R56 Chicco Cortina travel system
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Joined: Dec 2008
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Chicco Cortina travel system
My wife and I recently found out that we are expecting our first child and as a single car household (and that car being a R56), we are wondering what car seat and stroller we can get that will fit. We went to Babies'r'us the other day and folded down quite a few of the strollers. The Chicco Cortina looked like it would fit, but we didn't try it. Has anyone tried this one?
I found online that the folded dimensions of the stroller are 20x22x40", but for all I know those are measurements from 10 years ago. ;-)
http://www.toysrus.com/product/index...ductId=3687546
I found online that the folded dimensions of the stroller are 20x22x40", but for all I know those are measurements from 10 years ago. ;-)
http://www.toysrus.com/product/index...ductId=3687546
2nd Gear
Joined: Jun 2010
Posts: 93
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We did the exact same thing 7 years ago when we were shopping for a MINI. (didn't buy one) Babies R Us was very cool about letting us take strollers out in the parking lot and try to shove them into the car. The MINI saleslady was right there with us the whole time. (we did this on our test drive!)
By the time you take into account all of the accoutrement that goes along with going from one place to another with a baby, the MINI is not very attractive as a "family car." My wife is NOT a sparse packer, we eventually ruled out the MINI as a car for us.
You'll want to shop carefully for baby seats as well, some of them are extremely bulky (yeah, I'm looking at you Britax) and others may be difficult to use in the back seat of a MINI.
Strollers and Car Seats are definitely items where a little extra money up front will really provide some value. My 1.5 year old son is using the Britax Marathon that we bought for my first son, now 6. Their sister (now 4) used it in between. I highly recommend Britax for ease of use, features, and durability. We bought 2 of them for our first child (one for each car, one Marathon, one Wizard) and they are both still going strong. The Wizard has moved on to another family, housing their 5 year old now (he's small) and receiving their newborn in August. Both of those seats are EXTREMELY adjustable and rated from like 5 to 60 pounds. This means that you can use the same seat for several years. some seats are only rated for newborns or toddlers, but not both... which means you have to buy another seat as they get older.
When mounting the seats in the car, one trick you need to know is to kneel in the baby seat when tightening the LATCH straps. this gets them TIGHT. You should be able to grab the car seat and shake.... and shake the CAR. If the seat slides back and forth, it's not tight enough. That movement is extremely harmful in a high-energy crash. Keep in mind that there aren't many car seats that are going to fit REAR-facing in a MINI. You'll probably have to mount it in the middle of the back seat and slide the front seats forward and have the car seat sticking between the front seats. If the base of the car seat is not fully supported by the rear seat, roll up some towels to fully support the base of the seat, and re-tighten the LATCH straps. There should be absolutely NO movement of the seat relative to the car.
Sorry, that really wandered around alot, but there's alot of information that isn't really obvious up front.
Finally, CONGRATS on the new addition. If there's more you want to know, just ASK. Lots of us out here with both kiddos and MINIs!
By the time you take into account all of the accoutrement that goes along with going from one place to another with a baby, the MINI is not very attractive as a "family car." My wife is NOT a sparse packer, we eventually ruled out the MINI as a car for us.
You'll want to shop carefully for baby seats as well, some of them are extremely bulky (yeah, I'm looking at you Britax) and others may be difficult to use in the back seat of a MINI.
Strollers and Car Seats are definitely items where a little extra money up front will really provide some value. My 1.5 year old son is using the Britax Marathon that we bought for my first son, now 6. Their sister (now 4) used it in between. I highly recommend Britax for ease of use, features, and durability. We bought 2 of them for our first child (one for each car, one Marathon, one Wizard) and they are both still going strong. The Wizard has moved on to another family, housing their 5 year old now (he's small) and receiving their newborn in August. Both of those seats are EXTREMELY adjustable and rated from like 5 to 60 pounds. This means that you can use the same seat for several years. some seats are only rated for newborns or toddlers, but not both... which means you have to buy another seat as they get older.
When mounting the seats in the car, one trick you need to know is to kneel in the baby seat when tightening the LATCH straps. this gets them TIGHT. You should be able to grab the car seat and shake.... and shake the CAR. If the seat slides back and forth, it's not tight enough. That movement is extremely harmful in a high-energy crash. Keep in mind that there aren't many car seats that are going to fit REAR-facing in a MINI. You'll probably have to mount it in the middle of the back seat and slide the front seats forward and have the car seat sticking between the front seats. If the base of the car seat is not fully supported by the rear seat, roll up some towels to fully support the base of the seat, and re-tighten the LATCH straps. There should be absolutely NO movement of the seat relative to the car.
Sorry, that really wandered around alot, but there's alot of information that isn't really obvious up front.
Finally, CONGRATS on the new addition. If there's more you want to know, just ASK. Lots of us out here with both kiddos and MINIs!
3rd Gear
Joined: May 2007
Posts: 232
Likes: 6
Exactly what we have
These are exactly what we have. The seat fits great, better than some other infant seats we tried. We need to set the passenger seat one or two clicks up from where we normally use it. One if the seat back isn't too reclined. This is better than in our subaru.
The stroller will not fit in the trunk. However if you fold down the other seat it will fit lengthwise. For better room, fold down the handle and detach the sun shade. I've read somewhere on here about a stroller made by another Italian company that will fit in the Mini without folding down the seats. Do some searching.
Also, www.car-safety.org is a great resource for infant and other child car seat information.
Good luck and enjoy the pending parenthood,
John
The stroller will not fit in the trunk. However if you fold down the other seat it will fit lengthwise. For better room, fold down the handle and detach the sun shade. I've read somewhere on here about a stroller made by another Italian company that will fit in the Mini without folding down the seats. Do some searching.
Also, www.car-safety.org is a great resource for infant and other child car seat information.
Good luck and enjoy the pending parenthood,
John
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Joined: Dec 2008
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I found both Peg Perego and Quinny strollers that will fit in the boot, but they both use their own seats. Plus the Peg Perego starts at $500 for just the stroller. Ouch!
Can you snap a pic of the stroller on the driver side rear seat?
Can you snap a pic of the stroller on the driver side rear seat?
These are exactly what we have. The seat fits great, better than some other infant seats we tried. We need to set the passenger seat one or two clicks up from where we normally use it. One if the seat back isn't too reclined. This is better than in our subaru.
The stroller will not fit in the trunk. However if you fold down the other seat it will fit lengthwise. For better room, fold down the handle and detach the sun shade. I've read somewhere on here about a stroller made by another Italian company that will fit in the Mini without folding down the seats. Do some searching.
Also, www.car-safety.org is a great resource for infant and other child car seat information.
Good luck and enjoy the pending parenthood,
John
The stroller will not fit in the trunk. However if you fold down the other seat it will fit lengthwise. For better room, fold down the handle and detach the sun shade. I've read somewhere on here about a stroller made by another Italian company that will fit in the Mini without folding down the seats. Do some searching.
Also, www.car-safety.org is a great resource for infant and other child car seat information.
Good luck and enjoy the pending parenthood,
John
5th Gear
Joined: May 2005
Posts: 833
Likes: 0
From: Memphis
This thread has tons of info on car seats and strollers and is still going strong after several years:
https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...thread-10.html
https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...thread-10.html
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