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R60 Countryman & carseats?

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Old 03-08-2012, 08:57 PM
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Countryman & carseats?

Sadly I've been away from MINI for a long time - I miss my MC badly and have been toying with the idea of getting a MCS CM. I'm wondering if anyone has put 2 kids carseats in the back and if so, how do they fit? I have a 3 & 1.5 year old and would love to make a CM work, but having 2 carseats fit is a must. I would love to see pictures if anyone has any

Thanks in advance!
 
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Old 03-08-2012, 09:50 PM
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I don't have pictures but I can tell you (I have the bench seat btw) I fully expect to be able to fit both of my nephews' (aged 1 and 3) car seats in the back. There is is a readily accessible anchor on each seat back and a well written section in the manual about installation as well. Take your car seats to the dealer and make them show you.
Here's a link to an article I read a while back: http://www.cars.com/mini/cooper-s-co...s/?revid=57243
 

Last edited by tybeegirl; 03-08-2012 at 09:52 PM. Reason: typo
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Old 03-09-2012, 07:25 AM
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I just got our car with 3-across seats, and notice that there is also an anchor for the middle position, located at back of boot.
 
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Old 03-09-2012, 09:50 AM
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We bought our countryman with the rear bench seat and successfully test-fit a rear-facing infant seat in the back. No problem. The rear seats move fore and aft and allow you to fine tune your space.

I could even put the rear-facing seat behind the driver's seat with me driving. I'm 6' tall. I had to sit slightly more upright than normal but it wasn't bad.
 
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Old 03-09-2012, 12:29 PM
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I used car seats occasionally in my old 02 cooper....Now I have a CM and my kids (6 &7) are in booster seats at they work just fine. Frankly the major justification that I used with my wife was the back seat room for the kids. No bench seat, btw.
 
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Old 03-09-2012, 08:13 PM
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Thanks for the info. Now to get my wife on board
 
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Old 03-10-2012, 06:16 AM
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I have a three year old in her car seat and even fit two 14 year old girls in the back. It was a tight squeeze but I didn't get any complaints.
 
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Old 03-10-2012, 06:35 AM
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Do you live within a reasonable distance of a dealer? If so, go down there with the wife, kids and car seats....Put them all in the car for a test drive. That's the only way that you'll know for sure whether or not it will work.
 
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Old 03-10-2012, 05:49 PM
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My 3 year old and my wife sit in the back of my countryman very comfortably. Just make sure you get the bench seat option.
 
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Old 03-10-2012, 06:31 PM
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Carseat in bucket seats

Well, here is mine for our 3 year old. She can touch the back of the seat in front of her and loves to do that (of course.) You can get a cover for the back of the seat, so it won't be a problem, I just have not done that yet. Hope this helps.
 
Attached Thumbnails Countryman & carseats?-photo-2-2-.jpg  
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Old 03-10-2012, 06:48 PM
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I have a rear bench, and carseats fit fine. I have a 3 yo and a 6-mo old. So car seat and baby-carrier and base fit great. They actually fit better than my 5 series did. BTW... My 3 yo loves the ambient lighting options.
 
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Old 03-12-2012, 06:05 AM
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Thanks again for the info and pictures! Here's to hoping my wife gets onboard
 
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Old 03-15-2012, 06:36 PM
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Love it!

New CM owner and have a 3 week old. We fit her car seat and 90 pound dog! Also just got a roof basket for luggage on longer trips. Overall my wife and I were very happy with the space we have.
 
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Old 03-15-2012, 06:44 PM
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Congrats on the new baby, Eric! Did you end up going with the rear bench? The Countryman I'm looking at right now doesn't have a bench - I'm just wondering if it is a "must have"
 
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Old 03-15-2012, 06:51 PM
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I didn't get the bench seat. I saw both and really didn't need it because it's just the 3 of us and the pup. Personally I don't think it's a must have, but you can fit a small person in the middle. I may be mistaken but if you have the bucket seats I believe the boot is bigger.
 
