[sam_dalton]

OK, I have a question that I have been struggling with for a while now. My wife and I are expecting our first child in September of this year, and we own a Mini Cooper S as our only car. I am curious to know if the 2 things are compatible.

I have read several threads here that list things like buggies and car seats that fit into the Mini, but to me that is only half of the story. I am sure that I can find a pram that fits and a car seat that fits (thanks to the many posts I have read on the subject here ), but can I actually live with the combination of Baby and Mini? Is it practical to try and pack in all of the things that a baby needs for a weekend away along with our things in to a Mini? Is it too much hassle trying to get a car seat in an out of the back of the car? Do I have to completely dismantle the pram everytime we need to go somewhere just to get it in the boot?

I would love to hear from anyone that has a baby/young child and a Mini as their only car, and to hear their expereinces on the subject!

Thanks in advance

Sam

[swamos]

We have a baby seat that swivels so you can get junior out the front door more easily.. That would be a must IMHO Other than that, the other problem is kiddy junk.. I think you will be right. I reckon with two you'd struggle fitting it in though

[sam_dalton]

So who makes the swivelling seat? that sounds like it would be really useful!

[swamos]

Sam, I see you are from the uk, so I can't help you too much. All I can do is give you this link to a photo of it and some detail. It might help you to track them down. It is made in France, so I'd be astonished if there wasn't a version of it for the uk. Report back if you find it

[Fevs]

Sam

I too have a mini as the famly car with a 3 year old boy,

we bought the bmw child seat as it was the only one we could find that would fit the back seat of the mini at the time,

The push chair that we use fits directley into the boot without dismantaling it,

All we have to do when we pack to go away for the weekend is pack sensibly and not take loads of junk with us there is still quite a bit of space as you have 50/50 split rear seats

kids need mini adventures too,

hope this helps

john

[bobnobski]

when you little one arrives it will have to go in a rear facing seat - this wont fit in the front beacuse of the air bag (you could get it disabled at cost) which would mean that 1 of you would have to sit in the back!!

The MINI rear facing seat does fit in the back - but what they dont tell you is that you have to move the seat infront forwards to fit it in!!! - then of course you have the polava of actually getting the child in the back! (no easy)

And now where do you put the buggy (our maclaren fitted folded directly behind the drivers seat) forget the boot for a buggy as this will be filled full with you nappy bag, milk coolers, and sickys!!

Onec you child reaches 6 months, then they can usually fit in a front facing seat. I would recommend the britax rennaisance - as this is slightly higher than other seats which means the brat and see out of the windows, therefor reducing the boredom factor and increasing the chances that the plastic seat backs wont get kicked to bits!!

Personally - i would spend £1000 on a cheap 5 door Fiesta and not attemp to let the baby anywhere near the mini until they can go in a forward facing seat, and make sure also you get the maclren stroller as it fits nicely behind the seats!! The last thing you want is your 3 month old choking on the farleys rusk and projectile vomiting over the half leather seats!!

The MCS will make a good baby relief car, when you need to get away from, nappys, vomit, screaming, teletubbies, the bear in the big blue house!!

[bigbaddaboom]

We use the MINI as a family car, with our new baba. A little hassle but not much, some random thoughts:

+

• The Mama & Papas Aria fits snuggly without dismantling into the boot with a small sliver left for thin things.
• The BMW iso-fix seat goes in and out of the back seat okay, although it takes a bit of practice to do it with the handle upright
• For relatively short trips (less than half a day) there is hardly any junk with a small- un apart from a small bag of relevant bits (nappy, feed, wipes, a couple of clothes changes)
• For big trips there is a whole other seat for bags, etc.
• Baby loves the sound of the JCW exhaust; it puts her straight to sleep. She will be a racing driver, dammit!

-

• For bigger/older babies the extra stuff will take up more room, you'll have to make compromises at some point
• The Iso-fix seat only faces backwards (not that great for when they get older)
• The Iso-fix seat is heavy on it's own, nevermind with a baby in it (especially when they're older)
• The Iso-fix is bleeding expensive; remember you don't have to buy it, but it is rocksolid when fitted.
• Two children would be difficult for anything other than short trips with no pram or bags
• The Aria pram is not THE most stylish in the world and I think it might be stopping manufacture; The only other fitting-with-no-dismantling pram was more like a flimsy pushchair type (nowhere near as good as the ARia)

[swamos]

Quote: Originally Posted by bobnobski

The MINI rear facing seat does fit in the back - but what they dont tell you is that you have to move the seat infront forwards to fit it in!!! - then of course you have the polava of actually getting the child in the back! (no easy)

The seat I suggested will largely negate this problem All the rest sounds reasonable Why not just see how you go??

