Hello out there

I've been a fan of the mini look for quite some time but not in a position to own. I'm getting out of my gas guzzling Pilot this weekend (YAY!) and am checking out gas-thriftier options. Imagine my delight to find out the mini is a gas-miser!

I'm the kind of girl that perfers to carry only necessities (tiny purses, not humongous ones. Diaper bag contains diapering necessities not hairbrushes, nose-un-pluggers, nail clippers and so on) so i'm confident that the Mini family will be sufficient for me. But every one i talk to (solicited and unsolicited advice) is beyond appalled that i would consider driving something so small now that i'm in the world of Mommy-dom.

My son is 5.5mths and hates being in the Pilot, tolerates my hubbies Mazda3 a little better. I suspect the Pilot has too smooth a ride for him to appreciate it. I'm thinking the shorter wheel base on any of the Minis will make for a much happier baby (with a bumpier ride).

Although i still think the Cooper is 10" cuter then the Clubman, I think the only way i can get hubby on board is to go for the barn doors. In truth, it would be nice to go grocery shopping with my car :D

Any other mommies with (very) fresh little ones out there having the time of their lives in Minis? Since i'm on Mat Leave we'll probably stay a 1 car family until end of Sept .. which will give me an opportunity to take a crack at a 2010 model anyway.

Thanks all --Rrrrrrrrrafique

 

just got my cooper this weekend. I have a 2.5 year old son. He loves the Mini. He can see more stuff out the side windows. Something to consider, I looked at the clubman as well... at the dealership I didn't see alot of extra leg room in the back seat, the suicide door helps with in/out. However, because of the low height, i find leaning in and out to strap in the young'n was not bad at all. Hope that helps even though i'm a Dad.

 

i'm tall + a bad back so i suspect i'll be sitting on the bench next to the seat rather than leaning (i've a chunky monkey baby as it is too).. plus i'm a tall momma

i noticed a lot of black out spots on the clubman windows - thinking that visibility is reduced when checking blind spots even though i've heard mini is great for visibility

 

I am also a dad with a MINI…05 Convertible named Butters.

I bought Butters about 10 months after my daughter (Emma) was born. Emma is now over 2 years old & prefers the MINI over the other car (Focus ZX4 – 4 door). I love my car & plan on staying in the MINI family for a while.

I found that smaller car seats (called portables) fit in the MINI without taking up the entire back seat. They can also store in the boot, unlike the luxury ones. We have one of the huge luxury car seats in the Focus, but my daughter prefers to ride in my car every time.

I have no problems getting her in and out of the car. I open my door, slide the seat forward and sit on the back of the driver’s seat with my knees resting on the back seat. I’m not all cramped while I buckle her in & I can close my door to either keep the heat in, or the rain out.

If you have more than 3 people you take every day, it may be an adjustment. My gripe is, I can’t take my Doberman & Emma in the MINI at the same time. Neither are permitted in the front seat for safety reasons.

I can’t see me leaving MINI any time soon & this is the only car that makes my daughter say “Weeeee”…and now that the weather is getting better, she is constantly bugging me to put the top down no matter what is happening outside….”It’s snowing Emma, I can’t open it now”…She doesn’t understand.

Sorry so long winded. Do you have any specific questions that we might be able to answer?

 

i think it's very neat that you bought the cabrio - (at least that's what they call it in Canada)

My husband and i have each (separately) wanted a convertible but never had one. We thought about it for the mini, but then decided that we'd never be able to put the top down with the kids in the car. At 2 your daughter is ok with all that wind and road dust?

The other consideration of course is that i'm in Canada! i'd be able to put the top down for about 3 months a year... maybe closer to 4.5 if i'm lucky :p

someone was telling me that you have to get the top restretched and all with soft tops.. is that true? never occurred to me.

 

Hello:

I have a 7 year old and a 3 year old. I am waiting on delivery of my 09 convertible. In the past I have had an 05 Cooper. At that time I could get both the car seat for my son, as well as the "Egg" that carried my year old daughter in the back. I would have to fold my seat forward to strap her in but both of them could sit comfortably.

One thing to consider is the future. My 7 year old is over 4' tall now. We recently tested the Hardtop, Clubman, and Convertible. In the Hardtop and the Clubman, leg room had the same issue. As my son's knees do not meet the end of the seat, his legs "dangle" at an angle. Any MINI poses a bit of a space issue, that he will have to grow into :-).

The two kids posed a bit of a revolt in the showroom. Sitting in a convertible changing "Buy it". Not sure where they learned it, but they are both excited about the new car that is coming in a month or so.

