Shortly after LM was born, we were asked if we would like to review the new and innovative car seat from German brand Kiddy. The Kiddy Evo-Lunafix car seat is a 0+ car seat meaning it is suitable from birth – 13kg (approx. 15 mths). It is innovative because it has patented Kiddy Lie Flat Technology and is the first car seat that can be moved into an ergonomic lie-flat position which is best for baby’s spine.

The general rule is that newborn babies should not be in a car seat for more than 30 minutes, and older babies no more than 2 hours, as it is not good for their little backs and because the position of their legs can press on their stomach and lungs, potentially leading to breathing difficulties. With the Evo-Lunafix there is no such time limit as baby can be laying flat, in the car or on the pushchair.

I was really intrigued and excited to take a look at this fantastic new car seat!

image courtesy of kiddy.de

The seat works in conjunction with the Kiddy Isofixbase2 which makes the seat easy to click and lift in and out of the car. We previously had the Maxi-Cosi Cabriofix and isofix base and we love being able to click the car seat in without faffing about with straps. (It is worth noting that the Evo-Lunafix cannot be used in a car without the isofix base. A list of cars compatible with the Isofix base can be found here. The Kiddy Evolution Pro 2 can be used without isofix, I haven’t reviewed it but I understand that while it won’t recline in the car, it can be reclined on the pushchair or flat, i.e once you get home.) 

If anything, the Kiddy seat clicks in easier than our Maxi-Cosi seat and is a little lighter. It is fantastic to be able to just click the seat in and go. It is quite long however and in our car (an 08 Honda Civic) it is a bit snug and in order for it to fit in the lie-flat position the front seat has to be pulled quite far forward, which isn’t great for Hub’s long legs! I guess it depends on exact dimensions in the car and the angles of the seats, a smaller car than ours may have more room in the back. With the handle in the recline position the length from handle to the foot of the seat is 76cm, if that helps anyone!

The lie-flat function of the seat is linked with the handle, so by pushing the handle back, the position of the seat changes so that baby is lying flat. There is a great animation of this on the Kiddy website. This is a fantastic feature if you are going on a long journey with your little one as they can happily lie in the back of the car without you having to worry about the effect it has on their back or their breathing. It is also great if, like most babies, your little one tends to fall asleep in the car seat. Often when out for a walk or in the car LM has fallen asleep and when you get home there is the usual dilemma. Do I move her and risk waking her? Or leave her be? How long should I leave her in the car seat for? With the Kiddy Evo-Lunafix there is no dilemma. Because you can have baby in the lie flat position, there is no rush to move her.

LM comfily dozing in the lie-flat position after a trip out

The only downside to the movement being linked to the handle is potentially having to change baby’s position when moving the seat from the car to the buggy – I guess it depends how light a sleeper your baby is, although you can move the seat without using the handle, but it is certainly trickier!

The Kiddy Evo-Lunafix can be used as a travel system, as with many car seats these days. You can get connectors which fit on to a lot of pushchairs. Unfortunately it isn’t compatible with the Phil & Teds Pushchair we have so Kiddy kindly sent us their City’nMove pushchair for the purpose of the review ( separate review on that to follow). It attaches pretty easily and again means that if you are out and about, baby can lie flat in the car seat and be moved indoors still in the flat position. You can find a list of compatible pushchairs on the Kiddy website (if you scroll almost to the bottom, below the video you will see the full list).  The buttons to detach the car seat from the travel system adaptor are in a slightly awkward position for lifting the seat off the pushchair, but it is easily do-able.

out and about

The car seat comes in some gorgeous colours and we opted for the lovely teal option, Hawaii. It has a fantastic sunshade which I love as it extends a long way, giving a lot of protection from the sun which can sometimes be very harsh on a little baby staring up at the sky! It also has a slatted design which prevents baby’s back from getting to sweaty. With Monkey being a summer baby I found that he very quickly became uncomfortable sitting in a hot car seat so this definitely appeals to me.

protected from the sun by the fab sunshade

Because the seat is in the 0+ group it adapts as your baby grows. There is a newborn insert, which honestly we never needed for LM, and you can also get an insert for tiny or premature babies too. The height adjust is actually one of my favourite things on this car seat (saddo I know) because it is so easy to do. I admit to dreading changing the height setting on some of our previous car seats as they are just a rigmarole, whereas adjusting the height on this one took seconds.

I do have a couple of slight niggles about the straps on this seat though. The button to lengthen the straps is under the fabric and is in the perfect position with the handle is up, but when the seat is in a lie-flat position it is tricky to locate in order to lengthen the straps if you want to strap baby in once they are in that position. Also, our Maxi-Cosi seat has a some handy places to tuck in the straps while you put the baby in the seat. Without these the straps do have the tendency to fall back and end up under baby. Not a huge issue and certainly not a deal breaker, but being used to having a seat with places to tuck the straps we noticed their absence.

In summary:

Pros

• There is no doubt that the Lie-Flat function is fantastic and a huge plus point – giving you peace of mind when baby is in the car seat for extended periods of time.
• The maxi sunshade is brilliant and gives a lot of protection from the sun
• The slatted back prevents baby’s back from getting too hot and sweaty
• It has the easiest height adjust I have seen on an infant car seat
• Super easy to click in and out of the car on the Isofix2 base
• Compatible with a wide variety of pushchairs
• Lovely vibrant colours and designs

Cons

• With the lie-flat function attached to the handle, it is tricky to move the seat when in the lie-flat position.
• No tie backs for the straps and the button to lengthen the straps is tricky to locate in the lie-back position.
• The buttons to detach from the travel system adaptor are in a slightly awkward place when lifting the seat
• It is quite long when in the lie-flat position (76cm) so may be snug in smaller cars.

So yes, in order to provide a balanced review there are a couple of things that niggle me a little with the Kiddy Evo-Lunafixcar seat – but I don’t think any car seat is ever going to be perfect and I think the lie-flat function outweighs any cons I have found.  None of them inhibit the use of the seat and I found you just got used to them and worked around them after a while.

This car seat really is the first of its’ kind with this ability to recline the seat and make it safer for our babies. It is a lovely style and so easy to use as it clicks so simply in and out of the Isofixbase2. LM is super comfy in it and it has lots of lovely features, such as the slatted back, and the longer than average sunshade, which make it even comfier for her. It really is a great car seat with a great solution to the problem of how long to keep a baby in a car seat.

We received the Kiddy Evo-Lunafix Car Seat or the purpose of this review however all thoughts, opinions and photographs are my own.