the baby showers are (finally) over (ramones onesie!), and now it’s time to figure out the big question: what to do about the car?
ok, yes, i agree that the miata is not exactly by any stretch of the imagination kid-friendly, much less baby-friendly, much much less baby and mommy as passengers-friendly. however, now my long-dreamed plans of getting a mini are now being “gently kiboshed” by hmc, who is claiming that mini’s may not be safe enough for infants. just because nhtsa didn’t have side impact ratings for the rear seat. it turns out the rear seat is, uh, too small to get that crash test dummy in there, thus no ratings. which doesn’t necessarily mean that it’s unsafe, it just means that the back seat is perfectly kid sized! (ah, as it turns out, the iihs has tested the mini for side impacts, and it turns out good for rear seats! although less so for me. hmmm.)
but now the complaint i’m also hearing from other nosy parents is that the two-door entry will make getting snapper jones in and out of the car a real bitch. who asked them, anyway?
great, now hmc is suggesting that we take caitlin’s old CORROLA instead. so instead of driving my miata, or finally getting my mini, i’m now driving a corrola. in the burbs. what’s next, dockers? cargo pants? golf visors?
at least ezra’s helpfully suggested some alternatives. aside from what i think of as the family-friendly audi a3, he chipped in with the mazdaspeed3, the rx8, and the subaru wrx. it looks like i’ve got some test driving to do.
and then, perhaps the answer to all my woes was unveiled today: the 2008 mini cooper s clubman!
the new Clubman features side-opening “barn style” cargo doors instead of the hatch found on regular-length Minis. Each door gets its own external handle and wiper, and the hinges are concealed by the doors when closed to keep the bodywork clean. Unlike the Clubman of yore, the new car will boast a third door.
…
Just 3.2 of the Clubman’s additional inches go into the wheelbase, meaning bouncers and other big folks still won’t want to be crammed into the back seat, but now adults—instead of just grocery bags, briefcases, and children—might actually fit behind the front seats. Judging from the size of the rear door opening, though, we imagine it won’t be easy to get into and out of the rear seat.
The rest of the extra inches end up in the cargo area, where capacity swells by 3.4 cubic feet, a nearly 60-percent increase to 9.1 cubes. With the seats folded, 33 cubic feet of storage are available…
Mechanically, the Clubman is identical to the freshened Cooper that was launched in 2007, with a choice of 1.6-liter inline fours providing 118 naturally aspirated or 172 turbocharged horsepower hooked to a do-it-yourself or automatic six-speed transaxle. With 200 or so extra pounds to haul depending on trim and options, Mini figures the Clubman will take about a second longer to scramble to 60 mph, or 7.2 seconds for the S and 8.7 for the base model.
The Mini Cooper Clubman will launch in Europe mid-November this year, with a diesel option and some cool fuel-saving technologies—an idle shut-off feature like that found on mild hybrids and BMW’s clutched alternator that only engages when necessary—that we won’t see in the U.S. But we will see the Clubman itself early in 2008, likely starting in the low $20,000s. So, Mini fans torn between a growing family and a Mini: Now you can have both. Hope you like the silver trim.
i suggest you have a midget baby made out of steel. that way, no worry about the size or the impact problems.
why would you want to leave the house once you have a baby anyway?
Posted by: xz at July 31, 2007 2:51 PMOh ed. I love my Corolla. and you learn to love dockers too… join us… we only seek to imporve life for all species
PS air bags are bad for little smushers.
Posted by: John C at July 31, 2007 7:46 PM