F30 Parents, will it fit?

skw · 09-11-2014, 08:29 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rautha

We have 2 kids.
One in a carseat
The other in a booster
With these in place right and left only a very small adult such as my 5ft tall, 100 lb wife can fit in between. If I move the booster to the middle position, a larger adult can fit but the booster is really crammed in there and the side of the carseat pokes into my 8 year old in the booster and she whines and its only useful for very short trips around town.

The back seat is flatter in our Golf and you can fit a larger behind in between the two seats in that car.

We looked at X3 and its really not much better.

Unfortunately most cars and small / mid size SUV's really only have a few inches more in seat with and have same issue (carseats look small until you put them in and then you realize how WIDE they are!!

X5 with 3rd row (if they still offer that) if you can stomach the $$.

My mother in law is wide but luckily wife is small so when she is visiting we get by with making my wife sit in back with the kids.

$1,700 (usd) option on the F15 but also adds rear air suspension.

ft1330 · 09-11-2014, 09:03 AM

These days baby seats are so freaking big under the guise of safety, you need a bus if you have 2 kids. Back in the 80's they were an actual decent size, in Europe at least. They might still be doing small versions especially in Europe since cars are smaller there. And like European cars I'm pretty sure they are safer than their US counterparts, trollol.

rallybull · 09-11-2014, 09:30 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CurlyFatAngry

Will the F30 fit 2 car seats and an adult (in the middle?) or is it time for an X3?

Thanks

You need a vehicle with comfortable third row seating. X3 or even X5 will not be comfortable. Check out Toyota sienna.

Bahn360Photo · 09-11-2014, 09:40 AM

yes it will

Michael Schott · 09-11-2014, 10:47 AM

If you want a car that can fit two child seats and an adult you are going to need either as mentioned a Minivan or a full size SUV or a full sized car like a Chrysler 300, Taurus or Impala and even then it might be tight.

DJ Rocc · 09-11-2014, 11:00 AM

How about looking at the BMW Active Tourer?

mrdirosa · 09-11-2014, 11:54 AM

Check out http://f30.bimmerpost.com/forums/sho...&postcount=167

http://f30.bimmerpost.com/forums/sho...&postcount=169

F31 works great for our family of 4. For the seldom need of carrying more than the four of us, we're usually traveling with others that can drive their car...

-Michael

rjpeaks · 09-11-2014, 02:15 PM

i'm a fan of wagons!

esp those with 300+ HP

when my kids were younger, we needed more room, especially when i was coaching sports. depends what the OP needs.

CurlyFatAngry · 09-11-2014, 08:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mrdirosa

Check out http://f30.bimmerpost.com/forums/sho...&postcount=167

http://f30.bimmerpost.com/forums/sho...&postcount=169

F31 works great for our family of 4. For the seldom need of carrying more than the four of us, we're usually traveling with others that can drive their car...

-Michael

I love wagons myself. The wife not so much.

Diesel power · 09-11-2014, 09:18 PM

Mine too, after 6 years I finally wore her down. We are now proud owners of a M Sport F31.

Professor///M · 09-12-2014, 02:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CurlyFatAngry

Will the F30 fit 2 car seats and an adult (in the middle?) or is it time for an X3?

Thanks

Hardly.

It's less a problem of will it fit, than will you be able to access the seatbelts, and connectors.

The short answer, no.

m_alnimah · 09-12-2014, 04:51 AM

Let me just say, if your mother in law is a tiny person (short, skinny) then an X3 would do the job.. Otherwise let one of the Infants be in the Lap of an Adult and just keep 1 baby seat in the car... My recommendations Black X3 with M Sport Package and LED Headlights with Black Interior

shivaswrath · 09-12-2014, 07:09 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CurlyFatAngry

Will the F30 fit 2 car seats and an adult (in the middle?) or is it time for an X3?

