Child Seat in a R75 Tourer

Tourist · 28th July 2019, 22:28

Hello everyone,

The exciting news in our household is that my fiance and I are expecing a baby daughter in November - our first-born, and she's going to mean our lives change quite considerably in the near future!

One side-effect is that the 3-door BMW 1 Series will be up for sale but the trusty 75 with its load space, 5 doors and big-car safety will come into its own.

We're wondering what child seat options there are for the Tourer - it doesn't have ISOFix (I'm guessing it's not possible to retro-fit the mounting points?) and the Owners Manual says to refer to the MG-Rover accessories booklet.

Has anyone who has had experience of this got any recommendations?

A seat cover to protect the leather is the first item on the shopping list!

Many thanks,

Simon.

Heddy · 29th July 2019, 05:46

The seat we use for our granddaughter is part of the pushchair/stroller set up. It lifts out of the pushchair and just uses the seatbelt. It's rear facing, the seat belt laps over the top (the pushchair seat has it's own restraints) and clicks in, then loops around the child seat to fit in loops on it's rear. It in effect belts in the child seat in the same way it belts in a person. No doubt you've looked at many designs, this one enables the use of a seat you already have and doesn't need anything doing to the car.

macafee2 · 29th July 2019, 06:06

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tourist

Hello everyone,

The exciting news in our household is that my fiance and I are expecing a baby daughter in November - our first-born, and she's going to mean our lives change quite considerably in the near future!

One side-effect is that the 3-door BMW 1 Series will be up for sale but the trusty 75 with its load space, 5 doors and big-car safety will come into its own.

We're wondering what child seat options there are for the Tourer - it doesn't have ISOFix (I'm guessing it's not possible to retro-fit the mounting points?) and the Owners Manual says to refer to the MG-Rover accessories booklet.

Has anyone who has had experience of this got any recommendations?

A seat cover to protect the leather is the first item on the shopping list!

Many thanks,

Simon.

congratulations

macafee2

RobSun · 29th July 2019, 10:46

Not so long ago I purchased one for my ZT-T for my granddaughter. I picked one I thought would do the job and went to purchase one from a well known retailer of baby items. They said they would need to check the seat was suitable for the car and if not what was. They said it wasn't and that they didn't have any in stock that did fit the MG at that time.

Now the daughter in law had told me I had to go to that retailer because she was paranoid about the child's safety as you would expect and wanted to make sure I got the correct seat. She was adamant that I went there but with them not able to supply and needing it fairly urgently, as I was do to do a stint of baby sitting, I dropped into Halfords. Looked at their large display and selected one from the range of seats from £25.00 to £100s that looked the part and was fairly expensive. Whilst there I saw 2 couples buy the dirt cheap ones and at the check out were asked what car it was for and how old was the child and in both cases they refused to answer and went out with the seats. My turn came and I answered the questions. He looked at his screen and said sorry its not suitable, then called a lady who looked through the lists and came up with 2 makes, only one of which was in stock. I purchased it at a lot more than expected. Asking why it was a problem she said it had something to do with how the seatbelts were installed in the 75/ZT and most seats were not compatible. At least they fitted it for me and made sure I could take it out and re fit it.

Now mine was a tourer so I do not know if it applies to the saloons but I would strongly suggest you seek professional advise as it would seem not all seats are the same and the manufacturers have to say in there specs what cars it will fit. If its not on their lists it should not be fitted. The range available may well be reduced by the manufacturers not testing them in our cars now they are no longer made. Fortunately the one I purchased was the one recommended by Volvo so it fits in that also. Would have been well miffed If I had to have got another.

RoverP480 · 29th July 2019, 12:09

I suspect that it is now over 14 years since Rover went belly up and the seat manufacturers will not update their recommendation especially to include a car that has no factory back up . Its probable that the seats have never been checked for fitment to Rovers rather than they wont be suitable. Legally they will be a problem if they say its suitable if it hasn't been considered.

rrobson · 29th July 2019, 21:15

You can actually retrofit ISO-fix bars into a car which never came with them, and I would consider it provided you correctly reinforce the area with a minimum 100mm square plate at least 2mm thick between the body and the nut on each fastener, basically follow msa regs for seat harnesses.

Otherwise most will have the capability of being seatbelted in, and is what we did in my 75 at the time. ISO-fix are brilliant though, click them in no faffing with seat belts, then you gat a pram to match the seat and they come out with one hand straight into the pram, a doddle! Worth their weight in gold.

