Mini Cooper with a newborn – how have you found it?

[JJ750]

We’ve recently bought an iCandy Peach 7 after reading lots of reviews and thinking it would work well for us. It seems like what we want, and it has had really good feedback.

However, we’ve now realised that getting the car seat/pram in and out of our Mini Cooper looks like it could be quite awkward! Having to take off the Wheels etc.

Before we send the iCandy back, we’d really love to hear from anyone who has used a Mini Cooper with a newborn. It's not a Countryman or Clubman, just standard size.

How have you found it in practice? Is getting the car seat in and out a complete pain? And what about fitting the pram in the boot and generally getting baby in and out?

We’re wondering whether we’re overthinking it and it’s actually perfectly manageable, or whether it becomes a real faff every time you use the car.

If it is a pain, we may consider changing the car instead for something a bit more family-friendly, so would really appreciate hearing people's experiences before we make either decision!

Thanks 😊
J

I had something small.

Change the car. Not just about pram but kids come with so much stuff.

One with decent boot and can fit multiple car seats (some cars and car seats aren't compatible....)

I had the icandy peach 7 it was ok if I was just clipping the car seat to the wheels but if I wanted to take the carrycot it was a right faff and took
up so much room in the boot and I have a discovery same when the baby needed to go in the pram seat when there bigger I did have the isofix base which stayed permanently in the car and I clicked the car seat on and off that

A Mini is never going to work with babies/young children.

Honestly cut your losses and get something bigger.

X

Loved my Mini Cooper but ended up trading it in just before daughter born (for a Countryman!) as that boot is just too small to be practical

I've just treated myself to a Mini Cooper S and I absolutely love it! 3 dr, automatic and electric.
But...I only just traded in my big car now my little one in 6.
There is absolutely no way on earth I could have a Mini with either a baby or a toddler! Far too small for buggy/tiny kid stuff etc...

Change the car not the pram, you will just have the same problem.

We managed fine with our 5-door mini cooper with one baby/child; we upgraded to a countryman when DC2 arrived as we needed a boot that could accommodate a pram, bike & dog!

We have a Cosatto Giggle 3 - we had to pop the wheels off when we had the bassinet but that was only for 6 months, once we switched to the stroller type seat it was fine (although we could only get the pram in the boot). We used a sling when doing the "big shop" so the boot was empty for the shopping.

Can we ask what big car you had?

We were looking at getting the Maxicosi car seat as well. The carry cot seems like it's something she could use while at her grandparents'. It seems like a flexible option; then, on short trips, just use the car seat.

One good thing about the iCandy is you have very wide car seat compatibility. Anything from Maxi Cosi, Britax, Cybex, Joie, Avionaut, Besafe or Recaro will work and some other brands also can work.

For the car seat I would forget about features like rotation or recline, as these make the seat take up more room in the car. Look at more basic models (these are also cheaper!) If it's a 3 door, then the position of the release button for the base is important as you'll need it to be accessible when reaching in through the front door. Test the seat and base in the car before you purchase if possible - larger stores like John Lewis, Mamas and Papas often let you do this, or independents.

If the base also takes a toddler seat, it's worth testing that on the seat before you buy as well - though 9/10 you don't want the toddler seat which is compatible with the base - it's often better, in terms of price and/or features, to opt for a completely new seat for the next stage which either has the isofix built in or fits using seatbelt, as it will stay in the car anyway and not come in and out very often. (Isofix has a max weight limit, so if you want a next-stage seat with higher capacity, they tend to be seatbelt fitted).

@JJ750 I had a Qashqai. Perfect for the baby/toddler years (one child).

We have a Mini Cooper and it was our only car for our baby’s first year and it was fine. We chose a small pram though (Joolz Hub 2). We also have an estate now and we had an iCandy Peach in the boot of that and it was huge in there.

Car seat wise we have the BeSafe Go Beyond/Beyond and it was fine. We could have it on the maximum recline with a decent amount of front leg room. That seat allows for extra legroom setting and while I can’t say for sure none of them work, they definitely didn’t work on full recline.

We did get a bigger cars, more for holidays and it did take some thought but we found with one baby our five door Mini was fine. And if you find it’s not you can always pivot then.

I sold my lovely convertible mini

I had a Mini Cooper 3 door until my first born was 8 months old. In the end it was the car needing mechanical work that made my decision to sell and buy a 5 door car. Looking back I don’t miss the days of squishing the car seat into the back via the drivers door or literally taking the pushchair apart wheels and all to squeeze it into the boot but it was fine when i was living it.
Now my kids are older (4 and 2) I think about switching back sometimes or buying a 5 door Mini. Maybe one day …

Used to put carrycot in back of an original sized mini back in the 80’s