Most dealers sell seats which fit their cars, so go to Volvo and see which ones they sell then go to a child seat outlet and buy the same one (it will probably be cheaper!).
Audis chosen brand is Recaro, but having received one as part of a new car deal they are not as good as the MaxiCosi one we have and the Recaro list price was 60% higher than the Maxi Cosi.
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I also can't believe that a company which prides themselves on safety are so tight as to not fit ISOFIX on all their cars - my wife's £7,000 Aygo has this luxury, although from experience it's far from what it's cracked up to be and we don't use the system.
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Don't give up till you've tried a Britax. That's what we bought in 2001 for the Saab we had then, which also had noticeably shorter rear belts than our Fabia. Britax Group 0 seats offer two ways of routing the lower portion of the belt, one of which requires far less webbing and was enough to make the difference.
We used the same seat for our second baby, who arrived after we'd swapped the Saab for an S60. Again, the 'alternative' route was the only one that worked, so I'd imagine it would be OK in your S80 too. Our seat was a Rock-a-Tot Deluxe; not sure what the current equivalent would be, but if has the alternative routing it won't be that different.
I hope Flunky won't mind me using his tale to add a cautionary note to all new parents. Be as alarmed as I am by the stat that 85% of seats are incorrectly fitted and for heaven's sake buy the seat from somewhere that will let you try it in your car and teach you (not just show you once) how to fit it; don't buy one online just to save ten quid. Mothercare claims to be able to do this but our experience there has varied according to which staff member was using the brain that day; likewise Halfords. The best places tend to be the 'barn' outlets that specialize in baby kit. They tend to have plenty of stock and staff who are prepared to recommend from previous experience rather than push what they've been told to shift that month.
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"Be as alarmed as I am by the stat that 85% of seats are incorrectly fitted"
Having seen the hash job our neighbour made of putting their seat (Group 1) in the car this doesn't surprise me. The seat appeared to be very cheap (a dodgy Chinese copy of our Maxi Cosi) and had no decent instructions.
Mum had fitted the seat with the belt no tighter than you would put it round a person, I grabbed it and it immediately broke free. When I showed her how you had to do it - put the seat belt in position, then pull the belt with as much force as possible both hands round the belt in a 'tug of war' fashion - then get someone else to clamp the belt in place, she was surprised. Both ours are done like this and they are undone and refastened every week. Once in place they do not move at all, which is how it should be.
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Flunky - I forgot my manners and should have added 'congratulations' to my previous post. Fitting a baby seat quickly and correctly is only one of the multitude of new skills you're about to acquire. Best of luck with all of it, and remember to enjoy the ride!
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Flunky - I forgot my manners and should have added 'congratulations' to my previous post. Fitting a baby seat quickly and correctly is only one of the multitude of new skills you're about to acquire. Best of luck with all of it and remember to enjoy the ride!
Ah, we have one already, aged five, but did not own a car at the time. Struggling to fit the car seat as I drove back to the hospital it seems like a challenging task indeed (especially as the seat doesn't actually fit at all). The design (Mamas and Papas Prima Viaggio) is actually very sensible, with an adjustable base with a knob to adjust the pitch so that the seat is sitting perfectly flat, and so that only the seat is removed from the car. With the slope of the Volvo's seats (presumably designed for ergonomic reasons), this is quite handy.
Unfortunately owning even a top-of-the-range Volvo saloon, you don't get a long enough seat belt, I don't know why, there appears to be an issue with fatties in America who find various seatbelts too short as well, so I don't understand why manufacturers make them so short.
I think I will order the seat belt extender someone linked to. Thanks
blasphemy removed
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Most dealers sell seats which fit their cars so go to Volvo and see which ones they sell then go to a child seat outlet and buy the same one (it will probably be cheaper!).
I called Volvo and they said Britax makes their seats, but then Britax told me none of theirs are suitable.
I called them back, and they said for Isofix I needed a long list of things, but for a Volvo Isofix car seat it would cost me about £300, including the Isofix stuff. For Isofix on its own they wanted over £100, but then you'd be looking at £200 for an Isofix car seat separately. They also said they have no non-Isofix car seat available. Based on this, I am buying the seatbelt extender.
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Here it is! One of these fitted my S60 so it ought to go in an S80 too. Note the hooked channel on the nearest corner in the picture: the lower portion of the belt goes through here, rather than right under or round the other side as in some other designs. Felt just as secure this way and used a lot less webbing. If you've not yet ordered the extender, I recommend you take a look at this.
(Perhaps a mod can trim the link for me!)
tinyurl.com/2b9waq
A pleasure Sir. Of course one can do it oneself on the tinurl sticky above ! tugs forelock and goes to make tea. pU
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Did'nt Volvo invent the inertia reel seat belt and decide not to patent it for the good of all the world?
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Did'nt Volvo invent the inertia reel seat belt and decide not to patent it for the good of all the world?
They might have licensed it cheap/free, but there certainly is a patent. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seat_belt#History
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Here it is! One of these fitted my S60 so it ought to go in an S80 too.
So you'd think, but not according to Britax:
S60 fitting:
www.britax.co.uk/FitFinder/GB/Results.php?TestID=3...5 offers three positions, passenger, or either rear side seat, but warns "The seat belt was only just long enough. "
S80 fitting:
www.britax.co.uk/FitFinder/GB/Results.php?TestID=2...6 says only the rear middle seat is acceptable, using an alternative fitting., which seems like a bit of a pain
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