Meath77 · 30th July 2019, 11:03

For the newborn seat they are carried a lot in the cradle. I got a maxicosi cabriofix one but I got the easyfix base that it clicks into.

https://www.maxi-cosi.com/internatio...-seats/easyfix

The base is definitely worth getting, you'll find one on your local gumtree or whatever is popular in your area. Basically, install the base once, then each time you put the chair in, it clicks in or out really easy. You'll resell it very handy too when they're older too.
Wife had one on her car too (she had isofix in hers)

davros · 30th July 2019, 21:44

We have a Nuna Pipa Icon car seat and base. Isofix is so handy as it makes getting the car seat in and out a breeze as you just clip it in the base.

That said if you pick the right seat and base combo such as the one we have you can still use a base! In place of the isofix points you just put the seat belt through a specially designed loop on the base. It gives you the exact same functionality and safety, no faffing with a belt on the car seat every journey!

You don't need isofix.

daveycooper · 30th July 2019, 22:18

hello mate

I’ve got a 5 year old and a 9 week old baby in my 75 saloon.

For the baby, we have the maxi cosi “easy-fix base”that looks like isofix base but is actually held in place by seat belt. It feels just as secure as the isofix bases in our other cars. I think the seat itself is a maxi cosi pebble.

Definitely get some seat protectors, they work wonders. I’ve used two different ones off Amazon : “Drive auto products” and “Royal rascals”. Will check tomorrow which one I’ve been using on my 75’s black leather seats.

cheers
Davey

daveycooper · 31st July 2019, 08:54

I can confirm that I am actually using both the royal rascals seat protector and the Idrive seat protector (I’m using the idrive under the heavy baby “easybase”). No dents/indentations and no marks left on the leather by the rubber non-slip backing on either.

Also just checked and I see that the baby base I am using is the “easybase 2”. Not 100% sure but I think the easybase 2 that I have is the belt-only version whereas, I presume, the easybase or easybase 1 may be the isofix version? Just so you are aware when buying.

You can pick up easybase 2’s for between £5 and £30 secondhand. Always popping up on gumtree.

28th July 2019, 22:28	#1
Tourist Loves to post 2004 Rover 75 Tourer CDTi Join Date: Apr 2016 Location: Fulbourn, Cambridge Posts: 455 Thanks: 105 Thanked 123 Times in 101 Posts	Child Seat in a R75 Tourer Hello everyone, The exciting news in our household is that my fiance and I are expecing a baby daughter in November - our first-born, and she's going to mean our lives change quite considerably in the near future! One side-effect is that the 3-door BMW 1 Series will be up for sale but the trusty 75 with its load space, 5 doors and big-car safety will come into its own. We're wondering what child seat options there are for the Tourer - it doesn't have ISOFix (I'm guessing it's not possible to retro-fit the mounting points?) and the Owners Manual says to refer to the MG-Rover accessories booklet. Has anyone who has had experience of this got any recommendations? A seat cover to protect the leather is the first item on the shopping list! Many thanks, Simon.

29th July 2019, 21:15	#6
rrobson I really should get out more....... 75 tourer cdti, MG ZS 180, nissan terrano & 1.8t rover 25 Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: Pontefract Posts: 2,643 Thanks: 17 Thanked 295 Times in 218 Posts	You can actually retrofit ISO-fix bars into a car which never came with them, and I would consider it provided you correctly reinforce the area with a minimum 100mm square plate at least 2mm thick between the body and the nut on each fastener, basically follow msa regs for seat harnesses. Otherwise most will have the capability of being seatbelted in, and is what we did in my 75 at the time. ISO-fix are brilliant though, click them in no faffing with seat belts, then you gat a pram to match the seat and they come out with one hand straight into the pram, a doddle! Worth their weight in gold. __________________ How to view a car - everything you need to help you inspect a used car VIS motor tester avalible to local members Injector removal tool and auto gearbox pressure tester now available

31st July 2019, 08:54	#10
daveycooper Avid contributor 75 Saloon Join Date: Apr 2015 Location: newcastle Posts: 150 Thanks: 23 Thanked 23 Times in 16 Posts	I can confirm that I am actually using both the royal rascals seat protector and the Idrive seat protector (I’m using the idrive under the heavy baby “easybase”). No dents/indentations and no marks left on the leather by the rubber non-slip backing on either. Also just checked and I see that the baby base I am using is the “easybase 2”. Not 100% sure but I think the easybase 2 that I have is the belt-only version whereas, I presume, the easybase or easybase 1 may be the isofix version? Just so you are aware when buying. You can pick up easybase 2’s for between £5 and £30 secondhand. Always popping up on gumtree. Last edited by daveycooper; 31st July 2019 at 09:02..

