Best 360 and swivel car seats for babies: tried and tested

The Nuna TODL Next Won Gold in the Mother&Baby Awards 2024, taking the top spot on our list. We love its sleek, modern design, smooth operation, high-quality construction, and customisability. It's lightweight, coming in at just over 8kg, and can be front or rear-facing, depending on your child's height.

Its five recline positions and ventilation panels make for a comfortable ride, and the shoulder harness expands with each of the six headrest positions. For extra safety, the side impact protection pod is designed to absorb energy earlier and significantly reduce the impact force should the worst happen.

Suitable from newborn until up to four years, our tester, Joe, found the Nuna TODL to be "the smoothest car seat" he'd ever used.

He said, "With other competing seats available, the two key points to take away from this seat review are its smooth operation and lightweight construction... Add on the ease of installation (you can install with the seatbelt if you do not have ISOFIX in your vehicle), its sturdy but lightweight build, and its age range being suited to most families' needs, and you won’t go wrong opting for this baby and toddler car seat."

The only drawback we could find? The base needs to be purchased separately.

Read our full Nuna TODL NEXT review

The Joie i-Spin 360 was awarded Gold in the Mother&Baby 2023 Awards, as we believe it's not only brilliant value for money but also really makes life easier for parents. In particular, we're big fans of the fact that it comes with an ISOFIX car seat base to attach to your car and spins in every direction at just the touch of a button, locking it in place securely for travelling.

With customisable body and head supports and a multi-height headrest and harness system, it can grow with your child, lasting until they're around four years old. It isn't the lightest on our list, weighing 13.9kg, so that's worth bearing in mind.

Our mum tester, Rebecca, called this product "AMAZING", noting that she suffers from back pain and found that "using this to turn my child and get them out of the car with ease was a lifesaver. It’s 100 per cent made my life easier and I don’t actually know if I will ever be able to go back to a normal car seat now.”

For peace of mind, it comes with side impact protection for added security for the head, body, and hips. It can also be reclined into six different positions so that your little one can stay snuggly. Plus, with a removable and washable cover, this car seat ticks very few boxes.

Read our full Joie Baby i-Spin 360 review

A Gold winner in the Mother&Baby 2022 Awards, Silver Cross Motion All Size 360 grows with your baby up to 12 years, making it extremely good value for money. We like that it can be front or rear-facing, is easy to install, is adjustable, and is made from antibacterial bamboo fabrics, making it a more sustainable choice.

Our mum tester, Emma, loved how quick and easy it was to install using the ISOFIX points, taking less than five minutes. She said, "I was confident that it was installed securely and correctly with all the green indicators showing as well as little to no movement in the chair. The quality of the fabric and general make-up is of a high standard, reassuring me it will last my son for the next 9-10 years – unlike my daughter's seat, which is a cheaper brand and definitely won't last the 6-7 years I would like it to."

Adding to its sustainability credentials, Silver Cross offers a free car seat recycling service, in which the brand will collect your car seat free of charge and ensure every part of it is recycled. What's more, every Silver Cross car seat is covered by its replacement scheme, so if your insurance does not cover a replacement car seat, Silver Cross will provide one in the event of an accident.

It has eight headrest positions but only three recline positions, fewer than some others on the market.

As it's built to last several years, it's larger and heavier than some on our list, so it may be more difficult to switch between cars.

Read our full Silver Cross Motion All Size 360 car seat review

If you're after a versatile, well-made and excellent value car seat which promises to grow with your child from newborn right up to approximately 12 years of age (150cm), the Ickle Bubba Radial i-Size Plus 360 Car Seat could be the one for you. The 360 car seat features an integral, rotating ISOFIX base and clear visual indicators, confirming proper installation and conforming to Size standards, meaning the baby can be in a safer, rear-facing position up to 105cm (approximately four years).

Mother&Baby tester Matt Tomkins said, "the seat was quick and easy to install following directions in the supplied instruction booklet." He did feel that the seat should recline further than it does, saying, "One problem we have faced is that, while rear-facing even in the most reclined position, our daughter’s head tends to lol forward once she falls asleep", however, still thought his daughter seemed comfortable and secure in it.

May found the rotating mechanism, along with many of the other features - from installation to strap tightening and loosening and memory foam headrest adjustment - to be intuitive, but felt; "It lacks the advantage of a traditional infant car seat which can be lifted out and plonked onto pram wheels or carried into the house, sleeping baby in-situ."

Read the full Ickle Bubba Radial i-Size Plus 360 Car Seat review

The Ickle Bubba Radius 360 Spin seat is designed to take your child all the way from newborn to seven years old, starting them off facing rearwards and then spinning around so they can see out the front of the car from around 15 months onwards. The benefit of having this seat is that you can keep your children rear-facing for longer – this being safer when babies are younger, due to the development of their muscles. So when they are old enough, there’s no need to shell out for a new unit.

Mother&Baby tester and dad of two, Tom, tested the car set with his 20-month-old daughter who was seated facing forward in the car right from the start. When commenting on his experience with the car seat, he said, "It releases relatively easily, so you can give the seat a slight nudge to get it out of its locked position. It is possible while holding a small child, but it is a little fiddly." Tom liked the adjustable nature of the seat and how it can be tilted to different angles, saying, "Bea loves to look forward and engage with everyone around her the majority of the time, but at others, we have tried to encourage her to sleep in the car so being able to lie her back a little was handy. It’s an easy one-handed process to adjust the angle, too."

Our second Mother&Baby tester and mum of two, Gemma, liked that the Ickle Bubba Radius was a better price than the Joie 360 Spin, which she also uses, saying, "In comparison, the Ickle Bubba offers the same level of safety, comfort and usability. However, it is a better price than the Joie." She said, "The seat feels very robust and secure, and the build and quality of the safety features offered are undeniable. We love that the seat allows you to keep your child rear-facing for longer and that the 38-degree recline is a safer position for newborns - as well as being helpful for car naps - so we intend to use this for our next baby."

Read the full Ickle Bubba Radius 360 Spin Car Seat review

The Cosatto All in All Rotate i-Size Car Seat is a 360 rotate car seat. Cosatto is a household brand that is known for creating amazing products with adorable designs. It has a lot of safety features, too, making it a great choice for a car seat.

Mother&Baby tester and mum of three Hannah likes that it's a universal car seat that's suitable from 40cms to 150cms - which is approx. birth to 12 years, saying, "This is brilliant news for parents as it means that you should never have to buy another car seat for your child." She also liked that it's eco-friendly, being made from 12 recycled water bottles. 

One feature she loved was the five-point harness plus an anti-escape system. She said, "Once your child figures out that they can take their arms out of the harness restraints, it becomes very difficult to keep them from doing so. Cosatto has included an anti-escape system which clips around the harness making it almost impossible for your little one to get their arms out and in turn keeping them safer. I love this feature as it means I can drive knowing my child can't remove their arms."

Read the full Cosatto All in All Rotate i-Size Car Seat review