We're expecting our first child this October so I've been exploring options for a new car. As I'm getting closer to a decision I'm realising just how much I don't want to get rid of my Clubman. As you see from my gallery I've put a lot of work into making Deano looking pretty unique so I just don't want to get rid of him.

I'd love to hear from other parents how you went about keeping your Clubman when a baby arrived? What strollers did you use? Any good car seat recommendations (and available in Canada)?

Thanks

Andrew

 

Real nice Clubbie! I don't have a small child, but my 18 year old fits nicely in the back! It seems to me that the third door ought to allow enough access to the rear to make it easy to get a little one in and out of a car seat.

 

I don't remember what stroller or car seat we used - but my son just turned 10 and he grew up in my 2004 MCS coupe. I found a car seat & stroller that would fit ( with the seats up ) and we could still take all our stuff for a weekend at the cabin. Now I have a Clubman and I know are tons more options as far as car seats and strollers go - plus if you get a roof rack ( I didn't look at your pics ) then you have even more space to play with.

My son LOVES MINI's - maybe because he grew up in them?? I started taking him on runs with me when he was still in his car seat. He still loves to go with me, he is going with me this summer on a portion of MTTS which should be a blast!!!

Bottom line - you don't HAVE TO get rid of your MINI - it will do family duty just fine. My coupe did ( with car seat & stroller ) and my clubman still does ( with a 10 & 16 year old ). Adapt & Overcome - your MINI is bigger than you think it is......

 

I have a 4 year old and an 8 month old. Both fit great in the back seat of my clubman. We use the usual Graco Infant car seat with detachable base. We have a stoller that the car seat snaps into for the baby and when out olded was younger we used the cheap colapsable stollers from toys-r-us. You should have no problems fitting the Fam of 3 in the clubbie.

 

My MINI is an '05 and my daughter is an '07...I don't remember what seat I used, but your clubman has much more room than Butters (my cabrio) & we didn't have any problems using both a rear-facing or a standard car seat...now we are into boosters.

My recomendation, if your keeping your Clubbie, is to take it to Babies "R" Us (Or someplace simular) and let Deano try on different seats & strollers till you find one that works for your family. You might even find one that matches Deano.

Good luck & Congratulations on your expectation!

 

I love my Clubman and I have a 10 years old but he loves it too especially getting in and out with the barn door. I test drove the Country Man last week and the four door is nice with kids it is like having a mini X3.

For what is worth the four door is something you may want to consider as it is much easier to getting you your baby in and out for the first two years anyway. We had the X3 and the first two years made it easier on us with the baby.

Good luck.

 

I had the same feelings you do about not getting rid of your clubbie but mine was a hatchback. We are expecting our first child in 3 weeks and my wife and I both had R56's. Well we wanted Britax car seats after all the research and safety features they offer but to install it for rear facing it did not fit well in the back seat of the R56. basically the passenger seat was completely forward and my wife wasn't down with that and she is only 5'2". We got rid of both of them for a VW Passat and I got a Countrymen. Everything fits great in the countrymen. I was told and read that alot of people use the Chico Keyfit 30 car seat and strollers for their kids with Mini's.

 

We have a 1 year old girl and use a Chich Keyfit 30 in our Clubman. The passenger seat needs to be forward a bit, but my 5'3" wife does not mind. We use the Clubman 5% of the time compared to our Acura RDX when traveling with the baby. For a weekend getaway with stroller + pack and play = no Clubman. :( When the stroller is not needed, then we do take the Clubman.

Our stroller is a Bob Revolution. It will fit in the back of the Clubman with the big wheels taken off (quick releases). But like I said, the stroller plus pack and play do not fit.

I bought the Clubman after we knew we were expecting - it is safer than my 2004 Civic SI was.

 

We got a Clubman precisely because of my daughter! She's now 4 and I have a pink Recaro car seat by the cub door. Ingress is even easier than normal door'ed sedans imho. I drape a MINI "Rubbish" trash-bag thing to dissuade any seat kicking, socks-off policy if I have to, no eating/crumbs in there... and we're all set!

 

This is actually the sole reason for getting the clubman over the hardtop. In case we ever have kids we wanted the extra space. I think you could still keep the clubman while having a kid. I plan to.

