No IsoFix, No Problem - Joie Every Stage Review

Having a car without an Isofix option can be a stressful affair when searching for a car seat.

I always intended to have my daughter rear facing until the age of four, but I really struggled to find a suitable car seat which allowed me to keep her rear facing as she grew. 

I had picked out the model and colour of my new car seat, but what I didn’t know was that not all cars came with an Isofix option. My car is an old Fiesta and sadly with no Isofix option I was starting to lose hope that I would be able to keep my daughter rear facing.

Then I found the Joie Every Stage car seat! This is very similar to their other models which require an IsoFix base, but thankfully this simply needs a seat belt around the car seat so it's perfect for older model cars.

The best thing about this car seat is the size! Suitable fro birth up to 12 years old meaning I don't have to think about buying another car seat. PLUS it really is the most comfortable car seat. My daughter always ends up falling asleep during the journeys which is great but also means I now have to time them better.

There is an option to recline the seat so you can choose how far back little one is laid and you can also adjust the height of the headrest which is extremely important as your child grows. 

There are a couple of negatives I have found. The first one being that  when my daughter is asleep, it can be hard to get her our of the seat but this isn't a biggy in the grand scheme of things.

The second is that I do find it a little difficult to tighten the straps. The rule of thumb is you should be able to get only one finger in but no matter how hard I try to pull the tether, it never seems to be tight enough and I have to ask my husband to do the final tighten.

I paid £200 for my car seat and I love it. I would recommend this to anyone doesn’t have an IsoFix car and wants something that can last. I love the fact that it will see us right through until our daughter is 12 - amazing value for money. It’s super comfortable, easy to install and really easy to use.

Important features:

• Side impact protection for a travel companion who’s always watching over them
• Guard Surround Safety™ side panels offer extra head and neck protection in the event of a collision, fold away when not in use and make every journey safer
• Keep them safe with a reinforced steel inner seat shell engineered to maintain structural integrity during a crash
• 5-point harness features one-pull tightening for maximum comfort and security with one easy motion

• Group 0+/ 1/ 2/ 3
• Use rear and forward facing
• Usage: birth to 36kg; approx 12 years
  
  
• rearward facing from 0-18 kg, birth to approx 4 years; installed with the vehicle's seat belt and using the 5-point harness
• forward facing from 9-18kg, approx 1-4 years; installed with the vehicle's seat belt and using the 5-point harness
• forward facing from 15-36 kg, approx 3-12 years; installed using the vehicle's seat belt as a belted booster

Where to buy (prices valid at time of publishing):

• Mamas & Papas - £150 (was £180)*
• Smyths Toys - £119.99 (was £179) 
• Halfords - £150 (was £180)
• Online4Baby - £129.95 (was £180)