The Britax Rӧmer ADVANSAFIX IV R is a great-looking car seat that offers a deep seat and softly padded side wings with plenty of cushioning to keep your child comfortable, right up to 12 years old.

Having additional safety features such as the built-in SICT safety concept and clever SecureGuard gives you peace of mind that your child is very safe in a car seat by a much-trusted brand like Britax Rӧmer. It’s also good to know that the ADVANSAFIX IV R was tested by ADAC – the most stringent car seat safety testing currently available – in June 2019 with a rating of ‘Good’ and a grade of 2.3.

Fantastic news if you have a full car is that thanks to the slim fit of this seat, it is possible to fit three of them across the back seat of certain cars. Brilliant if you have three children close in age or often have extra passengers!

For installation when harnessed, the ADVANSAFIX IV R uses ISOFIX and Top Tether, for older children using a high back booster it is ISOFIX and the vehicle seat belt to secure the child – just the vehicle seat belt if you don’t have ISOFIX in your car. 

Safety features are always plentiful on Britax Rӧmer car seats, so you won’t be surprised to see the latest technology used for the side impact protection on this seat. The SICT safety concept is designed by unscrewing the circle closest to the car door (this can’t come right out so won’t get lost). On impact, this moves the energy force around the back of the seat, rather right into the side of the seat and child. The V-shaped headrest also provides protection, minimising head movement should the worst happen.

To keep the child secure from 9-18kg there is a soft and padded five-point harness. Britax Rӧmer has covered the harness pads in neoprene, which not only keeps them comfortable, but also reduces their movement in a collision. The headrest adjustment moves the harness up too and is done easily with the button at the back.

There are three recline positions, which is unusual for a high-back booster and perfect if you travel longer distances or your child just likes to sleep in the car!

The adult seatbelt can be used with a child over 15kg. This crossover period between weights is just to allow for the size and age differences of children, and it’s recommended to keep them harnessed until they reach the maximum weight and are able to sit properly in the seat with the vehicle seat belt – around 4 years old. The harness tucks away in to the seat, under the covers with the FLIP&GROW function, meaning there’s nothing to remove from the seat, so nothing can get lost and it can be converted back at any time.

A clever feature of the ADVANSAFIX IV R is the SecureGuard. When used with the vehicle’s own seat belt, the SecureGuard offers an additional point for the lap belt to pass through which helps to keep it in an optimal position over the child’s pelvic bones, rather than riding up over their abdominal area.

The current safety guidelines advise that newborn babies are not left in their car seat for longer than 30 minutes. For babies 2-6 months, no longer than 2 hours. It is also safer to keep your child rear-facing for as long as possible –  a minimum of 15 months but ideally 4 years. A child should never be in their harnessed car seat with a thick winter coat or snowsuit on.