Hello...

It's been a long time I haven't been on these boards. We had an '07 mini cooper for a little bit, then we got delivery of a little girl, and 5 months in you realize a rear facing car seat in a regular mini cooper is insane !

So, we parted ways with it. Replaced with a Volvo S40.

but now, she's older, almost 2 y/o. Car seats face forward, and my car (a 2005 altima se-r) need not be so big anymore...

and now I'm looking into getting a Clubman S!

So, anybody think I am crazy thinking the clubman is a good compromise between my mini obsession and a toddler and car seat?

We are still keeping the Volvo, a four door, so that's the car for important trips. The mini is to take me to work, although I do drop her and pick her up from day care three times a week. I'm young, she's light, so I'm not so worried about the "back" factor.

And of course, the other big question... the options I'm ordering, but that's for another thread.

 

I have a 2 YO daughter in a car seat in my Clubbie. Works just fine and the third door makes it even better. But I recommend taking your car seat to the dealership and trying it out for yourself. Good luck with your decision.

 

Welcome back to NAM!

I was in the same boat as you a few months ago. My daughter is 2 as well and her Recaro front facing seat fits perfect. Only thing I run into is her stroller. She has a smaller Maclaren, I have to shove it into the back to fit in the boot (it fits). I can lower half of the backseat to make it fit easily.

I can help with ordering ?'s...thats the FUN part!

 

I've got 2 kids, ages now 4 and 5. I knew an R56 was realistically not an option for reasons you indicated. With the 3rd door it is very easy to step in and clip my daughter into her seat. We generally take our Clubman on 80% of our longer trips with the kids. There's enough room for them. I've managed to put a dual McLaren stroller in the boot.
Here's proof our kids love the Clubman. We did a family camping trip and stuffed the car full with gear.

 

My 8 year old but petit (47 pounds) daughter sits in her booster seat with back on it no problem in the back of my Clubman.

I wouldn't hesitate at all buying a Clubman as a small family car. We only have 1 kid, and no pets, so it's a no-brainer for us. Especially as we live in Toronto, in the city, and have very limited parking space in our 1-car garage with the motorcycles / bicycles / general crap that also has to be stored.

If you are keeping the S40 for bigger family outings, then if I were you I'd run to the MINI dealership and order the Clubman. The only other thing I'd consider is waiting for the Crossman if you'd prefer something with 4 doors, 4wd etc.

 

ha! I am very tempted to do just that -- "run"...

But I will do that in 2010 (tax, winter, etc.)

I'm not waiting for the crossman at all, if I wanted an suv/crossover thing, I wouldn't think Mini

Clubman it shall be...

 

I've just added an 08 Clubby Cooper to my "Fleet" and with 3 children aged 20 months, 7 and 10 it is now our only "Family" car..... (The rest are all Minis and MINIs) We get the 5 seat option over here so we're able to do medium length trips with all of us in. If we're doing this we put the car seat in the front and my wife and the 2 older boys in the back - bit of a squeeze but not impossible by any means.

On more normal days, the car seat is in the back behind the driver's seat and I find it no trouble to load her up through the club door - usually I don't even tilt my seat forward but the option is there if she's being more boisterous than normal!

 

I guess I'll stick to this thread, since most options are in light of having a toddler (just one, no pets!)

Current plan:
Chili red, black roof
cold and premium package
Red color anywhere possible inside (leather, rooster red line, etc.)
Traction control
16" basic wheels, and no sport suspension (I drive a sporty car already with summer tires and all that, I need not make the drive any more jarring than it is already being an S, and having run flats )
Anthracite headliner
Xenon headlamps
sound system
autodimming rearview
center arm rest: storage!

The debates are around:

Sunroof:
I say to get it (as part of Premium package) so that the rear isn't so dark/cramped feeling (light helps). Counter arguments: save $500, sunroof heats up car too much (we had a black MC with sunroof a while back, I don't remember it being /so/ bad...), sound in car is worse...

Convenience key access:
I don't value it much, but some have suggested to me to reconsider in light of having a kid and bags in hand...

