E92 with toddlers

[foomeister]

Hi,
I am expecting our first child and been advised by many people that I need to change to a 4 door sedan for more convenience after the child is out

Any parents out there with similar experience of driving a coupe and still managing well with toddlers? I feel really sad to give up my beloved E92 for this reason.

 

[zorro]

Re: E92 with toddlers

Its going to be PITA....(pain..in the.....) I think baby seat will be in front passenger side and you husband/yourself/maid sit behind or both behind...its troublesome to get in and out of the car although it is possible...

 

[marklee]

Re: E92 with toddlers

With a baby you definitely need a four door. Just imagine, how are you going to carry your baby into the baby seat in the rear? Or if the baby is in the seat already, how are you going to secure the babyseat to the back seat?

Once they are older (2-3) and can climb in and out by themselves, coupe isn't a problem.

 

[Slater]

Re: E92 with toddlers

With a baby you definitely need a four door. Just imagine, how are you going to carry your baby into the baby seat in the rear? Or if the baby is in the seat already, how are you going to secure the babyseat to the back seat?

Once they are older (2-3) and can climb in and out by themselves, coupe isn't a problem.

agreed. carrying the baby in and out is a major issue with cabs and coupes

 

[totoseow]

Re: E92 with toddlers

i think u just need a bit of patience n planning. do not think its a big problem.

 

[zorro]

Re: E92 with toddlers

2-3 years..you will need car with huge space to store the child seat and many other stuff not to mention you probably want to have tv/dvd to amuse them...MPV is created for this purpose....

 

[foomeister]

Re: E92 with toddlers

Thanks for all your feedback.

Zorro: I don't think LTA allow us to put the baby in the front passenger side for safety reasons, isn't it?
Toto: U are my friend

Shut to *selective listening* mode now. hahha.

 

[zorro]

Re: E92 with toddlers

Welcome to parenthood...trust me your priorities will change....when the stomach get bigger not easy to go into a coupe especially if its lowered and not advisable for hard suspension too..

I think to put the seat infront, you must disable the airbag or back facing ..not too sure about LTA..I did it during my days which is over and I can drive your coupe now...

Just to share my experience...the only thing is I avoid MPV at all cost although many times almost sucuumb to one so get a bigger sedan..F10 is good.

Thanks for all your feedback.

Zorro: I don't think LTA allow us to put the baby in the front passenger side for safety reasons, isn't it?
Toto: U are my friend

Shut to *selective listening* mode now. hahha.

 

[C3P0]

Re: E92 with toddlers

First of all, congrats.

I have tried - it's not easy to carry a baby onto the rear seat of a coupe. Especially if the person is short or an old person. You may need the help of a maid, confinement lady, grandparents, family members, etc, to help to carry baby onto the back the strap him/her up. And remember again, new born's baby seat is back facing, not front facing.

However, I have a great solution. I drive an E90 (Nov 08 still have PML warranty until Nov 2011!) and I am looking for a e92 (you driving 335 ya?). Maybe we can swap. As you are having a baby, can drive a slower car to be safe. Hence 325 just nice.....

 

[totoseow]

Re: E92 with toddlers

dude i pack my 11 yr old son with my wife into a 2 seater. im telling u. for car lovers....there is a will there is a way.. just plan the route..hv some patience. avoid running in a storm....its all possible. tell ur wife, honey u wait here...u carry baby to car strap baby in..take ur time..stay calm, then drive to ur wife. she goes in...all happy. whats the point of buying a car u dun love to accomodate family life. if u do that, u will hv affair one..

 

[zorro]

Re: E92 with toddlers

Buy another car - problem solved.

 

[Racebred]

Re: E92 with toddlers

I beg to differ, For those who actually load a baby/toddler into the back seat into a coupe (as opposed to those who imagined the process in their heads) it is actually EASIER in the coupe. The reason is because most child seats have very high side bolsters. When you load a child from the door, you have to actually lift the kid above the side bolster to seat him in. But in a coupe, what you do is, you get into the driver seat with the kid. You carry the kid with both arms, turn around, and put the kid into the seat in a "front-load" movement ( the child seat must be in the left-back seat). While turning around, you can easily hook the 4 or 5 point baby seat harness, turn back around, and start driving. It's easier coz there's no "high side bolster" to clamour over. The front load movement is very smooth and unrestricted.

You save much more time this way, trust me, much faster than in a sedan. Of course I am referring to having a front-facing child seat at the rear of a coupe. If you choose to do it back-facing at the rear, it will then be much much more difficult, almost impossible even. It is not advisable to load the child seat in the front passenger seat (not coz of airbag problem, coz you can switch the passenger airbag off in the BMW) coz once the seatbelt is pulled to secure the child seat in, the left rear seat is now inaccessible. So keep the child seat at the back.

