CYBEX SIRONA Z I-Size Deep Black

Product Information

After all, you can have the safest car seat in the world, but if your toddler refuses to sit in it (or, more likely, screams the whole time they’re in it 🤪), then what’s the point? The iZi Modular X1 enjoys a Dynamic Force Absorber feature in the head area for maximum protection during impact, as well as optical and audio indicators to help you get the seat installed correctly. We really like the magnetic belt assistants which make getting even the wriggliest toddler in the seat an easy feat. The material is nicely padded, and feels sturdy and luxurious. The Sirona Z is both rearward facing and forward facing but as it is an i-Size car seat, your baby must stay rearward facing until at least 15 months of age. It's alsoequipped with Driving Direction Control D.D.C, which prevents any misuse of the forward-facing position. In reality, this means it will not allow the seat to fully rotate forward until the harness is set to a minimum of 76cm (the approx height of a 15-month-old).

We love toddlers (most of the time!) but there’s no doubt that they can occasionally , ahem, be a bit of a handful when you’re getting them into the car seat. This seat scores strongly for practicality, too. It has five reclining positions, enabling babies to lie almost flat and older children to sit more upright. There’s a bar at the foot of the seat that extends by up to 26cm to provide more leg space as youngsters grow. There are comprehensive fitting instructions on the seat (via a QR code) and on a laminated paper guide.

As for safety, the One+ 2 has passed the Swedish Plus Test, but it didn’t do as well in the ADAC test as its BeSafe Stretch and Cybex Anoris T rivals, being rated as good rather than very good. Which? are continually evolving their tests to help influence the car-seat standards and help to keep babies and children safer. Which? recently changed their test programme in 2011 and 2015. Results aren't directly comparable between changes.

More importantly, it also scores highly on the rigorous ADAC testing scheme with a ‘Good’ rating of 2.3. The Cloud Z i-Size + Base Z is a rearward-facing car seat approved for use with babies from 45cm to 87cm tall, which is from birth up to about 18 months old, but the weight limit is 13kg so watch out if your baby is bigger than average. i-Size is something you’ll come across time and again when searching for car seats, and at first glance it seems as if it’s just some term that allows brands to charge a lot more.The seat cover is easy to take off and it's machine-washable, which is very handy when the cover inevitably gets dirty over time. Handy magnetic belt holders keep the belt free of the seat, too, and save searching for seat clips under a sleeping baby — while the one-handed mechanism to recline/rotate is useful if you needed to hold a baby on your other side with one arm, so you can get the seat ready in position. This seat has added side-impact protection, but you must remember to fold out the side shield that's nearest the car door to provide the highest level of protection in a collision. There are plenty of little features that add up to a comfortable seat. Generally, you’ll get more of these little features the more you spend — but there are good compromises to be found, even in cheaper seats.