Is the MINI a practical car for a baby???

[Rochester BMW]

Do any MINI owners here have a baby that's regularly in the car?

How is access to the back when getting the little'un in and out?
Can you fit a pram in the boot ok?
Can the front airbag be switched off?
Does the front seat have ISOFIX?


(my dark secrete is i am a past MINI owner...)

Many moons ago I took delivery of my MINI Cooper back in September 2001, it was number 7 off the production line, i placed the order before the car was launched and therefore had one of the first MINIs in the country. It had a few teething problems but all in all it was a fantastic car...

The car i picked it up i drove it to Barcelona for a week and then on to Monte Carlo for a week... being that it wasn't due for release in France / Spain for another 6 months it managed to draw quite a crowd when parked outside the famous casino in Monte Carlo, my little red and white Mini was sat next to Ferraris, Lambos, but no one was looking at them....

Great car, but how is it for babies as i was never concerned about boot space etc back then... the car is now for my other half to would appreciate any reviews as a baby car..

Many Thanks
Lee

a.k.a G8 BAD_Cooper on MINI2.com (how time flies)

[PH5121]

Lee,

My wife is 29 weeks pregnant and she wants to keep her Mini.
I oviously cannot say whether the car will be practical with a baby, but I do know of two travel systems which will fit in the boot, because Mrs PH5121 has been along to a shop who tried several in the boot.
We are going to get the Bugaboo Chamelion and there was a French sounding one, something like loulou by Bebecar (I will check tonight).

Paul

[Rochester BMW]

PH5121 said:

Lee,

My wife is 29 weeks pregnant and she wants to keep her Mini.
I oviously cannot say whether the car will be practical with a baby, but I do know of two travel systems which will fit in the boot, because Mrs PH5121 has been along to a shop who tried several in the boot.
We are going to get the Bugaboo Chamelion and there was a French sounding one, something like loulou by Bebecar (I will check tonight).

Paul

The bugaboo is what we are after getting aswell.... does the front passenger seat have ISOFIX or is it just in the back?

[gregg13]

My wife changed cars last year. She refused to even consider an MPV or the like, and she decided on a Cooper S convertible.

Here's the thing - we have 3 children!! She generally manages fine, although I wouldn't be too sure if you have all the baby stuff and perhaps no other car.

[Rochester BMW]

I drive a 3 series so that can be our family car, its just to make sure that rear access is ok for when leaning in and getting the baby all strapped in etc...

[gregg13]

Should be ok, but sacrifices will have to be made! We looked at the Mini a couple of years ago when we still had the need for a pram and associated bags of stuff and decided the Mini didn't quite do the job, but if you only have 1 child/baby and the Mini isn't your only option it would be worth a look. What price style? The convertible would give you another access point!!

By the way, the airbag can be deactivated, but not sure about the front ISOFIX, isn't this just for the rear seats and attached to the car's chassis?

[Rochester BMW]

gregg13 said:

Should be ok, but sacrifices will have to be made! We looked at the Mini a couple of years ago when we still had the need for a pram and associated bags of stuff and decided the Mini didn't quite do the job, but if you only have 1 child/baby and the Mini isn't your only option it would be worth a look. What price style? The convertible would give you another access point!!

By the way, the airbag can be deactivated, but not sure about the front ISOFIX, isn't this just for the rear seats and attached to the car's chassis?

thanks for the advice...

our budget will proberly be around £12,000 im hoping to get a good Cooper S for that money (white preferably) I wouldn't mind buying the convertible but the tiny boot make it nigh on impossible to get a pram in there. and yes i imagine that when the roof is down its easier to get the baby in / out compared to the hard top, but what about when the roof is up (which most of the time it will be due to the weather) is access to the rear seats harder in the convertible (with roof up) than in the hard top version?

whats the difference in boot sizes?

thanks
lee

[gregg13]

I think access is about the same. The boot size in both is very restrictive, especially for a pram/pushchair. Not sure if you can get a custom one from Mini that's designed to fit??

The conv. boot isn't too bad. With the roof up you can move the parcel shelf and the rear structure below the hood to gain more access.

Only joking about taking the roof down for more access!!

