Child car seats: How we test child car seats

The Which? child car seat tests reveal big differences between child car seats. Some protect babies and children well, but others expose them to the risk of serious injury or even death.

Watch the footage of the Which? child car seat testing (see above), which demonstrates the huge difference between a good child car seat and a bad child car seat. We show the shortcomings of the Little Shield Combi 123 and the Mamas & Papas Pro-Tour, compared with one of our Best Buy seats (the Britax Evolva 2-3 ISOFIT).

Be warned, the footage is quite harrowing, even though we’re using crash test dummies.

Which? tests the child car seats in two crash simulations: a front crash, equivalent to a head-on collision at around 40mph, and a side crash. The side crash reproduces what would happen if someone were to drive into the side of your car, simulating an impact speed of around 17.5mph.

Both tests use information taken from EuroNCAP car crash tests, which give an accurate indication of a 'real-life' accident. We measure the effect of these crashes on the child, including an assessment of the support offered to the child’s head.

Compulsory standard versus rigorous Which? testing for child car seats

All seats sold in the UK must meet the test requirements of the compulsory standard ECE R44/04. 

This simulates a low-speed crash test at the front of the vehicle, equivalent to around 30mph, without a child sustaining serious injury. But beware – the test is done on a test bench and there's no compulsory side-impact test, or ease of use assessment for child car seats.

Which? uses far more stringent standards than this. Our crash tests are derived from Euro NCAP – which carries out crash testing on behalf of European consumers and shows how well cars protect occupants in severe accidents. Our testing does a similar thing for child seats and more accurately reflects what happens in real crashes than the legal minimum test.  Which? tests harder, so you can buy better.

Which? car seat testing - crash tests

Our front-crash test uses loads derived from a 40mph crash, and we also carry out a side-impact crash test. 

We propel a Vauxhall Astra car body down a track, stopping it sharply and filming the effects on the dummy in the seat. Our dummies are wired up to record the head, neck, chest and pelvic loads, accurately indicating what chances a real child would have in similar circumstances.

Which? car seat testing - ease of use

Another omission from the legal requirements is ease-of-use tests. We check whether each seat is easy to install and adjust in a range of cars, considering both Isofix and seat-belt modes. And we look at the instructions to see whether there are any ambiguous areas which could lead to incorrect fitting of the child car seat.

If a seat is difficult to install, it’s more likely to be incorrectly fitted, which could increase injury, or even death, in a crash. Remember the Which? test score only applies if you've installed the child car seat correctly. On belted car safety seats, any slack in the seat belt will ruin the protection they offer.

Trial Which? today to find out which child car seats we rated as Best Buys, or log in if you already have member access.