E87 (130i) with a baby seat/buggy etc? Doable or ballache?
Discussion
The proper baby car situation is now sorted (E91 330i), so now I need a cheap(ish) daily for myself for work. 12 miles each way and to be used for patient home visits.
Looking around 5k, nothing too fancy as I don't want to be too precious over it. Most of the time it's just me in the car. Occasionally may take out medical students on a visit.
Considered a Z4, but given I'm planning an E93 M3 as my fancy car, I think two convertibles might be overkill, plus zero practicality with regards to carrying anything dog or baby wise (plus could only take one student on visits)
Recent article on the 130i piqued my interest in the E87. Was never a massive fan of the 1 Series but current situation has made me reconsider. Spotted a few about: 5 door, manual box, N52 engine. Could be a laugh to drive.
They do however seem rather compromised from a boot and rear leg room point of view (owing to the RWD).
Anyone actually run one of these with a baby or toddler? Isofix seats fit in the back (according to Maxi-Cosi) It's not supposed to be the main baby transporter, but it'd be helpful if I could fit a baby/dog/buggy in it for occasional trips.
Would appreciate any real world experiences. TIA.
Looking around 5k, nothing too fancy as I don't want to be too precious over it. Most of the time it's just me in the car. Occasionally may take out medical students on a visit.
Considered a Z4, but given I'm planning an E93 M3 as my fancy car, I think two convertibles might be overkill, plus zero practicality with regards to carrying anything dog or baby wise (plus could only take one student on visits)
Recent article on the 130i piqued my interest in the E87. Was never a massive fan of the 1 Series but current situation has made me reconsider. Spotted a few about: 5 door, manual box, N52 engine. Could be a laugh to drive.
They do however seem rather compromised from a boot and rear leg room point of view (owing to the RWD).
Anyone actually run one of these with a baby or toddler? Isofix seats fit in the back (according to Maxi-Cosi) It's not supposed to be the main baby transporter, but it'd be helpful if I could fit a baby/dog/buggy in it for occasional trips.
Would appreciate any real world experiences. TIA.
I’ve just run one for 15 months alongside a E91 335i (our main family wagon) and inside it’s just a touch smaller than the E91 in every direction. Managed to fit in a Group booster behind the drivers seat and a base for a group 1 seat behind the passenger seat. Front passenger can’t be a giant, buy my wife found it comfortable enough.
The boot is an ok size, so really depends on how big the pushchair is. Ours was pretty compact so no issue.
I’ve also got a Z4M Coupe and that’s pretty useless, even when we only had one child. The passenger seat on mine had isofix/airbag deactivation but there’s so little space even with the seat all the way back that The Group 1 and 2 Seats we had meant that the seat ended up very close to the roof and dashboard.
From a driving perspective the Z4 and 130i share a similar wheelbase, so in some ways feel similar. But you sit much further back in the Z4 and much lower.
I’d definitely suggest test driving the 130i though. Mine was modified with Birds Suspension, LSD and BBK, so no recent personal experience of the standard car but when I drove one back in 2008 it was quite crashy and bouncy on rougher roads. Good modified ones come up reasonably regularly on babybmw though.
ETA TL/DR
130i - doable as long as your front seat passenger and pram aren’t huge
Z4 - Ball-ache
The boot is an ok size, so really depends on how big the pushchair is. Ours was pretty compact so no issue.
I’ve also got a Z4M Coupe and that’s pretty useless, even when we only had one child. The passenger seat on mine had isofix/airbag deactivation but there’s so little space even with the seat all the way back that The Group 1 and 2 Seats we had meant that the seat ended up very close to the roof and dashboard.
From a driving perspective the Z4 and 130i share a similar wheelbase, so in some ways feel similar. But you sit much further back in the Z4 and much lower.
I’d definitely suggest test driving the 130i though. Mine was modified with Birds Suspension, LSD and BBK, so no recent personal experience of the standard car but when I drove one back in 2008 it was quite crashy and bouncy on rougher roads. Good modified ones come up reasonably regularly on babybmw though.
