When I say budget-friendly, that means that if you have a max £250 budget – you will be able to afford all of the extended rear-facing (ERF) car seats on this list. Whether or not they fit your car though, I can not guarantee!
I’ve set £250 as the maximum, however, two of the seats on the list are just under the £200 mark!
A 25kg ERF seat is what you want to buy for ANY child that is over the 50th percentile scale for weight!
List of Seats
- Axkid Move (£225 PLUS Tested) Read our review.
- Britax Max Way (£180-225 prices seem to vary. PLUS Tested)
- Britax Two Way Elite (£185) Read our old review, this seat must brace on the front seat as it has no load leg.
- Britax Multitech III (£220-250 prices seem to vary)
- Diono Radian 5 (£240 – this is the new and updated version. This seat is also flight approved. Has no leg so must brace on the front seat.) Read our review of the older version.
From the list, I will always prefer to recommend the PLUS tested seats over none-PLUS tested seats. However, this is a post taking into account budgets and I do understand that sometimes that extra ££ that might seem like few, can be quite hard to come by.
Tips For Saving Up
I’m not going to tell you that spending up to £250 on a car seat is going to be easy peasy for everyone. Because it’s not. For many families in the UK – this is an extremely high cost to pay for a car seat.
Especially when you can just pop to ASDA and the likes and get something for far far less. BUT!!
That seat will not take your high percentile child to a safe booster age before it’s outgrown.
What you have to know is that if you start saving up for a 25kg seat from the very start, even from birth, it is well worth it.
There is a rule of thumb that children only need three car seats in their lifetime, and following this rule can save you a lot of money and stress:
- Infant car seat (Group 0+. From birth to approximately 12-18 months with some lasting babies until about 2 years old.)
- Extended Rear Facing car seat to 25kg. (From approximately 6 months old or 9kg – 6 years old. Depends on the seats but most last your average child to 125cm tall)
- High Back Booster. (This is the very last car seat and uses the adult seatbelt to secure the child. The child should not be switched into this type of seat belt until their 25kg car seat has been outgrown.)
As for actual tips on saving, don’t be afraid to ask for money for the new car seat when friends/family asks what you or the little one wants for XYZ event.
- Using the infant car seat to the maximum will also give you more time to save. I wrote an article on affordable infant car seats for under £100 which I recommend looking at.
- A money pot specifically for the car seat? Some people have a ‘swear pot’, it could be worth doing something similar for the car seat? The same pot could then also be used for any donations friends/family wish to make towards the car seat.
- Some people will say to take it out on finance if that is an option at the retailer, but I would vary of doing that without checking with the retailer. Be very careful to read the small print! And make sure you don’t end up in a debt situation!
That’s not to say it’s a bad idea full stop – I just want you to really check the conditions before you do it.
Higher Budget?
If you have a slightly higher budget or can afford to go just over £250 then there is another seat I would recommend for you.
- Britax Max Way Plus (£290 this seat is an updated version of the Max Way. PLUS Tested.)
I hope you found this article useful and that I could help you find some options!
Not all car seats fit in all cars, so it’s extremely important that you try car seats in the car before buying. I always recommend visiting a specialist ERF retailer and not rushing to find deals online.
A 25kg ERF seat is what you want to buy for ANY child that is over the 50th percentile scale for weight!
Therese has completed the ‘Advanced Child Car Seat Training Course’ at TRL (Transport Research Lab) and is a CPD accredited car seat expert. She blogs about in-car safety, car seats, tips, reviews, giveaways and advice. She’s a mum on a mission to change the law and raise awareness. She is also a breastfeeding advocate and gentle parenting promoter who loves cloth nappies, baby-wearing, BLW and co-sleeping/bed-sharing.