There is significantly more rear seat room in the CM than the wife's 5 series BMW wagon (and the A3 and A4 that we cross-shopped-brought and installed child seats to the dealerships). The rear seats have plenty of room on the sides for a rear facing child seat for even tall adults in the front. If you have two kids seats, there is no way you can put one in the middle. CM is a "big" cuv, but it's still narrow.

 

Good to know.

Well of course.
But if you don't have two kids, center is still the safest. And the bench won't prevent you from using two car seats on the sides later as your family grows, just as if you had the buckets.

 

The car seat I used was a MAXI COSI Priori this comes with ISOFIX, the CM has places for 2 ISOFIX seats, if you put a childseat in the middle you wouldn't be able to comfortably seat people on either side, I also think the way the centre seatbelt is fitted wouldn't IMO make putting the childseat in the middle as safe as putting it one either side.

 

How old is the 5 series, because I can tell you right now the CM has less rear space than an E91 Touring, althought you have much more head room which probably makes it feel bigger.

 

Seatbelt? Our Britax uses the child safety latches, not the seatbelt. It can use a seatbelt if it needs to, but all new cars come with the latches.

 

The latches are ISOFIX right? If yes then there are only 2 sets, you can't use ISOFIX in the centre position, you can only use the seatbelt.

 

2006 e60. I haven't compared interior volume measurements-
Maybe its perception due to a more upright driving style in the CM or the layout of the dash of the e60 which hits my knees (passenger side) that doesn't happen in the CM. Maybe I'm just squashing the kids. Until the rear facing seat (MC priori) flips forward, the CM is actually the long distance traveller, which we find ironic.
I traded my e46 touring for the CM and the CM has much more room than it had. Have you slid your rear seats all the way back?
I'm 6-1, so car seats are annoying.

 

Has anyone tried the MINI Cooper/BMW branded car seats made to fit? I know we can't 'legally' get them in the US. I just wonder how they fit.

Michael

 

I wouldn't say they are anymore made to fit than any other childseat, they look very much like the MAXI COSI brand from the Netherlands. The BMW/MINI childseats all use ISOFIX so they just clip in.

 

In my audi i use the seat in the center. One latch from the right and one from the left. Did the same in my dad's subie outback. I would assume they might be even closer together in the mini.

 

just as an fyi to others waiting to order this option... I was told that you can put in your order for the CM bench seat option now....

 

Mine has been on order since the end of June!

 

were you given a productiton no. yet? I'm just curious as to when they will actually start producing CM's with the bench seat option for us here stateside....

 

No. Production for Countryman orders with the bench seat option will begin in November. Production numbers will not be given until sometime in the second half of October.

Evidently, the buzz is that there is quite a queue of orders forming for the beginning of bench seat production. You may want to get your order in fairly soon to avoid being scheduled into December or January...

FWIW

 

My MA didn't know about the bench seat option, but thanks for alerting me!!! I was two days away from ordering one with a rail, which was nearly a dealbreaker for me, as I want to load stuff in the rear now & again. Anyway, she took my order, sort of. She took my check and I filled out a form with all the specs I wanted. I think she will have to wait until mid-September to place the order formally, but thought a January/February arrival was likely. The MINI web site indicates that changes to the new model are afoot, and gives a similar time frame for building the 2012 CM's: "in a few weeks", as of 8/28/2011.

 

its funny that it will take them time to incorporate the bench seat for north american models since they already do that for models for the rest of the world. I've looked at a few videos on youtube for the walk around on the countryman and most of them have the bench seat in them..... I really wish they have this already so I can go ahead and place my order....

 

Well, there are a couple of considerations when it comes to incorporating the bench seat in the US. The major one is the Department of Transportation and their pesky safety issues. The second is the introduction of an additional assembly (US bench seat) for staging and installation at the assembly line.

Any design change to a component of a vehicle that involves passenger safety must be DOT-certified before it can be sold. The bench seat that is used in the R.O.W. is a different design than the one that has been created for the US, partially because it needs to meet DOT mandates. Thus, for US vehicles, a new bench seat had to be redesigned that meets DOT regulations.

So, now we have three different assemblies that could go into a Countryman's rear seat area: the buckets, the R.O.W. bench seat, and the US-spec bench seat. This means a number of changes to the production environment:

1. The (third party) production of US benches must ramp up to a level that can meet the "just-in-time" demands of (and delivery to) the Austrian assembly line.

2. The Austrian facility must prepare its logistics to handle the receiving, staging, and introduction of the US bench seat along with the buckets and R.O.W. bench assemblies...not an insignificant change.

3. The ordering/production computer systems must flawlessly tie everything together to blend this new option into an already massive "optioning system" that allows incredible variation in a vehicle final assembly. Production testing and simulation, and well a QC evaluation and changes must also take place. Also remember that by virtue of this giant computerized assembly line management system, vehicles are produced in production number order and not produced in "batches" that share similar components. Thus, out of four vehicles in a row on the assembly line, there may be very few similarities: CM1 may have buckets, CM2 (behind it) may also have buckets, but the two CMs behind them may have a R.O.W. bench seat followed by a CM with a US bench seat.

...and it all must work flawlessly!

 

What is the difference between the US and ROW bench seat?

 

As I understand it, the U.S. bench seat will be 40-20-40, and R.O.W. is 60-40 (or is it 40-60?), so a different structure than either previous rear seat option.

 

Really? Seems like it would be better served to do a 60-40 split just like all the other bench seats in other cars....

 

Isn't a 40-20-40 more versatile? Then you could do 60-40 or 40-60 whichever side is better for the situation? Or am I missing something here?

 

I'd agree with you on the versatility but as far as cost is concerned, I would think that I would just go with what they already have developed rather than spend more $$$ to re-engineer it.... in addition, it would be easier to incorporate into their existing production line.....just my .02

 

That is correct. The structure was redesigned for (1) DOT approval and (2) more versatility (40-20-40).

I see your point, but the existing design of the 60-40 did not pass DOT approval so a redesign was necessary anyway.

A real benefit of the 40-20-40 design is the ability of the "20-section" to be folded-down with the "40-sections" in the seating position. This effectively produce a center armrest for the rear seat passengers; perhaps a more flexible option than the rail (?).


My guess? I think the existing 60-40 seat will be phased-out and they will return to a single "one World" 40-20-40 bench seat offering. Perhaps THIS will also go into effect for November production. This make sense for the supply chain, logistics, the assembly process.

 

Throwing my 2 cents in the ring....no Bench EVER! Loses it's uniqueness instantly. The BEnch looks pedestrian, but that's just me.....I have the buckets with the half rail, not getting the full length rail is my only regret ....enjoy your CM either way you get...it's called Youification, meaning get it how you want it!

 

Ahmen, Brother!