Baby Seat in 2004 E46 Coupe

[Cootehall]

Our first baby is due in September and it's time to sort out the baby car seat. The coupe rear seats aren't that easy to accessible but has anyone had experience of a E46 coupe (330ci sport, 2004 model) and baby seats. Putting baby in and out of the rear seats may be a bit much for my wife from a weight point of view.

Obviously not first choice but is the front passenger seat an option with the airbag disabled? (Thinking about it I'm not sure if it has side airbags too). Also, we'd like to use the isofix system - do the 2004 models have Isofix anchors fitted as standard or were they an option?

All advice appreciated.

[Zod]

I think it will have ISOFIX. My 2001, 2002 an d2004 M3s and CSL all had it.

Still, I changed car to avoid the reaching into the back issue (the CSL seats don't give much access to the rear). THe Coupe boot also start to look small when confronted with baby gear.

[fergy]

If I was in your position I'd try and see if the Britax "Cosy Tot Isofix" fits...it got top marks in the "what" survery for the initial size. I had an older version without Isofix but would 100% recommend going down the Isofix route.

I had the britax "Duo Plus Isofix" seat in the back of my e46 330ci clubsport...fitted great, but that is from about 10 months plus so not much good initially. It again came top for the 9kg+ category on the what survey.



As my son got bigger, and heavier I ended up swapping for a 4 door car...mistake as I really miss my clubsport but acccess sooooo much easier when you have 4 doors.

Edited by fergy on Friday 18th August 11:22

[olf]

Snap - congrats!

We bought a maxi cosi easyfix which is an isofix base. It also has a front stabiliser bar which seems to work well, been practising you see!

I'm pretty sure Isofix is rear seats only though.

Edited by olf on Friday 18th August 17:50

[Vee]

Another vote for MaxiCosi Cabriofix + Isofix base. It works brilliantly.
My 5 month old is getting heavier now so I'm going to have to get a 4dr for the Mrs sooner rather than later. She still maintains that the ci is OK for her but I'm not so sure.

My local dealer was less than helpful so I didn't bother with the BMW route.

[Robertb]

From birth, the Maxi Cosi Cabrio Fix with Isofix is great. Fits well on the Quinny Zapp and Speedy SX which are both good buggies.

For stage 2 is you still want Isofix, move on to the Maxi Cosi Priorifix.

After that, you can get an Isofix mounted stage 3 seat, but no real advantage as the child is held in by the car's seat belt anyway and the seat just rests on the bench.

I struggled with my E46 Cab to find a stage 3 seat that fitted due to the rear head restraints. After trying loads, I found that the Britax Evolva Ultra fitted best- this will also work for stage 2.

Edited by Robertb on Monday 21st August 15:32

[Cootehall]

Appreciate the replies chaps.

Vee, did you use the baby seat in the passenger or the rear seat? If the front, i'm sure you turned off the airbag - was that done via a main dealer if so what's the charge?

[Zod]

you chaps must be post-April. Back then, I couldnt' find the Maxi-Cosi ISOFIX anywhere.

[vee]

Zod said:

you chaps must be post-April. Back then, I couldnt' find the Maxi-Cosi ISOFIX anywhere.

John Lewis Brent Cross - my son was born 9 March and we bought the seat & base a week later. They did say that it had only just been released and that they expected a shortage of supply.

[Zod]

I went to Oxford Street who told me it hadn't been released yet.

[Robertb]

There is a shortage of Maxi Cosi stuff, so there may be a delivery delay. Try www.babyworld.co.uk

[vee]

Our broke last week so took it back to Brent Cross. They had another in stock to replace it with. Seems we've just been luck with availability !

[Mats]

I bought a Britax Prague Isofix Duo for £147. We have 2 of them. One for the M3 and the other for the wife's Kia Sportage. They look great with the black leather and have a really good locking system.