Hope the post helps you as well. I think the bottom line is that a small car like the MINI may not make the most sense for toting around kids and groceries, but in my experience they joy of the ride is the trade off, and both the driver and the young passengers appreciate that.

 

It's just me and my small purse and laptop in my MINI - but I go grocery shopping!! You can fit a lot in the boot of even a regular coupe - tons with the seats down.

Also - we have lots of club members with little kids who love their Coopers, S's, and Clubmans. If/when I have kids(s) I'm not planning to sell Lewis.

 

I love the mommies and minis thread. I just got my 03 a couple of weeks ago and my 6 year old loves it. She keeps asking "can we take the mini?" Her booster seat works out fine and she can buckle herself well. I have a friend who had to get ride of hers when she had a baby in the infant seat. She had some problems getting the baby in and out. I took my niece in a booster seat with a back on it and just needed to angle it to get it in but it worked fine.

I just got rid of my Xterra and my husband has an 08 Jeep Wrangler so my daughter has seen the SUV style for a while and absolutely loves the MINI. She can get in the back seat by herself but getting out requires I push the seat button to flip it forward. No clue why there isn't a lever for the back seaters to use.

Have fun with it....oh and grocery shopping is super easy with the mini. The boot fits the bags perfectly!

 

As a father of a 7 month old, you'll be just fine. We brought our son home from the hospital, and he's been in the back ever since. We also just bought a Combi Cosmo stroller as our 7 month old is now over 20 lbs, and is a pain to carry around in the mall. It fits perfectly in the back of the MINI (granted you have to put it in at a 45 degree angle). I do have to play a little bit of the contortionist when putting him in the car, but it's not bad. Our Chicco has the base that you drop the seat right into and it clicks in. My wife on the other hand has some issues getting him in and out and constantly talks about how she wants a vehicle that she can just open the back door and put them in. So I keep telling her to buy a Clubman Glad you don't like carrying a bunch of junk. I grew up a boy scout and they always talk about being prepared, but it doesn't mean you have to bring your house with you wherever you go. Good luck, and enjoy your purchase when you make it.

*Oh! Opinions are like @$$holes. Everyone has one. Just ignore what people say. I fought it for months, and heard the "you're gonna have to sell it" remarks many times. Just because it's small doesn't mean it won't work.

 

We have a Clubman S. I have a 6yr old and a 3 yr old and could not be happier. We went from a full sized SUV to the MINI, and I haven't missed the extra space yet. Every weekend we all go shopping for groceries and what ever else we need. On average, we bring home at least 12 bags, a case of beer and a case of bottled water. Last week I bought 4, 10" ferns, a bag of soil and a flat of bedding flowers. The week before I brought home a 50' roll of metal fencing wire, (I put it in the front floor space with the seat pushed back)

The back of the Clubman has all the room you need.
We have a full size car seat and a full sized 5 point booster. My 6 yr old sits near the club door, and the 3 yr old behind the driver. My husband is 6'4" and usually pushes the passenger seat all the way back. There is plenty of room for your family.

GO for it~

 

i figure that the nay sayers to my having a mini now are kind of like the people who kept insisting my husband would have to sell his motorcycle when he got married (which of course, he didn't) and then again took up that same chant when i was pregnant...

riding is a part of his life - why would he drop it just because his life is getting better?

i think the mini will prove to be fun, if not also a little bit addictive :p

they need to come up with a way i can store more then two kids in there as i was hoping to have more then two :p

mind you, that being said... i don't want the mini any bigger either :p LOLOLOLOL

 

i am not a dad, but i have a ton of nieces and nephews who all Love my R53 mini...but only 3 of them at the moment needs car seats which really isnt an issue even with the hatchback model

but if they were my kids and had to haul them around day in and day out i would really have considered a clubman S instead (access door, 3inch extra rear leg room, larger trunk + barn doors)

my .02

 

I know I'm not a new mom.. but if I can pack a week's worth of groceries and two teenagers into my coupe... I think you'll be fine. I might get the clubman in your situation just to make sure that the back seat had plenty of extra room for the carseat because backseat space in the coupe is tight, and it's illegal to put carseats in the front in most states. Your munchkin is going to be in a seat for the next five or more years, depending on booster laws in your area.

Our booster law here is until they're 4'9" they're in a booster, regardless of age... which is actually kind of sad because I went to high school with a gal who was 4'8"... at 17 she would have been in a booster seat by that methodology.

 

they have to stay in a booster until they're 8 years old and a specified weight. If they don't make the weight requirement they still have to sit in the seat even if they're older then 8.