So, there's no need to change out the coupe. In fact, not until the kid is maybe like teenager, then they need more space in the rear. Anything younger than that, coupe will still be good.

 

[marklee]

Re: E92 with toddlers

dude i pack my 11 yr old son with my wife into a 2 seater. im telling u. for car lovers....there is a will there is a way.. just plan the route..hv some patience. avoid running in a storm....its all possible. tell ur wife, honey u wait here...u carry baby to car strap baby in..take ur time..stay calm, then drive to ur wife. she goes in...all happy. whats the point of buying a car u dun love to accomodate family life. if u do that, u will hv affair one..

I agree, as a car lover, you have given up in life if you buy an MPV... at least that's what I told myself when I was looking for a car not too long ago.

 

[C3P0]

Re: E92 with toddlers

How about a one month old toddler? I always thought back facing is safer.....?

 

[totoseow]

Re: E92 with toddlers

mth old? put him in the boot. dark dark he likes. machiam womb

 

[pengful]

Re: E92 with toddlers

Where has common sense gone? It is a PITA to have a coupe and still have people getting in & out all the time!

 

[sszone]

Re: E92 with toddlers

Buy a 2nd car if got budget. Toyota wish or something, then can have best of both worlds liao...hehe

 

[Je_taime]

Re: E92 with toddlers

Most baby seat manufacturers recommend that the child should remain back facing for as long as possible (until the child outgrows the seat etc) for safety reasons.

And unless the vehicle has the option to disable the front air bag, you should not put the baby seat in the front seat.

I suppose this is why most pple put the seat in the rear...

A few problems I experience putting the rear facing child seat in the E92 (or rather coupe in general):
- the "opening" between the front seat and the pillar isn't that big... it is not that easy to take the seat in and out all the time... u will probably leave the seat in the car... the long door isn't helping either...

- with the rear facing baby seat in the rear, someone has to be beside to put the baby in. if u are alone, then u will have to carefully get to the rear with the baby your arms.. not easy, and slightly awkward too... if you are with ur other half, then one can carry while the other gets in so not that bad...

- the rear passenger cannot open the door... u need to go down to open... and will be worse if u are dropping off at the side of the road etc... and i always forget to unlock the doors.. so i need to run back thru driver side to unlock...

These are not very big problems... and things will probably be better when the child gets older and can climb in on their own... so it still very much depends on ur threshold... can try to do a dry run now to decide...

Like what totoseow mentioned, good planning can help solve a lot of the abv problems...

But I still changed to a 4 door (with some other reasons too) after experience this for a week or two... but am thinking of getting a coupe again sometime later when my kid can walk.. haha!

cheers

 

[dash]

Re: E92 with toddlers

dude i pack my 11 yr old son with my wife into a 2 seater. im telling u. for car lovers....there is a will there is a way.. just plan the route..hv some patience. avoid running in a storm....its all possible. tell ur wife, honey u wait here...u carry baby to car strap baby in..take ur time..stay calm, then drive to ur wife. she goes in...all happy. whats the point of buying a car u dun love to accomodate family life. if u do that, u will hv affair one..

wow, that is one brilliant reason to have an affair, LOL.....
end OT.

Congrats to you for having a new addition to your family, foomeister!
best way is to have 2nd car.
i managed to convince my wife, so we swapped our volvo s60 sedan to Citroen Grand Picasso MPV...and she is driving it, while i'm still holding on to my e60...heehee....

if not like toto said, have lots of patience and planning....
but when the pram and baby stuff comes along, will really need a bigger space.

if all else cannot, then buy 4 door sedan and have an affair lah, LOL.

 

[highbury]

Re: E92 with toddlers

Congratulations Foomeister,

As this will be your first child, you will begin to enjoy the joys of parenthood.

Generally, it seems that most opine that a sedan car is preferred to a coupe. I agree.

I know that some have said that with planning and patience it is possible. It certainly is but I guess it is a less practical and it depends on how much you can put up with.

I you read the posts you will get the general assumption that you will be holding a static newborn/infant (like a doll) and slotting them into the car seat like a CD into a disc player. As you will soon realise, with children, life will be unpredictable. Remember that your newborn/infant will not stay that way/size forever. They will grow bigger and as they do, they begin to assert themselves.

I hope your children will not be frisky. Imagine a frisky toddler struggling, kicking, screaming, crying and not wanting to be strapped into the car seat. Difficult enough for a sedan. Probably worse for a coupe.

Maybe you can consider a sedan model for now and I suppose that when your kids get older and are of school-going age, you can always switch back to a coupe ( until they get really big)