*clubman* -- passenger seat fully forward, she can't kick the back. I also have that MINI accessory, the "RUBBISH" bag draped over, and it's useful to use as a trash anyways. $15. I bought from Ikea those plastic linings they sell for kitchen cabinets/drawers, cut a rectangle and have that under the car seat rolled over the front lip of the leatherette seats so when she steps up she doesn't step on the car... and finally, a rubber mat that's always there behind the passenger seat, summer or winter as I step there every day twice to get her in and out.

 

We started out using the Britax Diplomat rear-facing car seat when our daughter first came home. Now we use the Britax Marathon 70 (in Cowmooflage of course) for front facing which should take her all the way to 70lbs. It is installed on the passenger side. My wife is 5'4" and has plenty of room. I am 6' and can sit i the passenger seat, but opening the glove box is a little tricky.

 

I have an 05 MCS and as posted above, I have the passenger seat pushed forward to give my 6 year old leg room and to avoid kicking the seat back. She is in a Recaro Young Sport (booster). Even with a passenger (the wife) there is still enough room. Drivers side, no way.

 

Thanks for the info everyone! I'll be getting the seat mats for sure to protect the leather, and will definitely be checking into some kind of protector for the back of the driver and passenger seats. I'll put the 4 year old on the passenger side and 2 year old on the driver.

 

I run with both a car seat and booster.

If you haven't tried it yet, getting the car seat LATCH hooks actually latched took some getting used to with my seat. The MINI latch brackets appear to be farther back in the seat and/or have less space around them to get the hooks engaged. I ended up removing the covers to the latches because they kept popping off during installation.

Regarding kicking seats, +1 on a Clubman.

 

Merged with The Official Kids, Babies, and Carseats in MINIs thread.

 

I know I'm a little late to help you on the stroller, but I ended up buying a Quinny Zapp, and it fits SO WELL in the MINI. Not to mention how much smaller it is steering it around a store. It has a great turn on it too. I always get comments about how "cool" my stroller is. I bought the Maxi Cosi car seat to go with it. It's great, but nobody can really comfortably sit in the passenger seat in front of the car seat. Since I'm short, people can sit in the back behind me, but for most multiple adult trips we take my husband's Subaru. We're now trying to decide what convertible to get. It looks like the Britax options are popular. He'll still need to be rear-facing for a while. What is the best rear-facing option?

 

For those looking for an update on the carseat/stroller fit issue, here is a new combination that took a lot of searching. We just purchased a 2011 Peg Perego Primo Viaggio SIP (side impact protection) carseat for Baby Girl (due in 3 weeks!). It fits beautifully in the back of the '03 MC, can be popped in and out with ease, and can be used both rear- and front-facing. The struggle then was to find a stroller that fit in the boot with both of the back seats upright as I didn't want to have to leave one seat down just to hold a stroller, it seemed like a safety hazard if we were in an accident. We found that the 2011 Baby Jogger City Mini Stroller (it's not really a jogging stroller, more of a multi-terrain stroller) fits perfectly in the boot, even when we have the car seat adapter on it to allow the Peg to just snap into the stroller. It is a little bit of a costly combination, but not nearly as expensive as the McLarens and Bugaboo strollers and not nearly as expensive as having to buy a bigger car!
Hope this helps someone!

 

I know I posted about the City Mini here before, but thats the problem with these long legacy threads...

Now, the City Mini has been great for us. However, we're now in a deeper pickle: we need to find a double stroller that fits... well, now fits a Clubman, as thats what we have these days... I have my eyes on this:
http://doublestrollerforinfantandtod...-stroller.html

 

I was just about to add an update to this thread about the 2011 Peg Perego Primo Viaggio SIP (We got lime to match my Rallye Green Mirror Caps ). My son is 9 weeks and loves to go for rides.

We have an '09 Clubman S, so we had a little more room to play with and went with the matching 2011 Peg Perego Pliko P3 Switch. You kinda have to put the stroller in the "right" way (handles first), but there's still room for groceries below and on top of the stroller. I've already test-fit the 2011 Britax Boulevard 70, it's a little more snug rear-facing than the infant seat, but front facing, it fits like a glove.

We just got back from Wegman's and Trader Joe's and I was still able to fit a case of Mexican Cokes and a case of Diet Hansen's in the back with the stroller. I think I have more storage space than my wife's '00 Civic, but not nearly as much as my '88 Volvo 245. Maybe we'll trade in the Civic when they add the bench seat in the '12 Countryman.

 

For our 16-month old, we just got the Easy Fit 65 at BabiesRUs. It's a Safety 1st brand seat branded for BabiesRUs exclusively, and was only $99. It's a FF and RF convertible and is good through 65 pounds, but it had the smallest depth of any of the models I saw at Target, Costco, or BabiesRUs. It's a very nice fit for the backseat of the Mini and it was a cinch to install.

http://www.toysrus.com/product/index...uctId=11563636

What a relief. I expected my search to be a lot longer and/or more costly.