Thanks

Are you using the LATCH anchors or...?
I think you could fit a skinny adult in the middle...but would be tight.

f30er · 09-12-2014, 07:44 AM

I have a 2 month old in a Britax infant seat in the rear passenger side. With the carseat in, I have to move the front passenger seat all the way forward, making it impossible for someone to sit there. My wife sits in the middle and someone could sit behind me if necessary but it would be impossible to have a rear-facing carseat behind me also. My wife is 100lbs soaking wet but I doubt she would fit if there was another car seat back there....
We're not keeping the F30 and are looking to upgrade to a Cayenne. If you're against the minivan, check out the Merc GL. My cousin has 3 small kids and swears by it!

rjpeaks · 09-12-2014, 10:52 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CurlyFatAngry

I love wagons myself. The wife not so much.

my wife hated my S4 man. she complained about the ride etc. until we listed it (only on Audizine). once we started getting interest, she started driving it more than me!

wife loves the blue bomber now though.

now i could just get my car back from the dealer...

OP - we went through 3 Yukon XL's

rjpeaks · 09-12-2014, 10:53 AM

we looked at the GL

you can buy two minivans for the price of the 450, add a miata with the 550.

alienranch · 09-12-2014, 10:57 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by f30er

I have a 2 month old in a Britax infant seat in the rear passenger side. With the carseat in, I have to move the front passenger seat all the way forward, making it impossible for someone to sit there. My wife sits in the middle and someone could sit behind me if necessary but it would be impossible to have a rear-facing carseat behind me also. My wife is 100lbs soaking wet but I doubt she would fit if there was another car seat back there....
We're not keeping the F30 and are looking to upgrade to a Cayenne. If you're against the minivan, check out the Merc GL. My cousin has 3 small kids and swears by it!

Had the same problem. Best rear-facing seat for our cars is the Combi Cocorro. Fits much better than the Britax infant carrier which I couldn't even use.

ƒ° · 09-12-2014, 11:07 AM

Have you guys tried putting one car seat in the middle and one on the side?

My set up is the Chico Keyfit30 (rear facing) in the middle and a Peg Perego Primo Viaggio SIP 5-65 on the passenger side (front facing); one adult can sit behind the driver and buckle their seat belt. But most of the time, the dog sits there (also buckled in). It's not like you have the roomy comfort of a limo but I drive solo most of the time. And in cases we need to pack the car, it works.

I did not want a big car. So I bought the F30 adamant that this car needed to work for the whole family and so far, it has. Our other car is not much bigger than the F30 and we have the same set up.

coolmex200 · 09-12-2014, 11:11 AM

We have a 335 and took a 3 hr road trip...there's no room for a third person unless is an emergency of some sort. We are driving an X3 as a demo for about 2 months and we have two car seat and a pre-teen in there...but I would not recommend for daily driver. We were able to fit two car seats and a booster on the X5 we test drove. We did order one with the 3rd row option.

munch520 · 09-12-2014, 12:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CurlyFatAngry

I love wagons myself. The wife not so much.

Ditto. Couldn't convince mine to go for one.

I'm with all here OP, there's no way. Shoot, my 3 series won't even fit a car seat back there unless it's front-facing. Well it could, but my front passenger would be sucking on the airbag.

We didn't want to spend a lot of money on the kid hauler, given that we went with a GMC Acadia and have been very very happy. Seats 7, decent MPG, nice features, drives like a much smaller vehicle, etc. And mid $30k out the door for the one we got (0% too). We can easily get 2 car seats in the captains chairs and still fit 5 adults comfortably (driver, passenger, and 3 in rear).

I'd love to have an X5 or any of the larger SUVs out there, but they guzzle gas and bottom line is, kids tear up interiors (and mine are well behaved) so I'd rather not have them in a $60-80k premium SUV. That's just me though, I know I'm probably the odd man out. But my wife and I are only 27, the buck has to stop somewhere when it comes to spending!

Diesel power · 09-12-2014, 01:15 PM

Glad to hear you like the Acadia, my wife and I were considering one of those to complement the 3 Wagon when my CTS lease is up next year. What drivetrain do you have? MPG?

sleedawg · 09-12-2014, 01:39 PM

I'll reiterate what others had said...

What kind of car seats?
Are we talking booster, convertible, infant seat?
Front facing or rear facing?
What combo?
What brand as some are real small (Graco) vs ridiculously big (Britax).

In terms of an adult fitting... what size adult?
How long a ride and how often?

From experience, we have 2 car seats (Britax Pinnacle 90s) in our f30 328i and my wife who is 5'3" and is light and small framed (not going to document her weight or she'll kill me) can fit in between the two seats for short distances. Would she sit there for more than say... 10 minutes. Probably not.

