Hipod Senator

Great seat – I find almost everything about this is to be great. We have been using for 2 years since our son was 2. It will then be used by our 2nd son. The only problem I have with this seat is the button you pull up to loosen straps is reachable by child. I think a PUSH button rather than PULL would be safer, as our son pulls it while driving and loosens… Read more

the straps to get his arms out. He has done this since he was 2 and we have tried Houdini straps and everything to stop him from doing it with no success. I really think this should be looked at because not only is it unsafe because kids can get the straps loose, but I'm constantly having to check on him while driving and this is dangerous and distracting and could one day cause an accident.

Decent quality seat with good instructions – We bought this as a second seat in our other car. The fabric is not as luxurious as our much more expensive seat, and the headrest is somewhat flimsy as others have indicated. But I do not expect this to be an issue when taking care of it properly. The adjustable headrest is a feature our more expensive seat does not have, and very handy so that… Read more ·  1

it does not block rearview vision unnecessarily (until our child is taller and need the headrest higher up).

The instructions are significantly better and clearer compared to our more expensive seat, but there are no good instructions on how to refit the fabric after washing. Given the large number of hooks and straps, it would have helped. The buckle can lock one clip at a time, which is easier than always having to have both go in at the same time (which can be hard when you child is struggling). It tightens easily, and the seat is easy to get securely installed.

I got it at a bargain price, and would recommend this as a result. Not sure whether it is worth the full RRP of ~270, but I paid way less than that. Adjustable headrest, good instructions, easy-to-use buckle, easy to install headrest somewhat flimsy, on instructions on fitting fabric after washing.

May be not so good for boys – Bought this at Target whilst it is on sale. However, I have returned it after 3 days. The seat belt buckle is too far in, which means it is protruding up onto my boy every time I put him onto the seat. He is 3 now and tall for his age. I feel this will become an even bigger issue once he outgrows the in-built harness. This is because the seat belt… Read more

buckle must be used with the car seat belt in booster mode to prevent the child from submarine down the seat. Many reviewers commented that it is top-rated child seat in the Australian CREP test, this is true only when it is used with the in-built harness. This seat has an average ranking once it is converted to a booster seat. I have set my eyes instead on the cheaper Hipod Boston, which is a top-rated booster seat (for children after they outgrow the in-built harness of a convertible child seat). I will wait for it to go on sale. well made child seat In-built seat belt buckle hurts the boy's bit.

Hate it – I brought this seat based on the safety rating for the grandparents car and I can't say a good thing about it. Head rest breaks easy after little use, the buckle is to far back which makes my son sit on it when getting into the seat and when restrained it squashes his privates. The labels wore off and stitching started to come undone within a few months. Safety rating Everything. It's a bad make

love it – purchased two of these - one for each car - but only when on sale, and have had no real trouble. both seats require the driver's side clip to be put in first, but nothing else has gone wrong in three years. the newer model looks like it has a few more features, so will be buying one of those for my daughter - hopefully there's a sale on soon!… Read more

easy to fit, versatile, easy to clean, sturdy - son says "very comfy" clips need doing up in order, sometimes one pretends to clip in

Excellent. Easy to use and worth every cent I paid for it – I bought this seat to replace a Safe'n'Sound Guardian seat after my son outgrew it. The Safe'n'Sound was an excellent seat but he needed something bigger. I did my research and found that this seat had the best safety ratings through a number of reviews and SAFETY is what I was after! I couldn't bring myself to buy a seat which folded in half… Read more

because I just kept thinking - how would this hold up in an accident! I also didn't want a seat that was 100% foam because I think they offer very little support and soak up anything that comes into contact.

My son has always been comfortable in this and when we were away it was difficult to get him into another seat. The foam did crack when I was taking it apart to wash the covers (my fault really) but when I phoned up the company they sent out a replacement free of charge the same day. Safety Safety Safety! and comfort :) it was expensive but then again - what price can you put on your child's safety?

