[spuntyb]

Originally Posted by starbai

Not sure I would have fun spunty lol that's why I'm here asking for real world opinions before I go pull the trigger on one.

I live in the real world too and have fun in mine, otherwise I wouldn't have recommend it. It's very underrated. Especially if you're even remotely considering an Accord. Color me confused.

[YeaG30]

This past visit to service, I was provided a 430i GC loaner. I currently drive an F30 and have a 2 year old and a baby on the way. The F30 as you may know fits most child seats adequately and I always think of the F36 as a viable option for the next car. However, there are some drawbacks.

• The car is smaller in the back seat but if your children are forward-facing, the car seats actually fit nicely. Rear-facing not so much.
• The doors have frameless windows and I found myself when loading/unloading my child that I almost hit my head/face leaning in to the car.
• The rear door openings are much smaller than the F30 so it presents its challenges.
• The rear hatch is nice, however the compartment itself is smaller.

My wife's car is the X5 which pulls a majority of the workload on the weekends. I'd personally recommend the X3 or X5 and look beyond the F36 as a true practical car. If your kids weren't in car seats, then the F36 is a fine alternative.

[spuntyb]

Originally Posted by YeaF30

This past visit to service, I was provided a 430i GC loaner. I currently drive an F30 and have a 2 year old and a baby on the way. The F30 as you may know fits most child seats adequately and I always think of the F36 as a viable option for the next car. However, there are some drawbacks.

• The car is smaller in the back seat but if your children are forward-facing, the car seats actually fit nicely. Rear-facing not so much.
• The doors have frameless windows and I found myself when loading/unloading my child that I almost hit my head/face leaning in to the car.
• The rear door openings are much smaller than the F30 so it presents its challenges.
• The rear hatch is nice, however the compartment itself is smaller.

My wife's car is the X5 which pulls a majority of the workload on the weekends. I'd personally recommend the X3 or X5 and look beyond the F36 as a true practical car. If your kids weren't in car seats, then the F36 is a fine alternative.

"If your kids weren't in car seats, then the F36 is a fine alternative."

Exactly. You can do it, but you're just making life harder.

[Hispeed4fun]

Originally Posted by starbai

Yea I'm just not personally a fan of the styling. It or the X4. If the 4GC cannot work then it'll have to be an X3 (at least) for me.

I hear you. I do like the new X3 and am going to take a hard look at one in the new year. As for the GT there are better looking cars but the utility cant be beat in car form and comes with big engine as opposed to wagon.

[tex2670]

Originally Posted by rak299

Once you experience the realities of what happens when the kid throws up or pees into your nice leather seats, you may agree with my solution - a 2-door coupe for me and a Prius with vinyl seats. That solution came to me after a short trip with 2 kids in the roomy back seat of my new 7-series. The smell was there forever.

Yeah, well, I did that to a roommate's car in college. So that risk never really goes away, does it?

[Kafkaesque328]

it has 4 doors and latches for baby seats, its fine. I have a rear facing and a forward facing seat in my 328i. Its not ideal, but its fine

[YeaG30]

Originally Posted by tex2670

Yeah, well, I did that to a roommate's car in college. So that risk never really goes away, does it?

which one was it? the later would drastically change the dynamics of the friendship.

[skier219]

I had a Gran Coupe and now drive a 2-door F32 coupe. Both have plenty of room in the rear for a forward-facing child seat. Not sure about a rear-facing seat, which is what you'd need for an infant (on through a certain weight at which point you flip around). But no issues in either car with room for the forward-facing seat with a kid in it. Plenty of space.

Some problems to note though. While the Gran Coupe gives you that rear door, the roofline is low so you will be bending over or squatting down to reach in and buckle the child up unless you are really really short. The rear door makes it easier for the kid to get in and out, but does not help the adult much (buckling my child in the two-door coupe is not any worse for me than the Gran Coupe, if that tells you anything).

Other issue is that the split folding rear seat is useless with a child seat mounted on the passenger side, which is where most people will want to put it (so you the driver can more easily reach/interact with the kid). You see, BMW decided that the split seat sections can't fold independently, they have to fold in a certain order. I was really annoyed to discover that the first time I wanted to stick a long box in the hatch of my Gran Coupe and I could not fold down the driver's side section without first folding the center section, which is blocked from folding when you install a child seat on the passenger side. You can drop the passenger side by itself, or the center by itself, or the center and driver side as a pair, but not the driver's side by itself. It would actually be more useful if it was a two-section split seat, since then each section would be fully independent and usable with a child seat on the other side. When it's three sections, they lose that flexibility because they need an extra center latch.

Other than that, I thought the GC was great for toting around a kid. The rear hatchback gives a lot of versatility and gives you a nice covered area that can be used to change a diaper, have a picnic, have the kid sit on a toddler potty, etc. To me it's nearly as versatile as having a station wagon but it's a lot nicer looking body style.

[tex2670]

Originally Posted by YeaF30

which one was it? the later would drastically change the dynamics of the friendship.

Sorry--I thought making "throw up" bold in the block quote would have made it obvious.

[starbai]

Originally Posted by YeaF30

This past visit to service, I was provided a 430i GC loaner. I currently drive an F30 and have a 2 year old and a baby on the way. The F30 as you may know fits most child seats adequately and I always think of the F36 as a viable option for the next car. However, there are some drawbacks.

• The car is smaller in the back seat but if your children are forward-facing, the car seats actually fit nicely. Rear-facing not so much.
• The doors have frameless windows and I found myself when loading/unloading my child that I almost hit my head/face leaning in to the car.
• The rear door openings are much smaller than the F30 so it presents its challenges.
• The rear hatch is nice, however the compartment itself is smaller.