The x3 is not going to be much better. We have an x5 and it's barely livable with the two car seats for someone sitting in between for maybe 20 minutes.

Time to face facts... it's time for the minivan.

09-11-2014, 09:03 AM	#24
ft1330 Major 231 Rep 1,267 Posts Drives: 2014 335i Join Date: Oct 2013 Location: SE PA iTrader: (0)	These days baby seats are so freaking big under the guise of safety, you need a bus if you have 2 kids. Back in the 80's they were an actual decent size, in Europe at least. They might still be doing small versions especially in Europe since cars are smaller there. And like European cars I'm pretty sure they are safer than their US counterparts, trollol.
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09-11-2014, 09:40 AM	#26
Bahn360Photo Fitness Gene 1112 Rep 2,413 Posts Drives: 2018 M4 Join Date: Feb 2014 Location: SoFlo iTrader: (2) Garage List 2006 bmw m5 [10.00] 2016 bmw z4 35is [8.33] 2000 bmw m5 [10.00] 2018 BMW M4 [10.00] 1987 BMW 325 Conver ... [10.00]	yes it will __________________ Effective 11 Min Home Workouts????? No equipment????? 20 years of experience Spartan Race winner PROtrainer! Click the link?? https://www.youtube.com/c/FitnessGene
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09-11-2014, 10:47 AM	#27
Michael Schott Colonel 343 Rep 2,118 Posts Drives: 2017 VW GTI Sport Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Farmington Hills, MI iTrader: (0)	If you want a car that can fit two child seats and an adult you are going to need either as mentioned a Minivan or a full size SUV or a full sized car like a Chrysler 300, Taurus or Impala and even then it might be tight.
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09-11-2014, 11:00 AM	#28
DJ Rocc Major 199 Rep 1,114 Posts Drives: BMW 428i Gran Coupe (2015) Join Date: May 2014 Location: Kingston, Jamaica iTrader: (0)	How about looking at the BMW Active Tourer? __________________ My Ride! : 2015 428i GC (F36) - MSport, Alpine, Black Leather, MBrakes, Adaptive, Sport Seats, Hex. Alum w/Piano, HK Sound, 400m's, Comfort Acc. When I’m not Driving: https://youtube.com/shorts/ViKD_Hj5htE?feature=share
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09-11-2014, 11:54 AM	#29
mrdirosa Second Lieutenant 15 Rep 229 Posts Drives: 2014 328i Sport Wagon Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Gig Harbor, WA iTrader: (8)	Check out http://f30.bimmerpost.com/forums/sho...&postcount=167 http://f30.bimmerpost.com/forums/sho...&postcount=169 F31 works great for our family of 4. For the seldom need of carrying more than the four of us, we're usually traveling with others that can drive their car... -Michael __________________ F31 2014 BMW 328i xDrive M-Sport Sport Wagon
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09-11-2014, 02:15 PM	#30
rjpeaks Lieutenant 14 Rep 577 Posts Drives: F30 335i M-Sport 6pd Join Date: May 2014 Location: Huntington Beach iTrader: (0)	i'm a fan of wagons! esp those with 300+ HP when my kids were younger, we needed more room, especially when i was coaching sports. depends what the OP needs. __________________ 335I M-Sport 6spd EBII MPPK MPE DHP HK PDC ZTP ZPS ZPP ZDA ZPK 802.11ac ABC123
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09-11-2014, 09:18 PM	#32
Diesel power Second Lieutenant 130 Rep 247 Posts Drives: 24 Q8 E-Tron 24 M3 CX Join Date: Aug 2014 Location: LI, NY iTrader: (0)	Mine too, after 6 years I finally wore her down. We are now proud owners of a M Sport F31.
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09-12-2014, 04:51 AM	#34
m_alnimah Lieutenant 70 Rep 473 Posts Drives: 2016 Mini Cooper S 5 Door Join Date: Aug 2014 Location: Doha, Qatar iTrader: (0) Garage List 2015 BMW X5 [10.00]	Let me just say, if your mother in law is a tiny person (short, skinny) then an X3 would do the job.. Otherwise let one of the Infants be in the Lap of an Adult and just keep 1 baby seat in the car... My recommendations Black X3 with M Sport Package and LED Headlights with Black Interior __________________ 2015 X5 xDrive35i M Sport, Black Sapphire on Terra Dakota Leather, Lane Change Warning, Lighting Package, 6WB, ConnectedDrive Services... (Sold) 2016 Mini Cooper S 5 Door Fully Equipped. (Sold) 2016 Audi A6 35 TFSI 2017 X6 xDrive50i Pure Extravagance, Space Grey on Coral Red, Fully Equipped.