I guess the only way to be sure is to borrow a car for the day. Not sure how all dealers work, but ours just gave us the keys to the demo at 9 am and said bring it back before we close! No pressure, the sales guy commented that if you want the car after driving it you'll buy it, if not you won't.

Rgds

Gregg

[marlinmunro]

[B]The mini is not a practical car for baby's, They can not reach the controls.[B]

[Rob_T]

my wife has a mini and we have 2 children - one now nealry three and one 10 months old. both fit in the back no problem. access to them is easy enough and we have a mamas and papas pushchair that fits perfectly in the boot. we see no reason to sell ours. our three year old loves it too.

[doolie]

we had a MINI for a while after our little boy was born, struggled on for 3 months and then sold it (the car not the kid)

Being our only (semi) practical car, it was just a pain in the arse. We needed to pay for the airbag to be switched off + the buggy didn't fit the boot. Not even close. We had the mamas and papas all in one job and had to drop half the back seat any time we went any where. You'll need a very compact bug to fit the mini boot

[Rochester BMW]

thanks for the comments everyone, the last two replies are total opposites!

The car will be used as a second car for my wife to get around in while on maternity leave, going to see family, popping to the shops etc...

My car (3 series) will be the main family car, the Mini would only get used when im at work and she needs to get somewhere.

Do MINI's have the ISOfix points on the front passenger seat or just the rear?

How much is it to switch off the front airbag?

[jolly]

Rochester BMW said:

How much is it to switch off the front airbag?

Hi. I dont know when it was introduced but in my 06 plate there is a 'dial' which becomes visable when opening the passenger door which enables you to turn the passenger airbag off. There is a warning logo that illuminates above the rear view mirror when its turned off.

I say I dont know when it was introduced because my brother owns a 'facelift' 54 plate MINI and it does not have this feature so maybe someone can claify when this was introduced?

If your looking at later cars then cost wise I wouldnt know.

[doolie]

Getting the passenger airbag switched off on our 04 Cooper cost in the region of £200 and involved a new Seatbelt being fitted

As for Isofix, we didn't have them in either the front or back, may have been an option?

[Rochester BMW]

doolie said:

Getting the passenger airbag switched off on our 04 Cooper cost in the region of £200 and involved a new Seatbelt being fitted

As for Isofix, we didn't have them in either the front or back, may have been an option?

A new seat belt?? Why?

[Hobzy]

My heavily modified Works S is our second car, and we drove to the Alps for a week in it last year - Me, 6 ft tall wife, 12 month old but tall sprog and paraphernalia. Not a problem at all. However, we didnt take a pushchair, but took a mountain walking papoose thing instead.

We have a silvercross travel system that fits in the boot, and also now that she is bigger I've just bought a new Mutsy pushchair that folds into a square rather than a long thin fold, which gives some room in the boot.

TBH it isn't greatly practical, but it'll be even worse when the cage goes in I'll have to turn the front air bags off so she can go in the front! She loves the car - even recognises the exhaust when I come home from work!

[doolie]

Rochester BMW said:

doolie said:

Getting the passenger airbag switched off on our 04 Cooper cost in the region of £200 and involved a new Seatbelt being fitted

As for Isofix, we didn't have them in either the front or back, may have been an option?

A new seat belt?? Why?

something to do with the seatbelt mechanism, not sure exactly. The part costs around £30 but it's the labour bill that knocks it up + you get to keep the old one should you need the process reverting (at another cost of £200 of course!)

[PH5121]

I was at the Mini dealer this morning with my wifes car, and asked about Isofix. I was told that the first generation cars did not have it and it was an option from the factory on the new model.
To be fair it was the service bloke who told me this and he was not 100 per cent sure.
He also said it would be £200 to turn the passenger side front airbag off

[R39S1]

We got rid of the golf and bought a Cooper S convertible for the missus. Both she and little R39S1 who is two, love it! Upside,seeing the little one demanding the roof down and laughing her head off. Downside, you have to drop one of the rear seats to get the buggy in. Surprising how little you really need the buggy! We have an Isofix seat in the back which fits very well. no iso in the front but you can disable the airbag. For the length of time you want to have them in the front I wouldn't worry about. I had to replace a car just to get one that you could do an airbag isolate, was not really worth it in teh long run. Would I have it as an only car with a little one answer no to much hassle. But as the second car it is just great, such a laugh to drive.