...and it fits fairly well. I had heard stories about how the front passenger seat had to be so far forward that no one could sit in it, but my wife fits just fine (she is 5'9"). Don't get me wrong, it is tight, but the kid will only ride in the Mini around town and will be in our wagon most of the time. Our first true road trip will be to the Monterey Historic races for the big GTG. Hopefully everything else will fit

Anyway, here are some pics:

 

One question...where is your leather seat protector???

 

I use mine to pick my daughter up twice a week from daycare, and the whole family uses the Mini for smaller trips (a couple of weekend events and the like). My daughter loves to ride in my car. I used the same seat for her as an infant, I have a "grey market" BMW/Mini seat for her now that she faces forward.

Anyway, you got the right seat for her to start in. Others can comment on the next size up that's available in the US.

FWIW, when I tried to get our Britax Marathon into the Mini, it just wouldn't go in. My wife was pissed! But it's fine for our MDX, and I've just had to find smaller seats for the Mini.

Matt

 

We usually transport our 23 month old son in the family SUV, but have taken our Britax Marathon out of our SUV and successfully mounted it in right rear passenger seat of our '06 MCS. My wife is 5'4" and comfortably fits in the front passenger seat when the car seat and our son are in the MCS. FYI our Britax is an '04 model so I don't know if the dimensions have changes on the newer Marathon models.

Our son absolutely loves our Mini. When I come home from work the first three things my son says to me in the following order: "Da-da", then "Car" (Car-Car is reserved for our his and hers SUVs) and finally "Key"

He proudly points to his Hot Wheels Mini and tells anyone who will listen, "Da-Da's" car! I think my son is going to be a gearhead! Am I a proud dad or what?

 

Oops, just checked with the family baby seat expert (my wife) and we use a Britax Roundabout and not a Marathon. Wanted to set the records straight ASAP. Sorry for the inaccurate earlier post Matt.

If you're looking for an option to the Marathon that fits the Mini I will say we've been really pleased with the Roundabout. It's easy to switch between cars (latch equiped or not) as well as airline seats. You might say our 23 month old is a frequent flyer so we've had a fair amount of experience traveling with the Roundabout and switching it from car to plane and back to car.

 

I went grey market and had a friend bring me a BMW/Mini car seat from Europe. They're contoured to the buckets and fit really well. I think the marathon may have fit front facing, but no way would it fit rear facing when Alison was an infant.....



There's a thread about it here that talks about it and some fun other options (recaro and simpson!).

Matt

 

Man .... That is PIMP.

I have a 3 year old that I also pick her up 2 or 3 times a week in my MCS. Do you think I can get one of those ?

 

if you have friends in Europe... Or maybe Cananda. This is the BMW one. There are Mini ones as well. Go to one of the European Mini sites, and look there for the accessories. REALOEM has the part numbers too.

Matt

 

Thanks Matt for the tip on the BMW baby seat as well as the link to the baby seat thread. That BMW seat is definitely cool. I'll have to show it to the family safety officer (aka my wife). It just so happens I travel to our office in the UK annually so now I have an additional objective for my next trip. The other one is to visit the Mini factory in Oxford. Plus we have quite a few friends in the UK.

I see your point about the Marathon or the Roundabout for that matter not working in the rear facing position. Since my son is 23 months old he's already in the front facing mode so I never even considered that configuration in my original post. I'll definitely have to give this some thought for any future additions to the pit crew.

Cheers.

 

I've seen several posts on NAM mentioning car seats in the MINI. What I haven't seen is comments on if it gets old real quick putting a child in the seat several times through out the day. The reason I mention this is because my wife has been looking for another vehicle as she has to sell off her BMW Z3 because the passenger airbag can't be disabled. We've looked for her another vehicle but nothing has that safe, comfortable, sporty feeling and looks all rolled up in one like the MINI. So she is thinking of getting her own MINI. In other words. We'll may soon be a two MINI family of three but am concerned about the ease of getting a child into the seat several times a day.