 

Subscribed.

 

Im not buying a damn mini van. I'd really like to keep my wife's R53. I have a 4 door SUV, so Im guessing we'll be using my car for the bulk of the transportation. Its inevitable, the kid will be in the MINI at some point. Help me keep my MINI.. Show me some photos to convince my wife.

Just to visualize, could some of you post photos of the CAR SEATS in the MINI to see how it fits? Does it compromise leg room/movement in the front seat at all? Im 6'0.. Dont mind scooting up to fit the kid. Luckily my wife is 5'4, and she could sit in front of the kid if we both ride in the MINI.

I've seen photos of strollers fitting in the boot, which boosts my confidence. Please show me photos with rear facing car seats if they're out there. Also, brand names and prices would help tons. I've got until August, lots of time to shop.

Thanks!

 

It can fit and you can fit two adults and an infant, but I wouldn't try for two kids until they're both front facing.

 

Awesome, thanks for the photos. Looks like it should fit ok, just a lil tight. What kind of seat/carrier is that? Im looking for the type that can snap into a stroller.

 

That's a Combi carseat. We had a stroller that it fit into and things worked quite well.

 

awesome thread, thanks for great info. we are expecting out first in 1-2 weeks and luckily my wife is fully on-board with Min safety, etc.
about infant seats: my conclusion from this thread is that all of them are more or less same size and will limit room for front seat passenger. it is what it is, i guess. as long as the baby and the driver are comfortable, mommy will have to take one for the team
we are going with SnugRide we inherited from friends. two bases, one seat, one stroller frame.
the only problem is that i may have to stay on RFT bc i don't know where to put the compact spare now:(

 

I don't have any photos handy but after lots of research we went with a Chicco Keyfit 30 infant carrier for our daughter since it was very well received in the Mini community for being one of the least bulky set ups that fit great in a Mini (my wife had a Clubman at the time and I had a GTI). The other major factor in the decision was that it was one of the top 2 infant carriers according to Consumer Reports, that meant a lot to us as well. In the end the seat fit great in the Mini and worked like a charm, we were amazed at how much leg room the passenger up front still had.

As for a stroller that the seat can "snap into", we went with the Maclaren Easy Traveller and it was a life saver. The Maclaren accepts nearly all brands of infant seats and, unlike the Graco version, folds like an umbrella therefore saving a ton of room and making fitting it in a tight space a lot easier (it also offers more under seat storage than the Graco version... in general we stay far away from anything with the Graco label).

We have recommended this set up to a few friends who have all thanked us greatly after seeing how much trouble their friends had with "travel systems" and cheaper stuff.

My daughter is now 2 and in a front facing Recaro Pro Ride seat (which she loves, as do I). When we had the Recaro in the rear facing position it barely fit in the back of the Audi A4 avant I had at the time, I doubt it would fit in the back of a Mini in the rear facing position but now that it is fwd facing it fits great (and looks great) in the back of my R53

 

It's easywalker june
See the video link
http://youtu.be/-RYY00RYoH4

 

Hey Everyone.

In this thread, you probably already know what LATCH is, but if not, here's a quick summary: it was designed to make car seat installation easier which would ideally lead to more parents using them and, ultimately, safer kids!

A new study on LATCH ease-of-use found that some car manufacturers aren't making it so easy for parents to use the system. And to make things worse, many parents are not using the system properly.

Please check out the story! http://goo.gl/A5MkN

Thanks.

 

I'm looking for any tips on getting the LATCH hooks into the LACTH system in an R56. It seems like the hooks are just too big? Anybody else have difficulty here? I'm installing a Greco SnugRide. Also, anybody have trouble with damage to the interior of the car after installing a seat. Any tips on protecting it?

 

I bought my 2008 Hardtop after being T-boned in my 2006 Saturn Ion Redline. I knew that car was not a safe car in the event of a side impact and I was lucky enough to have been hit in the strongest part of the car and no one was injured in the car. That being said, I studied the safety of the Mini for a long time before buying one, because with 2 small kids, in the event of the worst, I didn't want any regrets. I found that almost everyone who has an accident in one of these cars, walk away. I bought my 2008 because it came with rear air bags which brought the safety of the back seat occupants to a top level. I feel more safe and I know I and my children are more safe in this car over almost any other. These cars are amazingly safe.

 

This: http://www.amazon.com/RECARO-Prospor...7778485&sr=8-6 is at the back of my clubman :-)

edit: I will add:
1. the car seat is a bit taller than I wish it was, the head side wings stick out a bit upwards. oh well.
2. I was hoping it would be pink w/ BLACK, but its pink w/ beige... which looks out of place in my CR-with-black-accents, but again, oh well.

 

Heres how the litlle angel took a drive in my GP, asked to sit and hold on to the pole, LOL

 

Oh god..I hope that's a joke!