 

Keep the Clubman, I have managed to keep my Hardtop with a 7 year old and a 9 year old. I wanted to upgrade to a Clubman, but I haven't found one equipped the way my Cooper is so I figured out how to give myself some leg room and move my seat up a bit more for my son. I feel I can make do with the Hardtop, so you should be good with the Clubman.

 

psst

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

All the carseat info you could ask for!

 

+1

When I decided to get a MINI back in November my wife was immediately concerned about the room if we have a kid anytime soon. I preferred the bigger Clubman over the Hardtop anyway but I got everybody I knew with kids to tell her there was plenty of room in the Clubman for a car seat and it was kid friendly. She eventually agreed and now I couldn't be happier. Just have to keep convincing her we don't need a kid yet...

 

I have had my daughters seat in my MINI Cooper Clubman since the day I bought it. She was a year and a half when I got it.

Keep it if you can, but I can understand the need to have something bigger.

I have to say it is EASIER to put a child in my Clubman because of the club door than it is my wifes SUV.

 

My kids are the reason I'm leaning toward the Clubbie, although if I thought I could cram them in the back I'd lean toward a hardtop since theres more used ones available My daughter is in a booster seat and my two year old son obviously sits in a car seat. Since this would be our secondary car, we're going to shop around for a new car seat since the one he has now is humongous!

And vargasgal thanks for the link, it was very informative

 

I have my 6 and 3 year in my JCW Clubbie.. I dont find any problem... I would expect my wife to b1tch about went I purchase the car... matter of fact. it became out weekend car, after all the cars I owned.

 

I know exactly where you're coming from.

 

Thanks to everyone who posted on the thread, your help and advice was devoured by myself and my wife and now we're even more determined to keep the Clubbie. We'll just rent an suv when we need to do long distances.

 

We brought our now two-year old daughter home in our MCSC. It accommodated the rear facing set and the current forward facing one.

Today, even with my wife, our 13 year-old, and a rambunctious toddler, we manage to make it a family car. The Ford Flex is the big hauler for us, but the MINI is still a pleasure without too much sacrifice.

 

Keep the Clubman, and work with it. There's plenty of room for a car seat, plus you've got decent luggage area behind the seats. If you pop for a "mini" van, you'll immediately know in the pit of your stomach that you made a big mistake as you watch your trade disappear into the dealer's lot, and -- guaranteed -- you'll not see a Mini except in parking lots for at least 10 years.

 

Like many others have said, we got the Clubman because we were having a kid. Took delivery two days before she was born, has been a piece of cake. Kid(s) are no reason to get rid of the Clubman.

As far as gear, we went with a Maxi Cosi Mico infant seat and the Quinny Zapp stroller it attaches to. Stroller folds down about as small as you're going to find in a "travel system" type arrangement (about the only thing that folds smaller is going to be an umbrella stroller). Fits in the back of an R56 with the seats up and cargo area cover in place - in the Clubman there's room for the stroller and other stuff with the cargo cover in place.

Congrats on the new addition!

 

we upgraded our first mini to a clubman for our first born. works out great, he is 5 now and @4' tall still loves to ride in his booster.

we used a quinny zapp stroller, fit perfect in the back, even with the lower compartment cover on.

http://www.quinny.com/us-en/products...ers/zapptmxtra

 

First of all congratulations!

Secondly, this is an easy one....keep the clubbie!! I'm also a father-to-be (Nov) and I have a cooper s hardtop, no extra door or space to live with and my wife is giving me a lot of grief about vehicular up-sizing. It kills me that I didn't buy the clubman from the beginning and avoid this trouble. The ironic part was that it was my wife who didn't like the clubman look now wishes we had it for the space.

The Recaro car seats tend to fit more sporting cars. A few people I know with Porsches use them since they can usually secure them in the back seat of the 911.

 

Just echoing everyone else...no worries about keeping your Clubman! My 7-8 month daughter and her Chicco Keyfit 30 car seat have no problems fitting. The third door is great for loading and unloading her.

 

I have to say that I'm glad to hear these stories of families doing fine in a MINI. I traded my 2008 MCS in because we thought we would need more room for the child but my wife and I have regretted it ever since. I now have a piece of junk 2005 Honda Accord that is up for sale so I can eventually get back into a MINI and I can't wait! We will be looking for a Clubman this time around!