix increases the risk of a child submarining in a booster...)

Any help would be appreciated!

Wow, that is a back set up, isn't it? isofix holds the booster in place, especially when the child is out of the car. The seat can be a projectile. If you teach the child to buckle the seat when they get out of the car, this won't be an issue.

Worst back seat ever

Isn't there safety benefits to isofix as well? Especially when it comes to side impact?

Isofix connectors are the same in every car. These can often be a bit closer to middle of the car and Isofix is not a good option for those who prefer three across. That buckle looks like it's meant for the middle rear seat. It would not be a problem to place the seat on the buckle strap as long as it doesn't interfere with the person using the buckle. What car are you using?

The Kid XP is a good seat although there are in my opinion options which are cheaper and just as good. Our favorite is Britax Adventure which is cheap, light weight, comfortable and has adjustable angle.

Weight of the seat has no impact when using Isofix while it has huge impact while being used only with a seat belt. A non-Isofix seat will add weight of the seat to the forward forces and these can be large. The seat belt will easily handle any forces but these huge forces will need to be absorbed by chest of your child in a frontal collision.

Isofix might provide slightly better SIP althoguh this is not conclusive and not really relevant in the big picture. As you probably know SIP is basically worthless in any forward facing seat. Doesn't matter what brand, HBB or harnessed seat, large or small sides or small/large head support. This is due to forward momentum and side impact braking. There is unfortunately nothing we can do about this. SIP looks great in the lab since cars are standing still. Real life looks completely different which parents aren't aware of.

In general it's best to listen as little as possible to what Australia has to say about car seat safety.

Adventuredad said:

Isofix connectors are the same in every car. These can often be a bit closer to middle of the car and Isofix is not a good option for those who prefer three across. That buckle looks like it's meant for the middle rear seat. It would not be a problem to place the seat on the buckle strap as long as it doesn't interfere with the person using the buckle. What car are you using?

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Thanks for your reply.

The buckle I'm holding is for the passenger seat where the booster seat would be. The hidden buckle is for the middle, but we hardly ever use that.

It's a Mitsubishi Challenger.

The Kid XP is a good seat although there are in my opinion options which are cheaper and just as good. Our favorite is Britax Adventure which is cheap, light weight, comfortable and has adjustable angle.

Weight of the seat has no impact when using Isofix while it has huge impact while being used only with a seat belt. A non-Isofix seat will add weight of the seat to the forward forces and these can be large. The seat belt will easily handle any forces but these huge forces will need to be absorbed by chest of your child in a frontal collision.

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I was looking at Britax Adventure, but I liked the idea of the XP pad. Suppose it's just a gimmick and won't actually do much?

Do you know what is considered to be the max weight for a non-isofix booster before the forces on the child becomes to big? Most of the boosters I've looked at is at least 5 kg+, except for Adventure.

Isofix might provide slightly better SIP althoguh this is not conclusive and not really relevant in the big picture. As you probably know SIP is basically worthless in any forward facing seat. Doesn't matter what brand, HBB or harnessed seat, large or small sides or small/large head support. This is due to forward momentum and side impact braking. There is unfortunately nothing we can do about this. SIP looks great in the lab since cars are standing still. Real life looks completely different which parents aren't aware of.

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That is a good point.

In general it's best to listen as little as possible to what Australia has to say about car seat safety.

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Haha, I figured that out a long time ago

Niniel said:

I was looking at Britax Adventure, but I liked the idea of the XP pad. Suppose it's just a gimmick and won't actually do much?

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Do check out the seat and the pad beforehand. I tried DD in this seat at a store, and it took only about 10 seconds until the "Moooooom, that thing is hurting meee", "that thing" obviously being the Xpad [DD didn't complain like that with other boosters we tried]. Also I hear the seatbelt doesn't always retract nicely through the pad.
I didn't really like the look and fell of the seat, felt kinda rigid/hard and shallow This is obviously my personal opinion only. But DD did look much more cosy in different boosters.

_juune said:

Do check out the seat and the pad beforehand. I tried DD in this seat at a store, and it took only about 10 seconds until the "Moooooom, that thing is hurting meee", "that thing" obviously being the Xpad [DD didn't complain like that with other boosters we tried]. Also I hear the seatbelt doesn't always retract nicely through the pad.

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Thanks, I'll do that. I want her to try out any potential booster before we buy one, to make sure she fits properly.

The Xpad looks like it could get a bit annoying/uncomfortable.
Britax claims ''it takes up to 30% of the energy forces away from your child’s neck'', which sounds great, but is it actually true?

The pad supposedly absorbs some energy but I don't consider the function valuable or necessary. Main function of a booster seat is to lift a child up from the vehicle seat to avoid submarining and internal injuries. This is where focus should be.