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Old 03-24-2012, 03:20 PM
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I just took delivery of a Countryman S. We knew we wanted the rear bench option but thought it was a long shot that we'd get all three of our kids in the back w/ carseats.

I am happy to report that the card accommodated all three carseats. I'm very impressed with the flexibility that this car affords our family. Its been a B L A S T to drive.

https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...t_08-35-38.jpg
 
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Old 03-24-2012, 03:49 PM
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I don't have the rear bench and have a rear facing car seat for my 6 month old. I loose about an inch of seat travel on the passenger seat.
 
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Old 03-24-2012, 04:38 PM
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Originally Posted by bighitterllama
I just took delivery of a Countryman S. We knew we wanted the rear bench option but thought it was a long shot that we'd get all three of our kids in the back w/ carseats.

I am happy to report that the card accommodated all three carseats. I'm very impressed with the flexibility that this car affords our family. Its been a B L A S T to drive.

https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...t_08-35-38.jpg
Aw, so cute!
 
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Old 03-25-2012, 04:18 PM
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I have two grandsons and their carseats fit in the back no problem. They love going for a ride in" Grandma's Mini Coopa" as they call it.
 
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Old 03-27-2012, 06:48 PM
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I have a 12 Countryman and have the bucket seats. 2 Carseats easily fit without any trouble in the back. There's actually more room in the back than in our 06 Tribeca...
 
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Old 04-13-2012, 02:15 AM
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Child Safety Seats & LATCH - Easy to Use?

Hi all,

I thought I'd share this article that just came out about LATCH systems in cars. Some manufacturers are making it harder than necessary to use the system. Only 21 of the 98 cars tested received a LATCH "easy-to-use" rating.

Check it out to see if any of your cars are on the list. http://goo.gl/A5MkN

Thanks!
 
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Old 04-13-2012, 05:57 AM
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Our car is a true 4 person car. We have the rear bucket seats and have a high back booster and a no back. They with perfectly. That was one of the first things we checked before buying the car.
 
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Old 04-13-2012, 07:43 AM
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One of the main reasons I bought the Countryman is that it is currently one of two vehicles on the market (the other is the Mazda CX-5) that has AWD, gets over 30 mpg highway, and can fit a rear-facing car seat in the back without affecting front seat travel.

Attached are some photos I took from when I installed our Recaro ProRide convertible seat in a Countryman before a test drive. The ProRide is one of the largest convertible seats on the market, but it fits fits great in the Countryman. In these photos the front seat is adjusted for me, at 5'-9", and there is still quite a bit of room left. I found that the Recaro is so tall you do have to remove the headrest, just like in our X3 and Jetta Sportwagen, no big deal.

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Old 04-21-2012, 02:39 AM
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Originally Posted by Royson G
One of the main reasons I bought the Countryman is that it is currently one of two vehicles on the market (the other is the Mazda CX-5) that has AWD, gets over 30 mpg highway, and can fit a rear-facing car seat in the back without affecting front seat travel.

Attached are some photos I took from when I installed our Recaro ProRide convertible seat in a Countryman before a test drive. The ProRide is one of the largest convertible seats on the market, but it fits fits great in the Countryman. In these photos the front seat is adjusted for me, at 5'-9", and there is still quite a bit of room left. I found that the Recaro is so tall you do have to remove the headrest, just like in our X3 and Jetta Sportwagen, no big deal.





This is great! Thanks for the pics! We use the keyfit 30 now and will look into the Recaro seats when it is time!

We had the same thought process too. We also looked at the Subaru Impreza sedan/wagon that also gets 30+ MPG highway (36) and increased the rear seat room that it can fit a rear facing seat comfortably.

We found out after we got the CM that the 528i xdrive get's around 32mpg highway. It should easily fit a rear facing seat.

maybe the F10 will be our second car
 
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Old 05-13-2012, 10:38 AM
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My kids have more room in their carseats in my countryman then my husbands Audi. We are well past the stroller stage but I can fit a small wagon in the back.

It is amazing how much this car will hold. We went car camping last year and got everything to fit. I have one of those giant boxes for the top.
 

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