ETA TL/DR
130i - doable as long as your front seat passenger and pram aren’t huge
Z4 - Ball-ache
Edited by survivalist on Saturday 8th June 20:40
Edited by survivalist on Saturday 8th June 20:40
survivalist said:
I’ve just run one for 15 months alongside a E91 335i (our main family wagon) and inside it’s just a touch smaller than the E91 in every direction. Managed to fit in a Group booster behind the drivers seat and a base for a group 1 seat behind the passenger seat. Front passenger can’t be a giant, buy my wife found it comfortable enough.
The boot is an ok size, so really depends on how big the pushchair is. Ours was pretty compact so no issue.
When we found we were having our first child - gosh, almost 10 years ago now - my wife's daily driver at the time was a MINI Cooper Convertible The boot is an ok size, so really depends on how big the pushchair is. Ours was pretty compact so no issue.
We swapped it - funnily enough also for an E91 3 series, which proved perfect for the job.
We also ran a 120d a few years back, and I concur that its slightly smaller in every direction than an E90 3 series. Everything feels familiar/similar (the switch gear, interior etc. are very similar).
As you say, you need to make sure you don't buy a giant pram - and whoever sits in front of the child seat will perhaps compromise on leg room.
stevesuk said:
When we found we were having our first child - gosh, almost 10 years ago now - my wife's daily driver at the time was a MINI Cooper Convertible
We swapped it - funnily enough also for an E91 3 series, which proved perfect for the job.
We also ran a 120d a few years back, and I concur that its slightly smaller in every direction than an E90 3 series. Everything feels familiar/similar (the switch gear, interior etc. are very similar).
As you say, you need to make sure you don't buy a giant pram - and whoever sits in front of the child seat will perhaps compromise on leg room.
Thanks Steve.We swapped it - funnily enough also for an E91 3 series, which proved perfect for the job.
We also ran a 120d a few years back, and I concur that its slightly smaller in every direction than an E90 3 series. Everything feels familiar/similar (the switch gear, interior etc. are very similar).
As you say, you need to make sure you don't buy a giant pram - and whoever sits in front of the child seat will perhaps compromise on leg room.
The E91 seems perfect. Not too big, not too small. Will transport wife/dog/baby and associated gubbins and still look good.
+1 on the E91. And the tailgate glass opening independently is a thing of genius. Means you can close the boot with a regular amount of stuff in, pop open the glass and keep loading it up with all the random bits and pieces that come with kids. As long as you don’t mind not using your rear view mirror that is.
g3org3y said:
The E91 seems perfect. Not too big, not too small. Will transport wife/dog/baby and associated gubbins and still look good.
This December, we'll have had ours for a decade - it keeps being good at what it does, so we haven't felt the need to replace it yet They're a lot more practical than the saloon, which doesn't even have folding rear seats unless specified as an option.I’ve owned a 130i LE for 5 years now and it’s fine for children. It was a little tricky when sone was in the maxi cosi baby carrier, but now he’s 3, he can climb into a britax seat just fine. Plenty of room for my labrador in the boot too.
My wife has an A4 Avant that does the day to day stuff. So I only use mine for nursery runs and the occasion day trip.
Had the lab, my son and a road bike in before for an hour trip. No issues.
My wife has an A4 Avant that does the day to day stuff. So I only use mine for nursery runs and the occasion day trip.
Had the lab, my son and a road bike in before for an hour trip. No issues.
I've got an E81 130i and have had two car seats in the back without a problem - the main ballache is getting them in and out with no back doors but if you're looking at an E87 that shouldn't be an issue. Isofix is nice and easy to access and the boot is a good size for all the associated gubbins you have to cart around. I think if it's not going to be your main family car anyway it'll be perfectly fine.
There seem to be quite a few for sale at the moment (relative to the rarity of the car) so good luck with your search.
There seem to be quite a few for sale at the moment (relative to the rarity of the car) so good luck with your search.
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