We have recently upgraded our car seat to the Joie Every Stage fx.

Last week Erin turned four, and having been through quite a growth spurt both in height and weight, was rapidly growing out of her existing car seat. In recent months, we also started to have some concerns about her Harry Houdini capabilities, as she had learned to press the release button on her five point harness and took great pleasure in doing so at the most inappropriate of moments! As a result, I was spending far more time than recommended turning around and checking she was still securely fastened, when I should have been focusing on the road ahead – far from ideal!

We were recently given the chance to road test the new Every Stage fx car seat from Joie, which can be used from birth all the way up to 12 years of age. This carseat is a follow on from the highly acclaimed Joie Every Stage seat, only this one has the added benefit and safety of isofix installation. For the purpose of this review, I have shown the car seat being used with my younger daughter (currently 9 months) as well ask Erin in the older stages. In the long term we will continue to use this seat with my eldest daughter.

About the Joie Every Stage fx

The Joie Every Stage fx car seat is a new 4 in 1 car seat, suitable from birth up until your child is 12 years old (up to 36kg), and quite literally; the seat grows with your child. The Joie Every Stage fx can be used rearward facing from birth to 4 years for those who wish to reap the safety benefits of an extended rearward facing option.

Some of the main features of the Joie Every Stage Isofix include

• Suitable rearward facing from birth to 18kg/4 years and forward facing from 9kg to 36kg/12 years
• 6 recline positions: 2 rear facing and 4 forward facing
• Easy installation with ISOFIX and a top tether when using in forward facing group 1 mode
• Side impact protection provides added security for the head, body, and hips
• Guard Surround Safety™ panels provide extra side protection and fold into seat when not in use
• A 10 position height adjustable headrest, which can be amended using one hand.
• AutoAdjust™ side wings which widen the seat as the headrest is raised to accommodate growing children
• Grow Together™ multi-height headrest and harness system adjust simultaneously and require no re-threading of harness
• Custom Harness Hideaway™ compartments store the 5-point harness when using as a Group 2/3 booster

Firsts Impressions of the Joie Every Stage Isofix Car Seat

My first impressions of the Joie Every Stage fx were very positive – it looks great – with lots of plush padding and inserts which are soft and comfortable to the touch. The seat comes in the one colour as standard – ‘Ember’, which is a dark charcoal grey/black. The newborn insert provides great cushioning for smaller babies, however I think a child would outgrow the need for this fairly quickly, and as such, we were able to remove much of the padding straight away. The girls had a quick sit in the seat in our lounge before we installed it in the car, and both seemed very happy and comfortable! 🙂

Installation of Joie Every Stage Fx

For the purpose of this review, we tested the Joie Every Stage Isofix seat in three of the four stages.

We first road tested the car seat with my younger daughter Neve who at the time of testing was 8 months old. We therefore set up the seat in it’s rearward facing setting using the five point harness. Initially we found the instructions a little on the complex side, and therefore my partner decided to watch a short video on YouTube to clarify his understanding. Although the instructions were clearly written, and the seatbelt path provided in diagrammatic form, he wanted to visually double check the seat belt installation, which is understandable with something related to child safety! We were a little confused at first as in rearward facing mode the car seatbelt passes across the side of the door panel, and this looked a little ‘odd’, however once you get used to this, it is still relatively easy to get your child in and out of the car.

There are two recline settings in rearward facing mode, which I personally would describe as ‘upright’ and ‘sleeping’ mode.

Swapping between stages

Swapping between the stages in this seat is very straight forward. The newborn insert can be removed when no longer required, and then you can simply lift the Grow Together™ head rest to swap between four stages. The straps of the five point harness adjust automatically, which is a huge positive, as well as the sides of the seat extending outwards as the height of the headrest increases. Once the child reaches the age of 4, the five point harness is no longer required, and the straps simply hide away in the chasis of the seat, before the normal car seat belt is applied using a strap hook on the back of the headrest.

Stage 1

Again for the purpose of the review, we transitioned the chair to the stage 1 setting, which Erin is currently about to outgrow. This setting again uses the five point harness and could be used both rearward and forward facing. We decided to set up as a forward facing seat at this stage. For me personally this was preferable as the seatbelt is less of a restriction when getting a larger child in and out of the seat. Erin is happy and comfortable in the chair and enjoyed the fact she could pop her drink in the side pocket.

There are 4 different recline settings when using the seat forward facing, ranging from very upright to a relaxed mode which would definitely be useful for longer car journeys or during a trip where she is likely to nod off during our commute.

The headrest offers good support around her head, and if she did nod off in the car (which still happens occasionally!) I was pleased to see that she did not lean forward, but had her head backwards resting against one of the sides.

Stage 2

Now that Erin is four, she is ready for what she has now termed the “big girl seat”. For this setting, the five point harness system is hidden away in the back of the chair using the custom harness hideaway. This process is really easy to do, with the straps simply tucking and slotting neatly away beneath the seat padding, along with the buckle / clip element of the five point harness. Instead of a harness, this seat setting now uses the car’s over body seatbelt, looping through a cushioned buckle and then hooking onto a large red clip behind the headrest. In this mode it was reassuring that Erin could no longer unbuckle the seat herself and she seemed pleased as punch to have a seat with a strap just like Mummy and Daddy!

Overall the Joie Every Stage fx is a great multi stage car seat, with a very high focus on comfort and safety. I love the fact it is so easy to shift between modes as your child grows, and both girls seemed happy and content in what is clearly a very padded and comfortable chair. There are a couple of elements I would change if given the choice (see below), and in reality I am not sure whether Erin will still want to be in it when she’s 12, however in terms of value for money, this one off purchase is a great long term investment for any family.

Pros & Cons of Joie Every Stage Fx

Pros:

• Excellent value for money, this car seat may be the only one you ever purchase, as can be used from the minute you leave the hospital, all the way up till your child becomes a teenager!
• An improvement from the first Joie Every Stage, this car seat has Isofix, strong safety ratings.
• Easy to swap between stages without needing a phd or degree in mechanical engineering – straps and sides of the seat adjust automatically with the headrest.
• Option to be used rearward facing up till 4 years
• Comfortable and well supported at each stage.
• Cup holder for older children to have their drink to hand – perfect for longer journeys.

Cons:

• In stage -0/1 rearward facing, the car seat belt does pass across the doorway, meaning that you do need to lift your child over the seat belt strap to get them in and out of the car. At first I thought this HAD to be a mistake as it seemed a little odd, but the Joie videos online confirmed that this was correct and accurately installed. Whilst 90% of the time this wasn’t a problem, if your baby nods off in the car, it does become that little bit more complicated to remove them without disturbing them.
• Because of the above, had I been using this long term with Neve, I personally would change it to forward facing when they were over 1 year old, as the seatbelt no longer runs past the door frame when forward facing. If I was more keen on keeping her rearward facing till 4 years of age, I think I would find this a little on the annoying side.
• As with any non portable car seat, this car seat is not travel system compatible and stays put in your vehicle. This means if you area out and about with your newborn, you will be transferring them from carseat to pushchair and would need to ensure you therefore have a pushchair with lie flat option that is stuiable from birth or use a carry cot.

You can learn more about the Joie Every Stage Fx carseat on the Joie website. Joie Every Stage isofix is available to buy at Boots and at the time of writing retails for £240. If you enjoyed this post why not check out our Joie Stroller review too?

*Disclosure – I was sent a Joie Every Stage Fx carseat free of charge for the purpose of this review, however all thoughts and opinions are my own. This post contains affiliate links*