Garage opener addon:
I've had it in cars ,and I love it, but OTOH you can just get a tiny $20 device to do the same....

Bluetooth ipod adapter: I have an iphone 3gs. I dont care for bt phone calls, but i care for ipod integration. im told the normal ipod adapter will just let me do next-track, prev-track. ive seen the bluetooth ipod adapter (w/out nav screen) and it seems to allow me to navigate my music, albeit in a small screen.

 

I like the BT handsfree kit in the car. It's high quality, and in many places, it's becoming law to go handsfree.

My Clubman also has the voice-recognition bit in it, which works GREAT. Tap a button on the steering wheel, say 'dial number', you speak the phone number and it dials for you. Works great with my iPhone.

I have the USB, but have not tried making my iPhone or iPod work with it. Instead, I put a nice tiny USB key in there with the music I listen to. It just stays there all the time so if the wife is driving the car, she has music too.

I love the convenience key access - I leave the key in my pocket. Never take it out.

+1 for the anthracite headliner - wish mine had it.

Not sure what the fuss is about the Xenon headlights. Mine doesn't have it, I've never owned a car with them.

I like my sunroof, if for no other reason that my daughter loves to look out the top.

I also have the leather interior and heated seats, with the Sport package / 17" wheels. Love them all, but I'd skip leather if I had paid for it.

Mine is not an S. I bought mine 1 year used for a song. He put pretty much every single option on the base model, making it as much if not more than a base S model. I'd like the extra power, but it does most of its miles commuting to work, so no big deal.

Enjoy the choices!

 

I’ve got two boys age 4 and almost 2 in my Clubman and I must say, it works fairly well for the most part. However, I’m 6 ft and it’s my 4 year old who sits behind me. He needs to retract his feet a bit when I scoot my seat back. It’s largely a function him being in a car seat. I’m looking forward to the day when they grow out of their car seats so that they can sit back there and have more room. But yeah, it’s a riot to see people’s reactions when my two boys come out of the back. My windows are tinted and people just don’t expect that you have passengers behind you. Anyways, still love the Clubman and think it’s great as a commuter car coupled with light family duties.

 

Sunroof: With the sunroof over the backseat you might want to invest in a "real" sunshade because the one that comes with it is just a mesh shade. It cuts out some light but it might bother your little one when its sunny. Zippee shades makes a true shade to block out the sun.

Convenience key access: (comfort access) Helps with not having to dig for you key when you have bags and a little one like you said. If its rainy..you can touch the soft button and you're in!

Garage opener addon: Its nice to have it integrated in the mirror plus you get this in the convenience package with comfort access, bluetooth, auto dimming and rain sensing wipers / auto headlamps.

Bluetooth ipod adapter: ^^^

 

ooohh... indeed, I just realized I wasn't far away from the convenience package, so for not much more I get the rain sensing (meh), auto headlamps (nice), confort access (cool).

 

Re bluetooth, I would not have ordered it but we bought a car from dealer stock and it had it. My wife loves it, and it is pretty cool. I doubt if we'll ever buy a car without it now.

I like the sunroof, if the car gets hot just crack it open. That said, there are times when your passengers don't want the sun shining on them. I'd consider one of the aftermarket shades for it. I live in Oregon, so most of the time we want all the light we can get in the car.

Garage door opener--sorry, I have a carport.

 

I may as well complete this thread for prosperity.

So I got my clubman.

A clubman for a toddler seat is AWESOME! I almost feel like it is better than a four door. Why?

In a four door, if you are at the stage where you are picking up the toddler and putting them into the chair; that is, they cannot climb to it themselves, you are holding them and twisting your body 90 degrees to plop them in their seat. W/ the clubman, you open the club door, tilt the front seat back and then you put your foot into the rear floor, and now you are facing FORWARD as you place your toddler in. You're also facing them directly while buckling them up.

So, anyone reading this thinking of a clubman w/ toddlers and car seats, RUN AND GET YOUR MINI!!!