My wife's car is the X5 which pulls a majority of the workload on the weekends. I'd personally recommend the X3 or X5 and look beyond the F36 as a true practical car. If your kids weren't in car seats, then the F36 is a fine alternative.

I'm starting to think that perhaps it would be a better option after a 3 year lease with an X3/X5 for now.

[starbai]

Originally Posted by spuntyb

I live in the real world too and have fun in mine, otherwise I wouldn't have recommend it. It's very underrated. Especially if you're even remotely considering an Accord. Color me confused.

The new accord also has a 2.0T. FWD isn't as fun as RWD, but, the back seat and trunk are huge and I'm as much a honda guy as I am a BMW guy. Its cheaper, will likely hold better resale and as a baby mobile its not a bad choice. If it was my only vehicle it wouldn't work. But my M3, S2000, and Prelude aren't going anywhere. So having a less expensive family car isn't a bad idea if it can't be exactly what I want, "settling" for an Accord isn't necessarily horrible.

[rak299]

I've never liked the way front-wheel drive cars feel, especially with a manual transmission. The clutch always feels "grabby".

[starbai]

Originally Posted by spuntyb

I live in the real world too and have fun in mine, otherwise I wouldn't have recommend it. It's very underrated. Especially if you're even remotely considering an Accord. Color me confused.

Originally Posted by rak299

I've never liked the way front-wheel drive cars feel.

Yea they are different. I grew up driving FWD. They can be done very poorly or very well. Thankfully Honda knows how to build a fun FWD car, the 2018 Accord so far has proven itself with adjustable dampers etc.

Nope won't be on par with a 3 series. Not at all. But, for a daily commuter its certainly above average, I'd say.

[JK479]

Originally Posted by starbai

if there was a 6cyl option, I would. In a heart beat.

Why don't more people rebel against the 4 banger? It's not even close to the i6 for smoothness.

[Dang3r]

The F36 is a heck of a designation by the BMW propaganda team to call a 4 doored hatchback a coupé!
I would like to say they build it to please the kindergarten party to help them decide to buy a look-like sporty car. Into my neighborhood there are few of them and all have childs into the ages from 1 up to 8, heard no complaints against the car v/s children.

[starbai]

Originally Posted by JK479

Why don't more people rebel against the 4 banger? It's not even close to the i6 for smoothness.

Its not necessarily the same experience, but its not a bad experience. I suspect for most people its just fine.

For me if I'm spending 50k on a car, it better have the powerplant I want. Otherwise, back down to the mid 30's minor leagues (or CPO) for me.

[440xiGCMsport]

Originally Posted by starbai

The new accord also has a 2.0T. FWD isn't as fun as RWD, but, the back seat and trunk are huge and I'm as much a honda guy as I am a BMW guy. Its cheaper, will likely hold better resale and as a baby mobile its not a bad choice. If it was my only vehicle it wouldn't work. But my M3, S2000, and Prelude aren't going anywhere. So having a less expensive family car isn't a bad idea if it can't be exactly what I want, "settling" for an Accord isn't necessarily horrible.

Originally Posted by starbai

I mean i grew up in the back seat of an 87 Accord and a 92 Prelude... so for me, I don't get this whole concept of 'needing a large car' for a baby... but I'm told, times are different and kids have a lot more crap than when I was growing up. lol

More fun than an x3/x5 also.

[starbai]

Originally Posted by 440xiGCMsport

More fun than an x3/x5 also.

Wel, l I've no doubt the X3 m40i is gonna be fun, but I'm not sure I love it enough to spend that much on it.

I am really feeling the new X5... but not sure I can wait till it comes out (or afford it optioned how I want it when it does).


The accord has a very large backseat:


And, people have at least begun photoshopping modding it and it looks damn nice done up a little bit:

[JK479]

Originally Posted by starbai

Its not necessarily the same experience, but its not a bad experience. I suspect for most people its just fine.

For me if I'm spending 50k on a car, it better have the powerplant I want. Otherwise, back down to the mid 30's minor leagues (or CPO) for me.

If they can perfect the sound of the four-cylinder idling I would give it a much more positive review because I think the power is fine- it's just the sound at high rpm and also the idol of the four cylinder that really isnt appealing

[nickf30]

Originally Posted by starbai

Well that's just it, Wife thinks the GC is smaller than the F80... and the F80 is pretty much the bare minimum for a rear facing child seat/family car.

I found the 430I GC to be 1 size smaller than my F30. With the driver seat adjust to my sitting position (5'11"), I can barely get into the back seat (read less space than a MK7 GTI) and the frameless door with narrow opening is a big no-no for handling small kids especially in Winter. Better get a X3 or 3 series wagon (328d sport wagon is fantastic).

[Rick Hunter]

F36 owner here. I made a conscious decision on choosing this car knowing that it wasn't going to be as spacious as say an F31 or F34. For the most part the car serves our family well and the loading / unloading of my kid isn't as bad as you'd think. Yes it's a bit tighter compared to the other cars but not bad. The bigger selling point for me was the hatch... I can fit so much stuff in the trunk including my full sized stroller (Chicco Activ3)

The F36 is essentially a pair of stilettos... you suffer a bit getting in and out of it but it looks great and I'll have it no other way.

Sorry, I do not have any pics with the carseat rear-facing. But here's what it looks like forward-facing:


Shoulder checks are just fine as well:

[jmg]

The GC is harder to get into and out of than a regular F30, which also happens to be the exact same size as my F80. Forward facing seats in my F80 and F30 are fine, but backward seats will be tight. I much more enjoyed using my wife's Forester when driving out baby around. You want something taller so you don't have to bend down too much. Your back will thank you. I'd look into the new X3M's.