I have a Clubman on my driveway since this morning, and so far I'm unimpressed.
Can anyone tell me how they manage to get car seats in the back, especially if you get TWO car seats in the back (this example has the "bench" with three rear seat places)?
We have a couple of seats, and I have to say so far it seems like the hardest MINI I've yet encountered to get car seats into!
The Rodi is a sort of booster seat with bells on (not literally, that would be annoying) and I've found the "comfort base" isn't compatible with the Clubman seat backs, so I'm checking if it can be fitted without it (sure it can, because they do an SPS which doesn't have the base included). But even with this removed it's REALLY tight to get the belt around the seat base because they're all crammed together to make the rear big enough for three seats and their anchorages!
The ISOFIX we're using for Amabels also seem pretty high in the seat back, and the angle of the seat was tricky, but it seems OK, but still a real squeeze (rear facing seat), not as much extra room as I had hoped for that's for sure.
Have a mamas and papas seat (the next stage from the cabrio) and the cabrio isofix in the back with no problems at all (M&P is quite often used in another car and is easy to take out and put back).
"...so far it seems like the hardest MINI I've yet encountered to get car seats into..."
Paul, if you keep the clubdoor closed it should be just as easy as with the three door, maybe even easier, since there is more room, door opening is the same.
I have no idea why anyone order the three seat backseat. There is only room for two, the back is just cluttered up with seatbelts and headrests.
It's annoying that this 'bigger' MINI is LESS practical so far for our purposes than the hatch, I wondered what others were using or had found, if they shared our experience and what solutions they used.
I had a clubman as a courtesy car recently and I found it was very difficult to get booster seats fitted properly. The trouble is that the bits where the seatbelts clip into have had to be moved further apart to accomodate a central person. This now means the width of each outer seat is quite narrow - my booster seats actually squashed the seatbelt clips and made the seats not sit very well and it was very difficult to clip the belt in - espcially with the weight of a child on the booster. Well worth considering what you expect to fit in the back before assuming you can get seats in with no problems.
Exactly our experience (once we found it was OK to remove the "comfort base", which is just completely incompatible). Alfie has been promoted to the front seat for a while, at least his booster/seat fits properly, and he loves it up front.
Have a 3 seat bench, i use Isofix for our Maxi Cosi front facing seat (cant recall the name of the seat) But it fits no problem, and getting my daughter in and out is no hassle and far easier than when it was in our R53 S. The clubdoor is great for access. Woudl think having two seat car seats would not be a issue either.
I can understand the issues with the seat belt fastners being less far apart on the 3 seat. But the do pull out of the seat to give you a fair bit of play. I have sat in the back and found the seat belt to work fine with no hassle, and I am not built like a twig
In a nut shell for car seats and buggies, the Clubman is far better than the R56 etc. Cant wait to go camping this year without having the rear seat full of stuff. All the tent, sleeping bags, cooker, gas and cloths fit in the boot Yes it restricts rear view, but thats no hassle, wing mirrors are usefull tools.
we had britax child seats originally until we bought our first R53 cooper,that was when we had problems getting them to fit and buckle up, in the end i bought two bmw/mini isofix junior seats and they have fitted without any problems buckling up in a cooper s convertible, R56 hatch and now we have the dooper clubman with the 3 seat bench and they still fit perfect and are very easy to buckle up,.
hope this helps if anyone is considering buying car seats.
I have a clubman since two weeks now. Great car, enjoy the ride, _much_ better than the citroen C4 i had on loen between my old cooper and the new clubman.
Anywasy, regarding the seat: my one-year-old sits in a Kiddy Life Pro, a German car seat that received top ratings in ADAC and ÖAMTC tests. No isofix, but since our golf does not have that either we choose this one. It's a class I/II/III seat, so she can sit in it until she's 36 kg. Installation is easy, seats fits perfectly well in the back (tried that when we test drove the car).
Main advantage of the clubman over the hatch is that the stroller fits in the back without having to take it appart every time you use is. We have a buggaboo cameleon, which easily fits in the boot of the clubman.
Not tried any seats in there yet, but the best Britax seat in the standard MINI hatch is the Explora 123, but as soon as possible will try one in there
The problem with the clubman is that as standard it comes with 3 seat positions in the back and the seat belt sockets are therefore too close to the side of the car to get a normal child seat in place. We had a clubman demonstrator on loan for a weekend and our Britax seats that fit the tin top Mini OK (The Elite for my 5 year old and the Evolva for my 7 year old) were just too wide for the clubman with 3 seats due to the seta belt sockets.
There is an spec option to have 2 seats in the back of the clubman so I'm presuming that this would be a much better option for child seats.
I currently use a Maxi Cosi Tobi in my X3.....size of seat was not an issue in this vehicle..but quality of fit was....which is why I ended up with this seat and none of the isofix seats that I tried.
I am now a little concerned about how well this seat will transfer into the new Clubbie. We also have a fine selection of Maxi Cosi XP's (wife's car, mother in law's car, child minder's car ) so I will be able to give a good idea of how these two models of maxi cosi fit shortly.
If they fit badly........then no doubt I shall be able give good fitting reports on all of the different models that I test....if that will help others in the future.
Hi all,
Happy Clubman owner here:smile:, but one with an 11 month old who needs a front facing car seat. Which seats definately fit in the back.? Only one I can find on the thread so far that's recommended is the Kiddy Life Pro, any more fit?
It sounds like the problems are limited to the "3 rear seats" option. I could tell from the brochure that to comfortably fit one child seat (and we need two), the "2 rear seats" box was going to have to be ticked.
We use the Maxi Cosi Tobi...........BUT......I also selected only 2 seats as an option.
The positioning of the clasps etc looked really obstructive on the 3 seat option if intending to fit child seats. I guess that an isofix option would still fit well....so long as the bases get a good foundation on the squab that is
just picked up new clubman the other day, moved from a cooper and didnt even try the seats in the clubman before i bought it.
I have a britax isofix seat which works fine, and a britax evolva 123 (standard seat which harness can be removed to become booster seat) which also fits. the only difference is that because the seat belt fixings are not in the centre, the belt is a little hard to slot in on the non-isofix seat. This doesn't really bother me, because once the seats are in, I don't move them regularly. two isofix seats would fit fine. I can see problems in a few years once the harness is removed and the seat acts as a booster seat with standard seat belt fixing, however, maybe by then they will have designed an isofix booster seat. why isn't there one of those yet?
We have had a clubman for about 3 weeks,the mamas and papas car seats are impossible to do up correctly,daniel age 9 is in a booster and sits behind driver,samuel age 3 is in the smaller child seat behind front passenger,but unfortunately i have to do the seat belts up in the opposite anchorage, I have now contacted BMW,if anyone else is having a problem,let me know and I will put together a large complaint direct to BMW,maybe they might listen if we all shout loud enough together
It won't do anything, as they provide the option to purchase MINI car seats, thats all they need to do, they don't need to ensure that other companies products fit their car.
Very few manufacturers work with the baby car seat manufacturers to develop their cars to work with our products.
Ok so I know it's been almost a decade, but... I have an R55 clubman (Euro version), with three seats in the back.
Is there any group 2/3 seat where my son will be able to strap himself in? Most we've seen are impossible due to the positioning of the isofix anchors and the seatbelt buckles.
Is the mini junior 2/3 seat any different? I can't see how it can be made to work unless it has its own buckle.
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