The 7 best car seats for four-year-olds 2024

The Silver Cross Motion All Size 360 Car Seat is soft and breathable with natural bamboo fibres and comes with plenty of safety measures. Little ones will stay protected with every journey thanks to the Side Protection System; it was awarded ‘Best baby, toddler and child car seat’ in the ADAC 2022 Autumn Test (ADAC stands for the Allgemeiner Deutscher Automobil-Club, an experts' safety organisation that evaluates car seat safety). 

The ISOFIX base keeps the seat firmly locked in place, and it's the first rotating car seat of its kind to meet the latest R129 (i-Size) regulation.

You can buy this seat when your baby is a newborn and it will grow through baby, toddler, and child stages; our mum tester Maria said: "The 360 capabilities are revolutionary. I know friends of mine who 7/8 years ago said this feature on a car seat was unheard of, so I feel very lucky to have this type of car seat on the market during my young children's lives. I love that I can pop my LO in and out of the car without having to strain my back and especially during postpartum recovery, it's an additional help – I can see all the straps directly in front of me and am able to secure LO into her seat as safe as possible and without the stress of leaning into the car."

When it comes to fitting this car seat, you can download the free Silver Cross app on to your smartphone for additional instructions and how-to information - it’s handy to do this before you buy the car seat, as you can check whether it’s compatible with your make and model of car. 

When the car seat grows with your child, you can store the harness away and use it as a booster seat, and the headrest is adjustable. It’s currently available in three neutral colours; the fabric is easy to wipe clean, and made from recycled plastic bottles for added sustainability. 

We tested this car seat as part of the Mother&Baby Awards 2022, when it won Gold for Best Multi Stage Car Seat.

Read our full Silver Cross Motion All Size 360 Car Seat review.

A car seat that’s suitable to buy at birth and will grow with your child, the Joie Every Stage R129 features a range of safety features to give you peace of mind that your little one is as safe as possible in the car. The Joie Every Stage R129 car seat is suitable from birth to 36kg – about 12 years.

The rear-facing position is designed to suit your baby from birth to about four years (105cm tall); then, when your little one grows, change to forward-facing from 100-145cm (from about four to 12 years old). When in rear-facing, the seat uses a five-point harness; in forward-facing, it uses the car’s seat belt. It’s easy to know where the seat belt goes thanks to green markers and indicators. Guard Surround Safety panels provide extra side protection, and the headrest has three layers of foam for additional side protection.

Once you’ve changed to a forward-facing booster seat position, the harness easily tucks away with storage slots underneath the covers; M&B tester and Contributor Sophie Knight said: “I really liked that there is integrated storage for the harness once you progress to the booster seat, and need to tuck the harness away. Much easier than having to unthread the harness and take it out. I was confident it was stored safely and out of the way so my daughter was still comfy and it wasn’t in the way.”

The seat is designed to grow with your child, making sure they’re always comfortable with six recline positions, and side wings that expand when the headrest height is increased; Sophie continued: “It’s pretty easy to set up and install this car seat in both rear- and forward-facing positions, making sure the seat belt is secured in the coloured slots and is nice and tight. I did miss the security of ISOFIX with this seat, however. But, it was very comfy for my daughter to sit in during journeys, and for newborns there was plenty of padding and comfort with the newborn inserts. It’s easy to change the height of the headrest, and it’s a secure booster seat.”

It’s easy to change the recline position, and easy to see which position it’s in thanks to the clear numbers underneath. It’s not compatible with ISOFIX however.

This new Minikid car seat allows extended rear-facing up to seven years of age, up to 125cm and 36kg. The headrest automatically adjusts according to your child's height and size, or if you prefer to keep things fixed, there are 14 headrest positions to choose from. 

The toddler support cushion is made from comfy memory foam and gives even the smallest children a comfortable and safe position; mum tester Samantha said: "I was not worried that it might move around like other car seats I have tried. Baby looked comfortable in it and had ample space without being cramped or too much space to move around. The headrest and back space for the car seat has a design which seems to fit into baby's back shape, baby could rest back in the seat and have more comfort than a rigid car seat, while still being secure and protected."

Automatically lowering tethers mean installation is a lot easier than some seats, but do read the instructions first to make sure you know what’s going where; the instructions are clear, and just being able to wriggle it into place and know that installation is correct gives you peace of mind; however, not all testers agreed it was straightforward, with one mum saying: “It took two people a very long time so definitely not one for easily switching between cars. There is a helpful video to show you what to do but it was still rather a mission!”

The brand claims this seat allows your child up to 30cm of leg room, but this really does depend on your make and model of car. The Minikid can be installed in any seat in the car - all three of the back seat positions, or even the front seat if suitable. 