Easy to use, lightweight but poor comfort quality and questionable safety – Although I am very disappointed with the quality, I am impressed with its versatility. It is very easy to install, is light weight and the kids find it comfortable to sleep in when in the lay back position. It is easy to convert to use as a booster seat with the adult seatbelt. The foam in the headrest and the back rest cracked within the first 12… Read more

months and the velcro on the backrest cover never stays in position. The foam in the seat flattened within 18 mths and I have had to replace this, as the plastic is too hard to go without. The headrest also does not stay locked in position. The seatbelt occasionally pops open even when it has been clicked in. My 5 year old has used this seat for the past 2 years but I highly doubt this will last until he is 7 which is disappointing as this is why we bought this seat. I would never buy again and I am happy that I did not pay full price now. Easy to use/transfer/install, lightweight, 2positional, Easy to clean. poor comfort quality, cracked foam, thin cushioning, straps always twisted.

Not a great carseat. The headrest breaks very easily! – I purchased this seat for my 2 year old son and within 5 months the headrest completely cracked just from getting the cover off to wash. I returned the seat and exchanged it for a brand new one. 12 months later it happened AGAIN! I shudder to think what could happen in an accident and am very lucky I never had to find out. good hardwearing… Read more

fabric, good height for taller kids, decently priced, quite narrow so it fits when you have 3 carseats accross the backseat crotch strap too far back and squishes the groin area. The recline 'arm' is impratical and makes the seat sit too far off the backseat of the car. It breaks easily!

Great car seat – Love, love love this seat!! Got it at a bargain price from the target sale and my daughter loved it.Used it from when she was 15months. I have no complaints about it what so ever. It is also not a very wide seat which is great when you have 3 car seats in the back seat :) Oh the head rest adjusts withe child and is very easy to use. Inexpensive, safety, that it reclines also.

Didn't make it into the car – I bought a Hipod Senator as i thought it was a good deal $179 at Targets toysale. After picking it up and making all the adjustments to suit my child I found that one side of the headrest was really rough. I took it back and got it replaced with another. I inspected the second seat before leaving the shop and noticed the same problem. I was told… Read more

that this has never happened before but there was no way I was going to try a 3rd time. Price Rough surface on one side of the headrest (on 2 different seats)

Good – I am a family day care provider and have 4 of these in my vehicle (senator) I have three setup for the younger children and 1 setup for my school aged child in care. I find them great for the mixed ages that I look after with on a daily basis and I don't need to buy a new car seat each time I get different aged children into care. Easy to… Read more

install and remove (again a plus for me as a daycare mum as I dont always need them in the car) as required and comfortable for the children - they actually want to sit in them!

I also did alot of research before purchasing, and found them to be one of the best rated for safety and they are an affordable price especially when on sale at Target. Slim design, comfortable for the kids and convertible as they grow I also find the straps twist but this is easy to fix, the headrest is a little flimsy but the side protection makes up for it.

Good – I am very happy with this carseat, my nearly 4 year old son is still in it and has been in it since he was 2 1/2, he looks comfortable in it and if we are going on long car trips I tilt the chair back so he can sleep without his head falling forward. Its a slimmer, lightweight carseat which is great as we need the space in the car, its easy to… Read more

install. Decent pricing. The seatbelt is constantly twisted and it gets annoying, I also find the velcro comes apart and so the flaps of material move about.

Bad – I have three hipod car seats two baby ones and one senator. I have been happy with them until today. We realized our soon to be 4 year old is over 18kg so we pull seat apart to take out harness to discover the foam in head rest is servely cracked it has not been in any type of accident very disapointed I like the look of the seat and the price.… Read more

The head rest insert gave added support. The straps do twist and the buckle has occasionally came undone I do think it maybe wasn't clicked in probably.

Excellent – A Fantastic seat that is super easy to install and very comfy for my DD. Love the little side pocket, handy for "precious objects" (dummy or special toys)I have had problems with the head rest section foam breaking, but easy to replace! Fantastic People at Hipod to deal with! All in all, i would highly recommend The Hipod Senator!! Easy to… Read more

install, comfy seat with slight recline or upright position, Lightweight and not bulky. Decent pricing. Head rest section breaks easy

Terrible – I bought these hipod senators for my 2 1/2 yo twins, believing these are the safest on the market (RACQ tests) and have been VERY disappointed in the quality. 18 months later, I have serious concerns over the seat's ability to proctect my children in a crash. It seems unlikely that the seats will last until the children turn 7, given that they… Read more

started falling apart after 6 months. I would never buy this seat again. I would get the state ambulance service's recommendation rather than the RACQ's when buying a car seat in future. It is slim and light and easy to intall. Like other users, I found that the straps twist and once became completely adrift! The headrest foam has cracked, after only a year and a half of use, the trim has frayed and the speakers are so soft that you cannot hear anything over the sound of the engine.

