Hi,

I am hoping I can get some opinions or personal experiences from Mini owners with young children. Me and the wife are thinking of trading our Audi A6 for another Mini (I hope it's an "S"!, I hope it's an "S"!). We are planning on adding to the family at the same time. (I mean children, not more Minis).

Has anyone had to deal with child car seats and getting them and the children in and out of the back seat?

Any advice? Prior personal experience?

 

I've got a little bun in the oven - well, the wife does - so I'm about 5 months away from giving you an educated answer. Does anyone know where I can get a very small leather aviator cap and goggles?

On a related topic, I swear I saw a MINI babyseat awhile ago, but I have had no luck rediscovering it? Was I hallucinating?

Mike

 

Any car, regardless of size, is a real PITA when it comes to child seats if there are no rear seat doors.

 

Have a look at this thread I started awhile back.
https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...ectant+fathers

My son is now 10months old, and he's been in my MINI since 3 weeks. He outgrew his infant seat at 6 months, and has been in a rear facing seat since. He's about ready to go forward facing which will be great because it takes up so much room.

I thought transitioning from the travel system (5 seconds to drop into base) to the fixed seat would be a pain, but it really hasn't. Thanks to the large door opening and sliding seat---getting in and out does require a bit of contortion but it's manageable.

This past weekend--Thur to Sun, I drove to Vegas with my wife in back, son in his seat, and 2 overnight luggage bags in the boot, and the front seat packed with everything from an umbrella stroller to my laptop, DVD player, and all the materials I needed for hosting our kick off dinner. I wasn't able to put in any chairs or tables though. LOL.

 

bump...

 

Doable but it is harder on a 2 door car.

The MINI Traveller station wagon will be released in less than 2 years, so we are eagerly awaiting for that one (MINI + 5 doors)

 

Back at MINI2.com, there is a fellow Los Angeles resident that owns a '03 MCS and also has a small baby. His nick is "Spycar". You may want to get in touch with him and possibly meet in person. He posts here in NAM from time to time. Look him up and send him a private message. Spycar is the expert on MINIs + Babies.

Good luck.

 

I strongly disagree with ZenAudio, a convertible is a very bad idea if you have kids. I've done it, there's not a single stroller on the market that fits in the boot of a convertible, doesn't matter if the top is up or down.

Visibility is very poor from the backseat in a covertible as well. One of the things that my son loves about our MINI is the great visibility he has from his car seat out the sides, front and the sunroof. Even when he was rear facing, he could see out the rear window. He didn't get that visibility in the convertible.

As many of us can attest to, kids love the MINI...

 

Yeah... i wouldn't think a convertible is not a very safe choice when it comes to carry small children, but that's me.

 

Here are more links I've started on this subject both on MINI2 and NAM

Expectant Fathers
http://www.mini2.com/forum/showthread.php?t=60035

Stroller research
http://www.mini2.com/forum/showthread.php?t=44109

Perfect Baby Strollers
https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...ad.php?t=17707

Pregnant Wife
https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...ad.php?t=17470

Spycar is a great guy, we exchanged stories and tips as well.

 

My 4 year old loves the view from the backseat of his "hotwheels" (as he calls the mini) ... I worried about the carseat not fitting well, etc. No worries necessary, should have saved my brainpower.

 

I've got two daughters (2 and 3 1/2). They love riding in the Mini. I've got two Graco Ultra Cargo seats (only good for 1+ years as they are forward facing). They fit great and are very secure with the LATCH belts.

When I was shopping for the Mini I was also looking at the Acura RSX. The Mini is far better to deal with because the seats slide forward so much futher. The Acura was terrible. Obviously a four door is easier, but the Mini works out quite well for a two door.

 

I currently have 2 car seats in my MC; girl and baby boy (3 and 1 respectively). Although it requires some contortion and sometimes good balance, the task of getting back there is acceptable. You get used to it.

Hard to carry anything but an umbrella-type stroller in the boot. However, kids seem to have fun in the MINI!

 

I sometimes motor with my soon to be 3 year old grandson.I can get him in and out no problem,but putting the seat in and securing it takes some time.
But if the seat was in there all the time,no big deal.
He loves his rides in the MINI.

 

My son just turned 4 months on Feb 25th. My MINI turns 2 this month.

My wife drives a Jetta and we use that as our primary transportation, however, I work midnight to 6:30 and she is a teacher, working from 7:00 until 3:00. I have to transport my son around in the MINI during the day. I dont have any problems doing this either. We have the Peg Perego system. Both cars have a base and we have the Primo Viaggio seat. The Aria stroller that is also part of the system fits perfectly in the boot. The setup is a little pricey, but they feel like they were custom made for the car. You can buy them at almost any baby store. We got ours at babies 'R' us.

 

Having gone this route as well, I wouldn't have done it any other way. The Peg Perego system is a dream for putting your infant in place without back ache.

But unfortunately for me, my son outgrew it by 6 months, and he's been in a rear facing car seat ever since--which really wasn't as bad as I thought it would be.

While the Aria stroller is one of the few full size strollers that fits the boot, I knew on my last trip to Las Vegas, that I needed something even smaller, and an umbrella stroller was the perfect solution. It's nice when your child is big enough to use the umbrella stroller! It only gets easier and less bulky! Well except that the bulk is probably replaced by his fleet of toys that he will need to carry around.

 

Our kids just turned 3 and 5. We've had our MCS for 2 and a half years and its been great. Seats slide way forward and doors open way wide which certainly helps. Kids do love the visibility especially with the sunroof opt. as they can peer out at the clouds. Even in sunny San Diego we've had no issue with the lack of a sunroof cover.
My other two cents is to investigate the use of a sling for carrying the baby.
Here's just one site of many that advertise and sell these products.
http://www.parentsafely.com/
Calvin (the three year old) was literally never in a stroller. Kids love em, we loved it and it saves on all the unecessary space and packing issues with any stroller.
Good luck!