The Extended Rear Facing Minimac has won Platinum, the top award, for Best Car Seat Design at the Junior Design Awards 2026. And it isn’t even on general sale yet.
The Junior Design Awards are run by Junior Magazine and judged by a panel of editors, parents and industry specialists. This year’s car seat category was a strong field, with gold and silver going to some of the best-known names in child safety. Platinum went to us.
According to Junior, the Minimac ERF caused a real stir at the awards, particularly among parents with more than one child who could see straight away how much easier their daily routine would be.
Carrie Johnson, publicist, campaigner and mum, put it simply: “I have four kids… I think this is amazing.”
Lauren Webber, co-founder of The Mum Club, described it as a fresh answer to a problem families genuinely face. Junior’s editor, Bonita Turner, praised how it adapts the original Multimac to work rear facing, keeping children safer and getting more years out of the system. Industry consultant Nicola Perring singled out the engineering: a narrow aluminium construction that’s exceptionally strong, saving space without giving anything away on safety. She also pointed out that it lets families keep children rear facing for longer without having to buy a bigger car.
That last point is the whole reason the seat exists.
Under R129, children have to travel rear facing until at least 15 months. That’s the minimum, not the recommendation. The safety evidence for keeping them rear facing well beyond that is strong, because a rear-facing seat spreads the force of a frontal collision across a child’s back rather than loading it onto their neck. We’ve gone through the numbers in ERF vs Forward Facing: What the Safety Data Actually Shows.
The trouble is space. Rear-facing seats are wide, and most families with a baby and two older children find they simply can’t get three seats across the back of a normal car. So something gives. Usually it’s the baby being turned forward early, or the family buying a seven-seater they didn’t want. We covered this in more detail in Can You Have an ERF Seat for Every Child?
The Extended Rear Facing Minimac keeps your child rear facing from birth to four years, up to 105cm or 19.5kg (whichever they reach first). It’s R129 approved.
It doesn’t sit beside the Multimac. It locks into the Multimac chassis with a mechanical locking system, so there are no straps to thread and no second-guessing the fit every morning. Your baby rides rear facing in the same row as up to three older brothers and sisters, in the car you already own.
A few details parents will appreciate:
When your child reaches 105cm or 19.5kg, they move into a standard Multimac seat position alongside their siblings. Nothing needs refitting, because the Multimac is already in the car. For the full breakdown of how long each stage lasts, see How Long Can Children Use a Multimac?
The strength the judges noticed comes from how the Multimac is fitted. It has an aluminium frame and is anchored to the floor of your car with two tether straps, bolted through (usually) the existing seat belt mounting points under the back seat. The fitting parts are made for your specific make, model and year.
ISOFIX isn’t used, on any car, ever. ISOFIX points aren’t strong enough to hold a Multimac, which is why we anchor into the chassis instead. It’s also what makes carrying three or four children in one row possible. You can read more on our fitting page and safety page.
The Extended Rear Facing Minimac is coming soon, priced from £699. It only works with a Multimac (and it’s the only infant seat that does). As with the rest of the range, we can’t ship it to the USA, Canada or Australia.
Waiting list members get first access when stock is released and hear the launch date before anyone else. Join the waiting list here.
Don’t have a Multimac yet? Tell us your car and how many children you need to seat, and we’ll work out which model fits. Get your quote.
Unit 11 Octagon Business Park, Miller Street,
Birmingham, West Midlands B6 4NF