Excellent – Top performer in the RACV safety tests. Reasonably priced - better when on sale. Great that it converts to a booster seat. Comfy for bub, seems well fitted. We need a second car seat for our other car and I would get another one of these Upgraded to this after a SNS Unity Capsule. It's compact, very comfy for my 11 month old, he fell asleep in it… Read more

the first time we used it (compared to one we had in a hire car which he didn't fall asleep in once). Have not used the speakers yet but possibly in the future. Got it for $260 in a Target sale. This seat came first in the RACV safety tests. You can only get it from Target and when a sale is on, the stock goes fast. Quite pricey full price.

Great all rounder seat! – With our first child we went through many many seats until we found this one, at around $350 normal price at Target (we bought on sale for $270)it's worth the extra money if you are going to use a capsule to start with and then you can go straight into this from the capsule and that's it for the seat buying! Scored the best on the NRMA safety… Read more ·  1

reviews and the company is more than willing to help you out to fix something. We had our seat for 3 years and then one of the head rest foam bits broke (which doesn't effect the safety aspect of the seat, and wasn't broken from any accident, just tantrum!) and they were more than happy to send out a replacement free!

Our second seat I lay buy'd before my daughter was even born, as it's only on special once a year.

Definately value for money, safety and bonus speakers for when they are older for long trips! Safety recommended, value for money My son complained of a sore bum during a long trip, maybe needs a bit more padding on the seat

Good – I chose the Senator over all other seats , because of space limitations in my car , it is one of the slimmest , it is also one of the highest rated convertable carseats, which is important to me, and the price when on sale is good, i got mine for $279 , thats the target sale price, the headrest is tricky to pull up, but its nice and large to… Read more

protect the head, recline is useless in my car , childs feet get squished against car seat in front,but when upright head falls forward when asleep,easy to clean. so good i bought another as a spare! It is light weight, slimmer than other car seats on the market, easy to install, ipod speakers are just load enough for the child to hear but not everyone else. Seatbelt always twists, no matter what i do, pocket is a little too tight to be useful, that you can only buy from target

Excellent – A good value car seat with the added bonus of built in speakers. This seat is made in Australia which is a nice plus. I'm very happy with this purchase and would highly recommend this seat. It is often on sale in target baby sales. Great car seat. Baby is very comfortable in this seat. The speakers have just the right volume for baby to hear… Read more

without being too loud. Although we don't use the speakers as yet, but might be fun when baby is older. Great that this seat can be used as a booster seat later.

OK – I love the carseat and the safety factor, but due to the twisting belt I have decided I will replace it for a different brand that has a better design for the seatbelts. A really safe car seat, well designed and not bulky The seatbelt twists constantly - I have to pull the seat apart every week to undo the belts and fix the twists

Excellent – Great...good value and great features. Also know that I will be able to use with daughter until she is about 7. Gave it 5 cause I think I got the best for money. Love the speakers...thought they were a gimmick to begin with but really funny how we have used. Needed a car seat for my 3 year old and know too early to put into a Booster seat. … Read more

So love the harness! Makes me feel she is safe. The fabrics look a bit cheap..but I guess it was from Target and discounted. Would have liked a coloured version...my daughter liked a pink one :-)

Good – Liked the seat and my neice loves this sitting in this seat. The hipod black and broown colours are a little plain. Good price and solid seat. Fitted into our Territory really well, most solid, well fitting seat we've used. Adjustable headrest a little awkward but no worse than anything else we tried

Excellent – The only thing I can find fault with is that the colours are kind of dull and boring which doesn't matter when it comes to safety... it's a very sturdy seat, not too big or bulky. My son actually fits in it comfortably so he isn't constantly trying to climb out. Compact/light, easy to install. Plain colours.