Maxi Cosi AxissFix Plus 360 Car Seat REVIEW

AD – Maxi Cosi AxissFix Plus gifted in exchange for my honest review 

Meet the Maxi Cosi AxissFix Plus.

After Neve was born last September, and the sepsis nightmare that followed, my postpartum mobility was somewhat of a challenge. It took me almost 3 months to walk properly again and get my strength back. Even when I did finally got back on my feet, I found it incredibly hard getting Neve in and out of the carseat – in particular leaning over to apply the seatbelt, and carrying her to and from the house. Now that she is getting a bit bigger, I am transitioning to car seat that remains permanently fixed, so no longer need to worry about lugging her around whilst bruising my knees! Woohoo!

When I heard about the new Maxi Cosi AxissFix Plus – an isofix carseat which swivels 360 degrees, enabling your child to be buckled up easily from the doorside – I couldn’t wait to find out more!

First Impressions of Maxi Cosi AxissFix Plus

We were sent the Maxi Cosi AxissFix Plus in Nomad Sand – a beautiful grey green shade, which looks absolutely stunning. My first thought was how beautiful this car seat was, closely followed by “I hope she’s not sick in it”. I needn’t have worried however, as I quickly learnt that the seat linings are fully washable should that event occur!

There are 11 different colours available, meaning that you could even match the colour to your car interiors should you wish. This makes a pleasant change from being limited to one or two shades. Whilst they are all variations of Red, Grey and Black, it is great to have some variety.

About the Product

The Maxi Cosi AxissFix Plus retails at around £350 and includes the isofix base. The AxissFix Plus is suitable for your baby from birth to four years- this is an enhancement to Maxi Cosi’s predecessor AxissFix carseat which was only suitable from 9 months.

The seat of the AxissFix Plus allows your child to rearward face up until they are 87cm in height (which is about two years old). After that, the seat rotates into a forward facing seat for children of 87cm-105cm. A clip on the bottom of the seat is used to specify which ‘mode’ it is being used in, preventing the seat from swivelling the entire 360 degrees in one turn.

The seat comes with a highly padded and very cozy looking newborn inlay, which in our case wasn’t required, however, had I been using with Neve from newborn, I would have been confident that she would have been snug and secure in this seat.

Before installation, you can check online that your car is suitable HERE  by popping in your car’s brand, model and type.

Installing the Maxi Cosi AxissFix Plus

The Maxi Cosi AxissFix Plus was VERY easy to install – using the isofix ports, the seat simply clicks into place. You then need to tether the seat to the anchor point in the boot, and then specify the orientation depending on which side of the vehicle you are placing the seat.

Mike installed the seat for me, however, I think it was so straight forward that I may have been able to do this on my own without assistance (this is a rarity!). There are also detailed videos available on YouTube which may be easier to follow for those that prefer visual instructions.

Once installed, the seat has two green indicators to show that it has been installed accurately. This is great for reassurance and peace of mind.

The seat took about 10 minutes to install and whilst straightforward, we wouldn’t want to be swapping from one car to another with this seat regularly due to the tether in the boot (my boot is usually pretty full of rubbish!). As such, we will be using this as a permanently fixed seat in just the one car.

Our Experience of the Maxi Cosi AxissFix Plus

The seat is incredibly easy to use, and it is such a refreshing change to be able to secure your child in the seat without needing to lean over or bend at a funny angle. With the seat facing the door, I can very quickly and easily pop Neve in the seat and apply the harness whilst standing relatively straight – no excess pressure on my back!

Rotating the AxissFix Plus

Once the seat is fitted in your car, you specify whether you are using the seat in forward facing or rearward facing mode using the scale on the bottom of the seat. This is to ensure that it only rotates 180 degrees and in the right direction 🙂

To rotate the seat, you simply use the handles under base of the chair, pull and rotate to the doorway, where you can then easily pop your child in the seat without having to lean. If you wish, you can recline the seat whilst it is facing you too.

Once the child is securely in place, you then lift the handle and rotate the seat back to its desired position (in our case rearward facing).

It feels a little high tech, and Neve finds the rotating process particularly amusing 🙂

The Harness

The five point harness on the AxissFix Plus is one of my favourite elements of the chair. The straps are really long when fully extended which I found a real positive, making it super easy to get even the most wriggly of children in and out. The straps also have a rubber underside, making it harder for younger babies to slip out of the harness and keeping the protective shoulder pads in place.

Built with practicality in mind, another clever feature of this seat is the hooks present on both straps. These nifty rubber hooks mean that the straps mean that they can be clipped up out of the way whilst you get your child in the seat – a massive help with a very wriggly toddler!

To loosen straps to remove your child you simply press down on a button in the front of the seat and pull.

Recline Settings

There are four reclining positions in both directions on the Maxi Cosi AxissFix Plus – great for snoozing on the go, which Neve tends to do the minute we get in the car!

In her first stage car seat, The Maxi Cosi Pebble, Neve sometimes used to slump forwards when she nodded off, and I always used to worry that she would hurt her little neck! I had read a few reviews of this seat reporting something similar, however we have personally not had that happen with Neve. She looks MUCH more comfortable in the AxissFix Plus, leaning her head back into the cushioned headrest, and nodding off leaning up against the side.

There isn’t much I can critique about the Maxi Cosi Axiss Fix Plus, as it has been a big hit overall.

The only real con I can identify is the fact it can only be used rearward facing until approximately 2 years. For safety conscious parents who have been following the iSize regulations closely, they may prefer a seat that can remain rearward facing until they are four. For us personally, we would most likely change to forward facing within this time scale anyway, so it wasn’t a major concern for me.

It is also a fixed car seat, so is not travel system compatible, meaning you would need to have a pushchair suitable from birth alongside this seat when using with a newborn.

Overall I absolutely love the swivel concept behind the AxissFix Plus, and would definitely recommend to any parent who has mobility or back problems, or indeed anyone who wants to make life that little bit more straightforward!

You can learn more about the Maxi Cosi AxissFix Plus carseat on the Maxi Cosi website here.

*Disclosure – we were sent a Maxi Cosi AxissFix Plus free of charge for the purpose of this review, however all thoughts and opinions are our own. This post contains affiliate links*