29th July 2019, 05:46	#2
Heddy This is my second home None Join Date: Feb 2013 Location: None Posts: 5,556 Thanks: 465 Thanked 1,161 Times in 924 Posts	The seat we use for our granddaughter is part of the pushchair/stroller set up. It lifts out of the pushchair and just uses the seatbelt. It's rear facing, the seat belt laps over the top (the pushchair seat has it's own restraints) and clicks in, then loops around the child seat to fit in loops on it's rear. It in effect belts in the child seat in the same way it belts in a person. No doubt you've looked at many designs, this one enables the use of a seat you already have and doesn't need anything doing to the car.

29th July 2019, 10:46	#4
RobSun Gets stuck in MGZTT Join Date: Feb 2015 Location: Bradford Posts: 529 Thanks: 148 Thanked 256 Times in 138 Posts	Not so long ago I purchased one for my ZT-T for my granddaughter. I picked one I thought would do the job and went to purchase one from a well known retailer of baby items. They said they would need to check the seat was suitable for the car and if not what was. They said it wasn't and that they didn't have any in stock that did fit the MG at that time. Now the daughter in law had told me I had to go to that retailer because she was paranoid about the child's safety as you would expect and wanted to make sure I got the correct seat. She was adamant that I went there but with them not able to supply and needing it fairly urgently, as I was do to do a stint of baby sitting, I dropped into Halfords. Looked at their large display and selected one from the range of seats from £25.00 to £100s that looked the part and was fairly expensive. Whilst there I saw 2 couples buy the dirt cheap ones and at the check out were asked what car it was for and how old was the child and in both cases they refused to answer and went out with the seats. My turn came and I answered the questions. He looked at his screen and said sorry its not suitable, then called a lady who looked through the lists and came up with 2 makes, only one of which was in stock. I purchased it at a lot more than expected. Asking why it was a problem she said it had something to do with how the seatbelts were installed in the 75/ZT and most seats were not compatible. At least they fitted it for me and made sure I could take it out and re fit it. Now mine was a tourer so I do not know if it applies to the saloons but I would strongly suggest you seek professional advise as it would seem not all seats are the same and the manufacturers have to say in there specs what cars it will fit. If its not on their lists it should not be fitted. The range available may well be reduced by the manufacturers not testing them in our cars now they are no longer made. Fortunately the one I purchased was the one recommended by Volvo so it fits in that also. Would have been well miffed If I had to have got another.

29th July 2019, 12:09	#5
RoverP480 Gets stuck in None at the moment Join Date: Jan 2018 Location: Hereford Posts: 501 Thanks: 1 Thanked 165 Times in 146 Posts	I suspect that it is now over 14 years since Rover went belly up and the seat manufacturers will not update their recommendation especially to include a car that has no factory back up . Its probable that the seats have never been checked for fitment to Rovers rather than they wont be suitable. Legally they will be a problem if they say its suitable if it hasn't been considered.

30th July 2019, 11:03	#7
Meath77 Regular poster Rover 75 CDTI Connoisseur Join Date: Oct 2012 Location: Dublin Posts: 46 Thanks: 16 Thanked 2 Times in 2 Posts	For the newborn seat they are carried a lot in the cradle. I got a maxicosi cabriofix one but I got the easyfix base that it clicks into. https://www.maxi-cosi.com/internatio...-seats/easyfix The base is definitely worth getting, you'll find one on your local gumtree or whatever is popular in your area. Basically, install the base once, then each time you put the chair in, it clicks in or out really easy. You'll resell it very handy too when they're older too. Wife had one on her car too (she had isofix in hers)

30th July 2019, 21:44	#8
davros Regular poster Rover 75 Saloon Join Date: Aug 2016 Location: Norwich Posts: 40 Thanks: 6 Thanked 4 Times in 4 Posts	We have a Nuna Pipa Icon car seat and base. Isofix is so handy as it makes getting the car seat in and out a breeze as you just clip it in the base. That said if you pick the right seat and base combo such as the one we have you can still use a base! In place of the isofix points you just put the seat belt through a specially designed loop on the base. It gives you the exact same functionality and safety, no faffing with a belt on the car seat every journey! You don't need isofix.

30th July 2019, 22:18	#9
daveycooper Avid contributor 75 Saloon Join Date: Apr 2015 Location: newcastle Posts: 150 Thanks: 23 Thanked 23 Times in 16 Posts	hello mate I’ve got a 5 year old and a 9 week old baby in my 75 saloon. For the baby, we have the maxi cosi “easy-fix base”that looks like isofix base but is actually held in place by seat belt. It feels just as secure as the isofix bases in our other cars. I think the seat itself is a maxi cosi pebble. Definitely get some seat protectors, they work wonders. I’ve used two different ones off Amazon : “Drive auto products” and “Royal rascals”. Will check tomorrow which one I’ve been using on my 75’s black leather seats. cheers Davey