Swivel car seats can make life so much easier for parents, so there's no wonder that there's more appearing on the market. We're taking a look at the upgraded swivel car seat from Joie!
Quick Summary: We loved the spin 360, and there's only improvements to the new Joie i-Spin 360. The negatives that we had in our last review have been changed, and the fact that it now meets the i-Size regulations is great! Having a car seat that you can use from birth up to 105cm, or about 4 years makes it great value for money. We love that you can rear-face for the entire time too. Having a spin feature on a car seat might seem like a small thing, but can make a big difference to busy parents' lives! It's a really easy to use car seat that fits into the car well and keeps the child comfortable with the deep and padded shape.
Whats good?
- i-Size
- Clever side impact protection
- Easy swivel
- Simple to install
- Allows extended rear-facing up to 4 years old
Whats not so good?
- Nothing!
Joie’s spin 360 has been very popular thanks to its high comfort levels and ease of use, so we’re not surprised that they have now upgraded it to give us the i-Spin 360! This car seat now meets i-Size standards and features Guard Surround Safety™ and Smart Ride™ lockoff.
Things we love…
The thing that people will value this seat for the most is its ability to swivel a full 360°. Whether you’re placing a tiny newborn or a chunky toddler in the car, it can be a struggle to get them in!
With the i-Spin 360, it’s easy to spin the seat with one hand thanks to the levers at each side. These have been moved up to the side of the seat, rather than at the front and it’s a much better position to access.
We love that this car seat offers rear-facing right up until the time comes to move to the next stage seat, so 105cm or around 4 years old. In line with the i-Size regulations, the minimum age to forward face is 15 months, so you can also forward face after this time too if you wish. If you use the seat from birth, it comes with an infant insert that splits into three parts so that you can remove each section as the child grows.
To prevent parents from turning their child from rear-facing to forward facing too soon, there is a panel at the front of the base that slides from the left to right. When in the left position, the car seat has to be rear-facing, to forward face you slide to the right. It is clearly marked that this position is only suitable after 15 months, so parents are making that conscious decision to forward face.
To make sure that your child is kept in the most comfortable position in the car, the i-Spin 360 has a six position recline when forward or rear-facing. It’s quick and easy to move through the positions with the button under the front of the seat. The seat is covered in soft fabrics and features memory foam in the headrest. As part of the Grow Together™ feature, the headrest and harness adjusts together by using one hand at the back of the seat to move up and down.
We’re used to seeing extra side impact protection on car seats, but the Joie i-Spin 360 takes this to a new clever level! When fastening your child into their harness, moving the buckle triggers the two Guard Surround Safety™ panels to auto-engage and pop out from the sides of the seat. If you need more room on the inside of the car for other children or passengers, you can just push that side back in manually.
Things to look out for…
Our only comment under this section is that the automatic side impact panels both come out together, so be careful if you have anyone too close to the seat when the panels pop out!
Our verdict
We loved the spin 360, and there’s only improvements to the new Joie i-Spin 360. The negatives that we had in our last review have been changed, and the fact that it now meets the i-Size regulations is great!
Having a car seat that you can use from birth up to 105cm, or about 4 years makes it great value for money. We love that you can rear-face for the entire time too.
Having a spin feature on a car seat might seem like a small thing, but can make a big difference to busy parents’ lives! It’s a really easy to use car seat that fits into the car well and keeps the child comfortable with the deep and padded shape.
