THE SAFEST CAR SEATS ACCORDING TO CRASH TESTS

Crash tests are tests by independent consumer organizations, establishing a ranking of car seats. Before passing a crash test, car seats must meet the official safety standard R44 standard (which is used to define the different car seat groups) or standard R129 (established in 2013 to gradually replace the R44, also known as i -Size) A car seat cannot be marketed if it does not meet one of these standards.

After the crash test, the seat has a rating ranging from 1 to 5 stars:

5 stars: excellent, for example, the Britax Römer Baby Safe Plus II car seat, rated "excellent" by the Spanish organization Race
4 stars: highly recommended
3 stars: recommended
2 stars: recommended with reservations
1 star: not recommended

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How does a crash test take place for a car seat?

To begin with, the organization makes a list of car seats to be tested, which means that all car seats that meet the standard are not necessarily tested. Subsequently, the specifications are put in place, with very specific criteria. Therefore, the " association determines the elements to be evaluated and how.

Then comes the testing phase. This stage uses the selected car seats as well as the mannequins representing the passengers (one with the maximum height or weight, the other with the minimum dimensions or weight allowed for the seat).

First, car seats and dummies are placed in an accident situation, to measure the effectiveness of the seat and the protection it provides in the event of a frontal impact, at 64 km / h, and side impact, at 50 km / h (which represents 50 % of the final score)
The ergonomics of the seat, ease of assembly and disassembly (40% of the final score).
And finally, the comfort of the seat (10% of the final score).
Two other aspects are also tested, without being taken into consideration for the final result: whether the materials used to make the seat are harmful or not to the health of the child, and the cleaning (can we remove the cover? Clean it?).

Where can I find the crash test results on the car seat?

Crash tests are performed twice a year: once in May and once in October. If the car seat has been tested and performed well, the manufacturer will not hesitate to view the results on their website or even in stores. Attention, if the manufacturer does not exhibit anything, it does not necessarily mean that the seat has received a bad result, but it could simply be that the seat has not been tested.

Otherwise, you can go directly to the sites of the organizations running the tests. But this is not always easy, because the sites are not all in Italian, and some are even paid. For your convenience, we have researched the best car seats based on the latest crash tests!

The best car seats recommended according to crash tests

We know that understanding the result of the crash tests is a real problem, so we have done this work for you and selected the best seats according to specialized organizations. To make this selection, we relied on the results provided by ADAC (German site), TCS (Swiss site), Autoliitto (Finnish site) and Race (Spanish site).

The best car seats for groups

According to the R44 standard, car seats are divided into groups, each group representing a weight category. To help you choose the right seat for your child's weight, we have found the highest score for each group of car seats.

Group 0+:
from birth to 13 kg of your child, the Peg Perego Primo Viaggio car seat will be perfect. This model got 5 stars. He is one of the few in this group to be considered "excellent".

Group 0 + / 1:
from the birth of your child, until it weighs 18 kg, you can be equipped with this Bébé Confort Milofix car seat. It has a 4-star rating, so it is highly recommended by specialist organizations.

Group 1:
For children from 9 to 18 kg, this Cybex Silver Juno 2 car seat has been rated "excellent" by organizations. It is also suitable for cars with or without isofix system.

Group 1/2/3: If you prefer to keep the car seat for several years, the Cybex Silver car seat for children from 9 to 36 kg is considered highly recommended by organizations.

Group 2/3: your baby is growing! The time has come to equip yourself with a suitable enhancer. This child comfort booster Rhodes XP is perfect for children from 15 to 36 kg.

The best car seats according to the size of your child

Another newer standard divides car seats based on the size of the child. This R129 standard does not replace the R44 rule, but complement each other. However, please note that even though regulation R129 distributes car seats according to the size of the child, there is still a maximum weight that should not be exceeded on car seats.

From birth up to 83 cm (maximum 13 kg):
when you leave the maternity ward, place your baby safely in this Kiddy Evoluna car seat, rated excellent by organizations.

45 to 105 cm (maximum 19 kg):
if you want to have a car seat that will follow you for several years, we recommend the highly recommended Cybex Sirona car seat, equipped with a post, which guarantees excellent safety for your child. If your car is not equipped with a floor box !

67 to 105 cm (18 kg):
For older children, the Pearl 1 comfort seat will be very suitable. Tested in 2018, it is highly recommended by organizations.