 

Kids in a clubman....not bad at all ONCE the kids are no longer in rear facing child seats. Before that point, it's just a PITA. Add to that, getting BABIES out (not kids) is a real chore when you are in a tight parking space. In some cases the club door becomes a liability and just plain gets in the way when you can't open the side door and the clubman door wide. Plan on parking where you can swing all those doors wide open...at the back of the lot. My SUV doors in the back or about half the length of the MINI door and don't need as much space to stand in front of the open door and get a kid out. Easy. AND, if you do have a rear facing seat it HAS to go behind the driver's side when you have two kids. You can't access the rear facing child seat from outside the car at all on either side. It's blocked unless you can take it out of the car from the base. You have to get in with the baby behind the passenger side THEN stick the baby in the rear facing seat behind the driver side then buckle the baby in then get out then put the other kid in behind the passenger seat. Just some HONESTY. This is almost impossible in a tight parking spot. Can it be done? Sure. If you are in decent shape and have a good back. Is it ideal? Far from it and I think some folks here on NAM gloss over that fact.

Once the kids are climbing in and out themselves (toddlers) and in front facing seats then all is well BUT you still have to be flexible to get in the back to buckle them in before you drive off. Not ideal if you have a bad back or are in rough shape at all. OH, , and ONE MORE THING...if you have two kids you better get a roof box if this is your only car. Period. I don't care what people here on NAM say they can fit in their cars but when you have two adults, two kids, and maybe a dog in the car...the boot is not enough and jamming things all over the place may help but it's not safe and certainly not comfy. A roof box is a must for long weekend trips to Grandma's with Christmas presents, etc...

Here is a nice link to a IMHO a bit too positive review for the Clubman as a "Family" car. Basically it does NOT recommend the Clubman for baby use. Toddler yes. It's a very honest review for the most part from www.motherproof.com. An interesting take on a review for a MINI for us parents.

http://http://www.motherproof.com/car-reviews/new/2009-mini-cooper-clubman/

All that said, I am now trading in my SUV for a MCC and it will be my only car and I have a baby. LOL What can I say, I love the car! In a MC I would never do it.

AGain, don't get me wrong...I love the car and I am getting one despite the issues. Some however may not love the car enough to deal with the added problems that WILL be present when using the Clubman as a two kid family car or as a baby car.

 

Oh yes, of course. Sorry I wasn't explicit:
IF YOU HAVE A REAR-FACING SEAT DONT GET A COOPER OR A CLUBMAN (unless you want to work hard at it :-P) . In fact, we once had a Mini Cooper and gave it back /because/ of my daughter's birth. But now that she's a toddler... and we have only one...


I should also qualify, in my case, this is a second car. As the one and only car I think a Mini Cooper is a lot of work, baby or not!

 

Sorry ishtar I wasn't specifically calling you out. In fact I didn't even see your new lat post until after I had posted.

I thought your post was very accurate. But yes, I agree...big dif when you have a toddler in a front facing Vs. rear facing baby.

 

My daughter was already in kindergarten when we bought our MINI, so I have no personal experience with this...
I've seen several people mention both here on NAM and other forums that it is relatively easy to load/unload a child to a rear-facing seat through the rear hatch. They get amused looks from passersby but one person even claimed it was easier than with a four door car! Using this technique, the shallow rear of the regular hatchback would make it easier with than with a Clubman.

 

Congratulations isthar and welcome back to NAM!
I bought mine 2 weeks ago and I could not been happier; I have two kids (11 and 6) and they both love riding with me and gave me when I brought it home

 

Love it. We have a young boy ( about 60 pounds, and he uses a booster seat ) and an 80 pound boxer! We love to take Sunday afternoon rides to a park and then a walk. With the one side of the back seat down, the dog has plenty of room to lay down. ( we don't crate her, but use a restraining harness ). Our son sits next to her on the side with the "club door". We had a mini hard top, but as he got older it was too "cosy" and a real pain for school drop offs. Then we got a countryman. I didn't get used to the large size. The clubman is perfect for us. :-)