2Rank 02 of 8 · Best i-Size Car Seats
Joie Joie i-Spin Safe
The best safety result in this ranking: 1.6 overall with a safety sub-score of 1.2 and a clean 1.0 for harmful substances. Rearward-facing only to 105 cm — there is no forward-facing mode.
8.7BPR score
- €400Price
- 1.6 — safety sub-score 1.2 (ADAC/ÖAMTC)ADAC / ÖAMTC overall grade
- 2 of 8in Best i-Size Car Seats
- 8.7BPR score 0–10
Review
What this product is
Written after the analysis, from the same sources the score is built on: the manufacturer's documentation, available studies and verified owner feedback.
This seat has the strongest crash performance of anything in this ranking, and it achieves it by refusing to compromise on orientation.
ADAC graded it 1.6 overall, with a safety sub-score of 1.2 — very low injury risk in both frontal and side impact — alongside handling 2.1, ergonomics 1.9 and a clean 1.0 for harmful substances. That safety figure is the lowest here by a clear margin; the next best is 1.7.
It is rearward-facing only, from 40 to 105 cm. There is no forward-facing mode at all. That is the design decision behind the score. In a frontal impact, a forward-facing harness restrains the torso while the head continues forward, loading the cervical spine in tension; a rear-facing shell distributes the force across the whole back, head and neck at once. An infant's head is roughly 25% of body weight against about 6% in an adult, on a neck with immature musculature and incomplete ossification.
Installation is ISOFIX with a support leg. The front airbag must be disabled if the seat is fitted in the front — a requirement in every European country, not a recommendation.
The cost is weight. At 14.3 kg this is the heaviest seat in the ranking, and that matters in practice: a seat this heavy realistically stays in one car rather than moving between two. If you regularly swap between parents' cars or use taxis, this is the wrong seat regardless of its score.
One evidence gap we are flagging rather than hiding. The ADAC page carrying this grade and its sub-scores did not state which test round produced them. This is an older model and the result may predate 2024. The figures are ADAC's own; the date is not confirmed. Check the current ADAC listing before buying, since seats are retested and results are superseded.
Technical data
Specification
Figures from the manufacturer's documentation, verified against available outside sources. Values we could not confirm are marked as declared.
- Approval
- UN ECE R129 (i-Size)
- Height range
- 40-105 cm
- Orientation
- Rearward-facing only
- ADAC overall grade
- 1.6
- Safety (Sicherheit)
- 1.2
- Handling (Bedienung)
- 2.1
- Ergonomics (Ergonomie)
- 1.9
- Harmful substances (Schadstoffe)
- 1.0
- Installation
- ISOFIX with support leg
- Seat weight
- 14.3 kg
- Test round
- Not stated on the ADAC page
- Market price
- approx. EUR 400
Component scores
Where the score
comes from.
Four components, equal weight, each on a 0–10 scale and each resting on a named source. The overall score is their mean — the full procedure is in the methodology.
What we liked
- Best safety sub-score in this ranking at 1.2 — very low injury risk, frontal and side
- 1.6 overall grade, the best result here
- Clean 1.0 for harmful substances
- Rearward-facing all the way to 105 cm — no forward-facing compromise
- ISOFIX with support leg
- Covers 40-105 cm, so birth to roughly four years in one seat
Worth knowing
- 14.3 kg — the heaviest seat here, realistically a one-car seat
- No forward-facing mode at all, which some parents will not accept
- ADAC did not state which test round produced this result
- Older model — the grade may predate 2024
- Front airbag must be deactivated if fitted in the front seat
Comparison
How it compares
within the category
All values come from the same analysis and are comparable only within the category Best i-Size Car Seats.
| Product | Score | ADAC / ÖAMTC overall grade | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| Maxi-Cosi Pebble S + FamilyFix STop score | 8.8 | 1.8 (ADAC/ÖAMTC 05/2025) | €330 |
| Joie i-Spin SafeThis product | 8.7 | 1.6 — safety sub-score 1.2 (ADAC/ÖAMTC) | €400 |
| Category average8 products analysed | 7.9 | — | — |
FAQ
Frequently asked questions
Is rear-facing only a problem for a four-year-old?
Children adapt to it far more readily than parents expect — Sweden sustains around 83% rear-facing use at ages two to four, against roughly 22% in the UK. The usual objections are legroom and outward visibility. Children sit cross-legged comfortably; the biomechanical case is strong enough that Folksam's analysis of Swedish child road deaths suggests a substantial share of fatalities among under-fours travelling forward-facing might have been survivable rear-facing.
Should I worry that the test date isn't stated?
It is worth checking before you buy. ADAC retests seats and publishes twice a year, so an undated result on an older model may have been superseded. The grade and sub-scores themselves are ADAC's own figures, not estimates. Look the seat up on ADAC's current child seat pages and confirm the result still stands.
From the same ranking
Other products in Best i-Size Car Seats.
The same protocol, the same key parameter, the same set of sources.
-
No. 018.8/ 10
Maxi-Cosi Pebble S + FamilyFix S
The best infant carrier here at 1.8, with a 3.2 kg shell and ADAC's explicit note of low…
-
No. 038.4/ 10
Joie i-Level Pro
A €199 infant carrier with a 157° near-flat recline and clean 1.0 toxicology. Unusually, it…
-
No. 048.4/ 10
Graco Turn2Me DLX i-Size R129
The value finding of this research: €149 for a rotating 40–105 cm seat with identical ADAC…
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No. 058.3/ 10
Nuna PIPA lite + BASE next
The lightest carrier here at 2.5 kg, with a clean 1.0 for harmful substances and GREENGUARD…