Introducing the Maxi Cosi New G Seat
At the Adelaide Baby Show recently Maxi Cosi announced that they will be realeasing in June 2015 the Maxi Cosi new G seat. When parents look at the current Maxi Cosi Aura, they will be excused for believing that the Aura is a G type child restraint; that Maxi Cosi intended to release. However the Aura is only a B/E type seat meaning that you have to stop using the internal harness at approximately 4 years of age and then go to booster mode.
Why not use a Booster Seat
When using a child restraint as a booster; the child needs to use the adult lap sash seat-belt, the sash part normally goes through a seat belt guide and then goes underneath the arm rest of the child restraint. however all this assumes your child is the right height to be in a booster. A general guide is that the sash part of the seat belt should go across the middle of the shoulders and that there should not be any gap (usually indicates the child is not the right height) between the sash of the seat belt and the chest of your child. I have even seen some parents migrate children into booster mode once they hit 4 years of age and then move children automatically into just an adult seat belt once they hit 7 years of age simply because the road authority website indicates that 7 years of age is when children can use a adult seat belt.
What is a G type Car seat
A G type child restraint is an extended forward facing child restraint; where the child will be internally harnessed to approximately 8 years of age with a torso length of around 51 cm.
A G-type car-seat can only be used forward facing and is from 6 months of age upwards. However it is recommended to keep children rear facing for at least 12 months and when the budget can afford it; buy an A4 extended rear facing child restraint so that the child can be up to 30 months of age until they are forward facing height markers.
Maxi Cosi Aura Child restraint
All the marketing material for the Maxi Cosi Aura would indicate that that Aura is a B/E type child restraint, However when inspecting the Aura for the first time, you would be forgiven for believing that the Maxi Cosi Aura was intended as a G type Child restraint as there is an easy adjusting harness which does not stop at the 4 year old height marker.
When using the Maxi Cosi Aura as a booster seat, the harness must be disconnected from the splitter plate at the rear and the buckle must be tucked away. It is then possible to use the seat belt guide path for the sash part of the seat belt and pass the seat belt according to the aura instruction manual. You may notice that the sash part of the seat belt does not pass through the seat belt guide as freely as it should. Test the booster and the looseness to see if the seat belt retracts smoothly should you child lean forward while you are driving. If it does not retract smoothly discuss the issue with your local maxi cosi retailer.
Benefits of a G type child restraint over B/E carseat
A huge advantage of the G type seat over the B/E is that your child is internally harnessed until they reach the top height marker, eliminating the problem of moving a child into booster mode too early.
Summary Maxi Cosi Aura G type car-seat
When Maxi Cosi release the G type child restraint it will be an exciting time as currently there are only 2 real alternative for the G type child restraint on the market and hopefully maxi cosi bring a child restraint that will be equal to the maxi guard and provide an easy and effective recline mechanism with sufficient leg room for children with long legs.
Update: December 2016, it looks like maxi cosi are genuinely about to release their G type seat with extended harnessing called the maxi cosi luna