[abkaufman]

Hey everyone,

I've got the exciting news of a baby boy on his way in June. My extremely excited wife and I are keeping our MINI as the family car (way more practical than the Miata or the motorcycles), and I can use some advice. I've searched the forums both here and at Northamericanmotoring.com endlessly, and unfortunately didn't find quite what I'm looking for:

Baby seat. What do I need coming from the hospital? Please note that I'm from the States. I am looking for the best rear-facing seat that actually allows a passenger to sit in the front seat. So far, I've found:

1) Maxi-Cosi Mico infant seat. Bonus - this works with the ultra-cool Quinny Zap stroller. I haven't found any reviews of it either here or on MINI2.com - anyone with any experience?

2) Peg Perego Primo SIP. I assume this one works with the famous Peg Perego Aria stroller. I couldn't find any posts about how it works with a passenger sitting in front of it.

3) Graco SnugRide - Seems to be popular, but also seems to not fit very well with a passenger in front of it. Stroller option would be one of those frame strollers... do they fit in the trunk?

4) Britax Roundabout - Does this work as a day 1 car seat? Does it fit the Aria stroller?

Thanks for your help!

Cheers,
Adam

[AprilWhine]

Hi Adam, welcome to MINI2.

Rakey, the resident expert on child seats, should be along shortly to answer your questions.

[eeney]

Hi,

We have a 5 week old and after much reading and research we opted for the Quinny zapp. We chose this model for two reasons, the fact that it will fit in the boot of our cabrio, and secondly because we liked the option of the Maxi Cosi removable car seat which fits into the stroller.

All I can say is 'so far so good', the stroller and seat fit in the car with ease, the stroller is easy to push/control and many people have commented on how funky it looks (it's not very common here in Australia). The only thing we have found is that we will need to buy some kind of attachable bag/basket for the stroller which we can easily pick up of ebay.

I also found this review on youtube which may help.

review

There's also a promo video at the following web address I found which shows the Maxi Cosi, I'll try to embed it but it doesn't appear to work in preview hence I'm providing the page address.

http://video.google.com.au/videoplay?docid=1808584404585188759&q=quinny+zapp& total=3&start=0&num=10&so=0&type=search&plindex=1& hl=en-AU

Promotional Video

[abkaufman]

Thanks for the info and videos, eeney! I'll show them to my wife this evening. Can a passenger still fit comfortably (relatively) with the Maxi Cosi in back (rear facing)?

Anyone else with experiences? Rakey - you there?

Adam

[CLiVE]

Coming home from the hospital you will need a rear-facing seat. Very easy to install in the MINI.

I have a Peg Perego Primo Vaggio (not SIP) and you just use the base system with the belt that snaps in place. We have a Pliko P3 Lite stroller. The stroller fits easily with 1 rear seat down, and will barely fit with both seats up. (very tight fit that requires you to remove the rear hatch cover.

The only thing that concerns me about the MINI is the "lack" of a rear crumple zone. I keep looking back at SUV's and my daughter in the rear seat is only a foot or 2 from the rear bumper. Our BMW mostly does the baby carrying, and the MINI when necessary. You might consider getting a roof rack & box as there won't be much extra room once you load all the baby stuff.

The Peg Perego works well in the MINI, but if I could do it again I might go with a Britax as it seems to have the largest weight range.

My wife still fits comfortably in the passenger seat, with the rear facing seat installed but she is only 5'0. I however at 6'0 would not fit in the passenger seat with the baby seat installed.

[minimummy]

I have had a Quinny Zapp with Maxi Cosi car for the last 2 years. I have found it really good as a second pushchair. One really bad down side to this pushchair is the lack of recline. It is a real shame. Does anyone know if they ever plan to introduce this in the future?

[WEIRD IN WILTSHIRE]

Adam, congratulations to you and your wife! I personally used a Britax but can't remember the model as it was about 8 years ago; I think the best thing you can do is get the best seat you can afford and of course don't go too fast in the MINI, no matter how tempted you are

[Carlos.]

Quote: Originally Posted by abkaufman (original)

Rakey - you there?

He's on holiday at the minute, but due back soon

[abkaufman]

Hey everyone,

Thank you for everyone's input! My wife and I spent some time on Saturday at Babies R Us, and found a solution. Both the Chicco and the Graco infant seats fit rear-facing behind the passenger seat with enough room to allow someone to sit up front comfortably. Both those seats also snap into their bases really easily.

Also, the SnugRider car seat frame (stroller) fits both the Graco and the Chicco, and folds small enough to fit into the trunk (boot).

So we're getting the Graco seat and stroller, and probably the Quinny Zapp once our kid is old enough (around 6 months). Hopefully others found this info useful!

Now the next question... anyone have a jogger stroller they really like and would recommend? The ones at Babies R Us looked and felt really cheap (though they cost quite a bit!). It doesn't need to fit the MINI...

Cheers,
Adam