What’s different to other car seats is the design of the headrest, which, in a V-shape, not only allows your child to see out of the window with ease, but also absorbs shocks and force should you be in an accident. 

We tested this car seat as part of the Mother&Baby Awards 2023, where it won Bronze for Best Baby/Toddler Car Seat (Stage 1/2). 

Read our full Axkid Minikid 3 review.

With 360 degrees of rotation, that you can move with just one hand, this car seat is a smooth and easily operated option from birth to about four years. 

It has indicators on the base to show you if it’s been installed correctly, with an easy-to-use ISOFIX integrated base. It’s quick to click the seat in, and take out - the brand says ‘with just one hand’ but in reality it’s always easier with two. 

It features what’s called the ‘HERO’ harness, a five-point harness designed to keep your child safe and secure; this works with the adjustable headrest that grows as your little one does. 

It’s available in two colours.

Designed for three-year-olds and up, this booster seat has 10 different height positions that can be adjusted using just one hand. The Joie seat comes packed with protection, including the Guard Surround Safety side impact panels for full-body impact protection and ISOFIX connectors, meeting R129 and i-Size regulations for ultimate safety.

This forward-facing seat is suitable from 15-36kg – that’s roughly three to 12 years old. It is installed in your car using ISOFIX, although you can also just use the car’s seat belt; M&B tester and Contributor Sophie Knight said: “I like that you can use this with just the car’s seat belt in case your car doesn’t have ISOFIX. The only downside I found to this booster was that the ISOFIX connectors were really difficult to release; the position of the buttons meant it was incredibly difficult to get my fingers in the right place and I have to admit to swearing quite a lot when taking this seat out.”

It’s lightweight – weighing just 5.6kg, making it easy to swap out between cars.

The headrest has 10 height positions, there are two positions for the back rest, and you can also extend the size of the seat depth with three positions – this makes it different to most booster seats that lack this adjustment; Sophie continued: “It’s great that this booster seat features so much adjustability, meaning it suits all those growth spurts your child has. Having adjustable positions for the seat really sets this one apart from most others on the market.”

The Joie Signature range means this booster seat is more stylish than most, with design details setting it apart and making it smart to look at; plus, the covers are still removable and machine-washable.

This sturdy high-back booster from Cybex features built-in side impact protection, a patented reclining headrest, ISOFIX, an 11-position height adjustable headrest, and an adjustable backrest. It’s available in six colours. 

You can install this booster seat using just the seat belt, but there’s also the option of connecting it with ISOFIX; our mum tester Sarah said: "We had this seat for both my kids (4&6). Yesterday a drunk driver hit us and we were flipped clean over. We walked away without a mark and the police say the only reason they were unharmed was the quality of these seats. They were very impressed by how they performed. Needless to say I have already ordered two more for when we get a new car."

It’s pretty easy to lift move out of the car, so it’s a good option if you need to swap it between yours and your partner’s car, or the grandparents’.

This affordable car seat is suitable from about 15 months to 12 years (76-150cm tall). It's a high-back booster seat, with two options for forward-facing positions; when your child is about 15 months to four years old, use the seat with the harness for added safety and security; then, when they've grown, you can use the seat with your car's seat belt. The harness can be stored and tucked away behind the seat padding.

This seat is an upgrade from previous Graco high-back booster seats, as this features ISOFIX fittings to install the car seat with even more safety; M&B tester and Contributor Sophie Knight commented: "The ISOFIX installation was one of the easiest to use, with simple click buttons to get the seat installed safely and by myself. Having ISOFIX when your child is older and using the booster with the seat belt, not the harness, gives extra peace of mind. There is also a top tether available to fix behind the main car seat, although my car wasn't compatible with this."

There are handy green coloured indicators to show the seat has been installed correctly, and the green fittings to slide the seat belt through are easy to use. The harness connector button can be a little fiddly, however; Sophie Knight continued: "I did find the harness connector one of the trickiest, as the two side sections didn't stay together as easy as some car seat harnesses do. It's a small thing but can make things more troublesome when you've got a wriggly child and the thing won't stay together long enough to click in easily. But it just takes a bit of perseverance!"

The high-back headrest has 15 positions - that's more than most booster seats - and the handle for altering the height is easy to use. The seat weighs 7.2kg meaning it's easy to take out and swap between cars if you need to; Sophie Knight said: "It's lightweight meaning it's a breeze to move it from my car to my husband's, and it was easy to re-fit, without being heavy or clunky."

Graco have made the seat from memory foam so it's comfy and soft on car journeys; plus, the covers are removable and machine washable for those inevitable spillages.