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Car seat and buggy/pram for a three door Mini hatchback

5 replies

Giantscissors · 29/12/2024 13:45

I’m expecting my first baby and doing a bit of research. We have a 2008 Mini hatchback with three doors as our only family car. It is very reliable and we can’t afford to replace it with anything bigger.
Does anyone know whether it’s possible to get a car seat that will be removable with a sleeping baby inside - ie one that is small enough to manoeuvre past the folded forward front seat.
I’m looking at Bugaboo Bee or BabyZen Yoyo as our buggy option, because they apparently will both fit in the Mini boot.
I would like a car seat that is compatible with one of those, will fit in the back seat, and can be easily moved in and out of the car without taking the baby out.
Any ideas please?

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BertieBotts · 29/12/2024 14:26

Yes loads - though I'd go to a baby store and do a fit check if you can. One of the best things you can do IME is locate your nearest independent nursery goods store - to do this just look up any common brand (Maxi Cosi for example) and check their stockists section, then look for any names which you don't recognise as chains.

If you don't have any independents, John Lewis tend to be the best of the chain stores, and Mamas and Papas are good too (but don't stock as many brands).

Those buggies can take any infant carrier from Maxi Cosi, Cybex, Nuna, Joie (except Juva), Britax, Besafe or Avionaut. These are the brands which go onto "universal" or multi-brand or Maxi Cosi type adapters.

Many baby stores will also let you try other buggies in the boot of your car if you wanted to try others. If you want to do a lot of trying in one go, it might be worth making an appointment. But there's no harm in going for a look around first.

I'd probably ask a sales assistant if you can check how the seat goes on and off the base in-store, so you can rule out any which need to be released by pressing something which will be inaccessible from the front.

Then any that you like/think are suitable, see if you can try them in your car as well, to see how easy they are to get in and out.

Don't put too much store in the base taking the next-stage seat - this is almost never a good deal, and for your set up you'd need to test the next stage seat too, if you opt for this.

I would also consider whether you want to keep the infant carrier + base + buggy setup for as long as possible - in which case, avoid anything with 75cm height limit as this is prohibitively short. Cybex or Britax tend to be the longest lasting - but bear in mind, as your child gets older it will become much more awkward to maneuvre the seat with them inside it. If the shop have a larger weighted doll, designed for trying out slings, they might let you have a go at putting the seat in and out with the doll in it.

If you think you'll only want the carry seat for the first 6-9 months, it might be worth considering what you'll do when you change to the next-stage seat, as DC will definitely need to still be rear facing when you change which can be tricky in a 3 door car. Some people opt for a rotating seat which can be turned to the front for entry, some opt for one of the Joie belt fitted RF seats and sit into the back of the car with baby in arms, some opt for a Swedish type ERF seat like Axkid and either fit baby through the boot or sit in the back again. Both Joie and Swedish types can also be fitted in the front, which is also an option for a belt fitted infant carrier. You must disable the airbag for any RF seat in the front.

If you have isofix in the front, you can do a spin seat, or base in the front too. That can be better in terms of being a permanent reminder that the airbag is switched to off so you don't accidentally transport an adult passenger without it.

BertieBotts · 29/12/2024 14:28

Oh, I also found this site really useful for checking boot dimensions and making a guess at whether a particular buggy could fit (we had a Suzuki Swift with DC2).

https://www.ridc.org.uk/features-reviews/out-and-about/choosing-car/car/mini-cooper-16-3dr-hatch

Giantscissors · 29/12/2024 14:51

Thank you @BertieBotts so much helpful info!

OP posts:
Giantscissors · 29/12/2024 14:52

I think the baby seat will need to go in the back as my husband is 6’7” and can only fit in the front seat

OP posts:
Anothercoffeeafter3 · 29/12/2024 15:19

Giantscissors · 29/12/2024 14:52

I think the baby seat will need to go in the back as my husband is 6’7” and can only fit in the front seat

You can move it around so when it's only you put the car seat in the front and in the back when DH gets in. I had a mini when DS was little and if someone parked too close (the mini doors are wide) I would just drop one of the back seats down and push in through the boot then climb in to fasten the seat in. He's now 10 it did him no harm.

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