I want to get a Mini but my wife and I are trying to have a child. I was wondering if there are any of you that had baby seats in the back and if it is really a huge pain in the @$$ or if it is bearable. Do they make seats that fit in smaller cars?

 

BAM
http://www.motorauthority.com/pictur...ry-1#100188830

 

haha awesome...anything that will work for an infant?

 

I don't know, the shoulder straps are adjustable.....

I just know that it is the coolest baby seat ever.

 

We have had the car seat for my 9 month old granddaughter in the back of my 04 MCS. Very easy to install. Only issue would be having to have the passenger seat moved all the way forward to accommodate the car seat. It was your standard Graco seat/base, which may be a little bigger than others. All in all it wasn't bad though!!

Reid

 

Yea, we actually moved the seat all the way up and my wife still fit (she's tiny ) I just want to have one will fit comfortably when the time comes. Should have searched older threads first before posting this actually :-P

Cole...I have to agree..that was pretty badass..

 

My wife and I are expecting our first child around June 12th and we both had to get rid of our R56's. We each had 2010 MCS. We have Britax Marathon 70 convertible car seats and they don't work with the MCS. We traded hers in on a VW Passat and I bought a Mini Countrymen S. Seat fits perfect in the Countrymen. I do know that people have told me that the Keyfit 30 car seat fits well in the MCS except for the passenger seat has to be forward. That's just my insight on things I have found on my journey to parenthood!!! BUT...I loved my R56 but I am in love with my R60.

 

We started with a Chico Keyfit 30, then graduated to a forward facing Britax Marathon, in my R53. Both fit fine behind my seat without requiring me to move forward. For reference, I'm 5'4". The seats did seem to fit better behind the driver's seat, but I have no idea why.

 

My husband and I actually had our 11-month-old nephew yesterday, and it wasn't hard at all to cart him around in his R50 (I have one as well). The only thing that would be a pain is the 2-door thing. But it really wasn't bad. The car seat was set behind me (facing backwards), cuz my husband was driving, and I still had plenty of room. I'm pretty small lol. We don't plan on having kids anytime soon, but when we do, we've kinda already decided on getting a Clubman to accomodate a baby better and more comfortably. Good luck!

 

It definitely gets easier once they are forward facing, but rear facing wasn't that bad until he got in the 25 lb range. I am able to slide in and sit on the back of the driver's seat while I buckle up my son in the Marathon. It is much easier getting him strapped into the MINI than any four door rental vehicle I have had.

We are probably going to upsize sometime next year (Clubman...possibly Countryman Coupe) just to give him a little more leg room. Actually, it's probably more for my sanity than his comfort, because his new game is kicking the back of my seat.

 

And FYI - https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...is-thread.html

 

No offense to the small folks, but you're not going to fit a normal sized human being in the front seat that has a rear-facing infant seat behind it. Read some of these threads, thought it would be OK. Took the R56 shopping for infant seats, tried some of the models folks here recommended, went to trade in for an R55. The extra few inches of room in the back makes the seat fit better, and the club door makes getting the kid in and out a breeze.

Try seeing if you can talk your MINI dealer into letting you take an extended test drive in one of their loaners so you can run it up to the local Babies 'R' Us or equivalent - those places will let you take the display seats out to the parking lot to test fit in your car. Best way to decide if the fit is satisfactory for you.

 

+1 to what grueinthebox said; its the reason we gave up the hardtop, and eventually came back w/ a clubman. rear facing is just so bulky... once front facing its better, but the clubman is the way to go w/ kids honestly, w/out entering the CM world

 

yup, An infant seat takes up a tremendous amount of room, so the seat in front of it will have to come far forward. Luckily, infants tend to outgrow these fairly quickly, or you get tired of lugging them around, whichever comes first. My kid rear- faced in an old Britax Marathon until he was 3. I would just put him in throu the trunk. Really. Very easy.

I have two kids in the back of mine, no issues at all.

 

For what it's worth, our rear facing infant car seat gives the passenger about as much leg room in my '03 Cooper as in my 2008 Mazda 3 Hatchback. The MINI is actually our car of choice when going on short trips around town as a family - way more fun than the Mazda and better gas mileage!

The infant car seat is a little bit of a pain to disconnect from its base, but I've gotten used to it. I put it in through the hatch with one of the back seat backs down - it fits perfectly.

Once the little one is big enough, a forward facing child seat will make any inconvenience pretty much go away.

Oh, I should also mention I think our little one likes riding in the MINI more too. She doesn't seem to get as fussy as often, and she falls asleep more easily.

A few months ago, I was teaching my wife to drive a manual in the MINI in a parking lot about every other evening, and almost every time our little girl would fall asleep by the end of the practice session. Now she makes motor sounds when pushing a little tricycle around - not sure if it's related to those practice sessions...