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09-12-2014, 07:44 AM	#36
f30er Captain 126 Rep 993 Posts Drives: F85 Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: OTP iTrader: (6) Garage List 2014 Jaguar F-Type R [0.00] 2016 GMC Yukon XL [0.00] 2018 BMW X5M [0.00]	I have a 2 month old in a Britax infant seat in the rear passenger side. With the carseat in, I have to move the front passenger seat all the way forward, making it impossible for someone to sit there. My wife sits in the middle and someone could sit behind me if necessary but it would be impossible to have a rear-facing carseat behind me also. My wife is 100lbs soaking wet but I doubt she would fit if there was another car seat back there.... We're not keeping the F30 and are looking to upgrade to a Cayenne. If you're against the minivan, check out the Merc GL. My cousin has 3 small kids and swears by it!
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09-12-2014, 10:53 AM	#38
rjpeaks Lieutenant 14 Rep 577 Posts Drives: F30 335i M-Sport 6pd Join Date: May 2014 Location: Huntington Beach iTrader: (0)	we looked at the GL you can buy two minivans for the price of the 450, add a miata with the 550. __________________ 335I M-Sport 6spd EBII MPPK MPE DHP HK PDC ZTP ZPS ZPP ZDA ZPK 802.11ac ABC123
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09-12-2014, 11:07 AM	#40
ƒ° ✚ 101 Rep 1,237 Posts Drives: ✚ Join Date: Feb 2012 Location: ✚ ✚ iTrader: (1)	Have you guys tried putting one car seat in the middle and one on the side? My set up is the Chico Keyfit30 (rear facing) in the middle and a Peg Perego Primo Viaggio SIP 5-65 on the passenger side (front facing); one adult can sit behind the driver and buckle their seat belt. But most of the time, the dog sits there (also buckled in). It's not like you have the roomy comfort of a limo but I drive solo most of the time. And in cases we need to pack the car, it works. I did not want a big car. So I bought the F30 adamant that this car needed to work for the whole family and so far, it has. Our other car is not much bigger than the F30 and we have the same set up.
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09-12-2014, 11:11 AM	#41
coolmex200 Second Lieutenant 117 Rep 213 Posts Drives: F80 M3, 2016 X5 35i, F25d Join Date: Aug 2014 Location: DE iTrader: (0)	We have a 335 and took a 3 hr road trip...there's no room for a third person unless is an emergency of some sort. We are driving an X3 as a demo for about 2 months and we have two car seat and a pre-teen in there...but I would not recommend for daily driver. We were able to fit two car seats and a booster on the X5 we test drove. We did order one with the 3rd row option.
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09-12-2014, 01:15 PM	#43
Diesel power Second Lieutenant 130 Rep 247 Posts Drives: 24 Q8 E-Tron 24 M3 CX Join Date: Aug 2014 Location: LI, NY iTrader: (0)	Glad to hear you like the Acadia, my wife and I were considering one of those to complement the 3 Wagon when my CTS lease is up next year. What drivetrain do you have? MPG?
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09-12-2014, 01:39 PM	#44
sleedawg Private 9 Rep 87 Posts Drives: 2015 328i & 2011 335i Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: Fairfield County, CT iTrader: (0)	I'll reiterate what others had said... What kind of car seats? Are we talking booster, convertible, infant seat? Front facing or rear facing? What combo? What brand as some are real small (Graco) vs ridiculously big (Britax). In terms of an adult fitting... what size adult? How long a ride and how often? From experience, we have 2 car seats (Britax Pinnacle 90s) in our f30 328i and my wife who is 5'3" and is light and small framed (not going to document her weight or she'll kill me) can fit in between the two seats for short distances. Would she sit there for more than say... 10 minutes. Probably not. The x3 is not going to be much better. We have an x5 and it's barely livable with the two car seats for someone sitting in between for maybe 20 minutes. Time to face facts... it's time for the minivan.
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