[MonkeyMan]

One small thing I'd add from our experience (we have a 21 month old boy) is that the car seats that fit in the MINI seem to perfectly position our little one to kick the rear speaker. I take his shoes off before I put him in, but just know he's going to put his foot through the speaker grill at some point. I don't think I'd choose a MINI for your only car if you have a baby.

[Shamster]

Depends on how determined you are to have little'un in the car. I never put our daughter in the car (she's only just turned 2) on the basis that for us it was just a little too awkward getting her in and out. Plus I didn't want to have her being forced to put up with the S's suspension. . She was only 10 months when I got my first S. And my first S was even ordered with ISOFIX brackets too.

My two sons (now just turned 4 and 6) have always gone in it and have always loved it. However, all the drives they've been on have only ever being purely for leisure with 'no particular place to go'. The family holdall for the bigger trips has always been the 7seater MPV.

TBH if the MINI was the only car and I had a baby on the way I would probably change the car - I know lots of people on here wouldn't but I would!

[Smurfn]

Our son is 2 1/2 years old. We got the MINI when he was ~ 1 year old and in a forward facing seat. We have had no real problems, yes it is a little difficult getting him in the seat if he doesn't want to go, but generally he is very happy. I am not sure about the rear facing seats, but there has been a few suggestions. I know I would have been happy to work around these problems, it is worth it.

My other problem is the pram. I am 6'1 and unfortunately have a crook back, so I didn't want a short pram that I would have to bend down to to push. So I ended up getting a tall umbrella style stroller, this doesn't fit in the boot and goes in with the other seat down.

Luggage and stuff - short trips (weekends etc), no real problems, there is more space than you imagine. Long trips - I got the roof racks and a luggage box to ease problems here.

[sam_dalton]

Thanks for all the advice Seems to be about 50/50 as to whether it is viable, and that is good enough for me to try it for a while. I will report back and let people know what equipment we go for!

Thanks!

Sam

[Jimbob]

Sam, we have 3 year old twins who fit just right in the back of our Mini in front-facing car seats. We didn't have the Mini when they were born but I would imagine it would have been a struggle to get them in and out including straps, etc. Mind you the plastic backs of the front seats are taking a hammering!

Also, the front passenger seat (with airbag off) is still not supposed to be as safe as the rear for a baby, although with twins that option was never open to us.

Good luck with whatever you decide.

[arabinow]

I have a 9wk old baby.. my mini is almost 2

we bought the peg perego viaggio car seat (rearward facing), it takes a little ab strength to get it in and out without hitting the back of the front seat but it is manageable. The front seat does have to be pushed forward a bit but my wife seems to manage to sit in it.

As for a stroller.. we just purchased a peg perego aria stroller. It is the most compact of their line and fits in the boot without putting the seats down perfectly. It also holds the peg perego car seat with the gmatic system so you can use it as a travel system. At this point in time the only other thing we carry with us is maybe a diaper bag and some blankets. We have had 0 problems with having the baby in the MINI. We are looking at getting a mini van though because we also have two large golden retrievers.. but that is another story.

the car seat and stroller can be found at www.pegperego.com
Even though the Aria is compact it is really a great stroller.. if you look on amazon.com it has had some really great reviews!

Adam

[Abi]

Our son has only ever been in an 'S'. We use the Mamas and Papas "Aria" pushchair and the BMW rear facing car seat in the back. With the pushchair in the boot, we can still fit in his bag (full of nappies, clothes, bottles and toys). It takes a bit of getting used to moving the seat in and out of the back, but its easy once you've got the knack. It is also a good work out for your tummy (Great when trying to get back into shape!).

I would suggest that you go to your dealer and take a look at their car seat, and see if it will work for you.

One bonus is when you go to the shops and park in the parent and child spaces you know that no one is going to hit your doors.

Abi