 

YAY! That is great news, SB! What color does she like?

 

PW/B.

 

The Peg Perego infant seat is very easy to get in, but you have to bend and reach a bit to get it out. Takes a bit of work, but once you develope a technique, it's not a show stopper.

With the BMW car seat, I have to
1) Put one foot in the car.
2) Put the girl into the car.
3) Put my head into the car.
Then I can get her into the seat, and get her secured. It too takes some effort to develop the technique, but it too isn't a show stopper.

For sure, getting her in and out of the MDX is easier, but I wouldn't rule out a Mini because of it. Find someone near with a Mini and a baby so she can see what it's like....

Matt

 

Although we usually use our 4Runner as the child hauler, we often switch the car seat to our MCS. Neither my wife or I find it particularly difficult getting our 23 month old son in or out of our Cooper. I'm 6'0" and my wife is 5'3".

My wife had initial concerns until we spoke with our dear friends in Switzerland who have a MCS and twins. They regularly transport their twins who are now 4 years old in their MCS with no difficulties. Our Swiss friends were largely responsible for convincing my wife that a MCS and children can indeed coexist.

 

See and they all said that it couldn't be done. I don't have a family but this is good to know for all the dads who have just had kids and the wife may be talking about getting rid of the MINI.

 

Thats really good lookin. It just matches! And to both that were able to comfortably fit a car seat in the MINI: Nice work! Luckly, I am out of that phase.

 

Thanks. These were the comments I've been looking for.

 

Although my kids are now older (5 and 9) they are okay climbing in an out of my MCS...We Americans must learn to adjust to some of these smaller cars like our European friends....

 

AMEN!!! Perhaps then our gas prices would come down - supply/demand.

My son is a month old, and we are working getting the car seat in and out. We have a Graco SnugRide. It's a BIT of a hassle, and I'm sure the grocery getter would be easier, but the sacrifices we make to keep our beloved MINIs.

 

Your posts are encouraging to me. Thanks.

My wife is due with our first child literally any day now (!), and there are plenty of people asking me, "What are you going to do with your car?"

To which I reply, "Whatever do you mean?"

They say, "Well, what car are you going to trade your MINI in for?"

I then scoldingly remark, "Bite your tongue! You'll have to pry my MINI keys from my cold, dead hands before that'll happen! I will gladly suffer with putting our child into the MINI's back seat, and you'll not even hear me complain!"

Yes, I'm extremely stubborn and optimistic (right now). We'll see how I feel after I've put the baby in the seat a few times, right?

 

I have 3 and 7 year olds and started with my little one in a Britax Roundabout (forward facing) and then moved her into a bigger booster, still w/a 5 point harness. Both kids love going in Daddy's car but I have 2 warnings:

1. Definitely buy seat back protectors. They are a little close to the front seats and can not help but to kick a bit. It will save much aggevation.
2. After more than about 30-45 minutes my kids start the "I'm not touching her" game and the fights begin. I have tried successfully to hang a portable dvd player between the front seats, that helps a bit. We unfortunately try to limit the MINI trip to under an hour for our own sanity.

Best of luck and remember all your kids friends will be jealous of "their" MINI.

 

Ever since I've put in the car seat and starting to use the mini to pick my daugther up at daycare, she loves it. She's 3 going on 4 and all I keep hearing from the back is "Daddy go faster" and almost every night I get the same question Mini tomorrow?

Sounds like a future mini owner to me

 

I have no babies, but last year I needed to put a car seat into my MINI for my visitine niece. I found out that I could go to my local fire department where they would have someone who had been specially trained to install the seat in the most secure manner.

This guy spent about 30 minutes adjusting the seat, using some bits of foam tube and other stuff to get it absolutely secure. I had tried to do it myself at first, but I got it nowhere near as secure as he did. As long as you don't plan on taking it out, this is a great way to go.