[wmuncaster]

Hi everyone,

My wife and I are expecting our second child in November. We currently have an E90, which accommodates an infant seat well enough. However, we cannot fit our larger convertible seat in the E90 in a rear-facing configuration. Once the new addition to the family arrives, I'll need to fit both an infant seat and a rear-facing convertible seat in the back of my car. Hence, I'm looking at F10's.

My question is pretty straightforward: does anyone have experience with fitting a rear-facing convertible child safety seat in the back of the F10?

Also, is there still enough room for a tallish passenger to ride comfortably in the seat ahead of the child seat? The issue with the E90 is that the front seats have to be moved WAY too far forward to accommodate the safety seat behind them.

Any help (and pics) would be greatly appreciated!

[M6NIAC]

I'm 6'1 and when I drive my baby cousins (2 years of age) from place to place I have more than enough room. Their baby seats are not extremely huge, but they are definitely not small! Hope that helps you in any way!

[wmuncaster]

Originally Posted by Arko528

I'm 6'1 and when I drive my baby cousins (2 years of age) from place to place I have more than enough room. Their baby seats are not extremely huge, but they are definitely not small! Hope that helps you in any way!

Thanks, Arko! It does.
My wife is pushing for an E70, but they don't come with manual transmissions!
It's my job to justify sticking with a sedan...

[M6NIAC]

Originally Posted by wmuncaster

Thanks, Arko! It does.
My wife is pushing for an E70, but they don't come with manual transmissions!
It's my job to justify sticking with a sedan...

best of luck!!

[ndinh]

There is no way you're going to be able to have either an infant seat (click into base type) or a rear facing convertible seat behind the driver's side, unless you're like 5'2" or shorter. We used an infant seat, then a rear facing convertible seat on the passenger side for 1 1/2 years and it was difficult for anyone to sit in the passenger front. Last weekend we just switched the conv seat to forward facing and now we can move the front passenger seat back to normal...finally! Long story short, your only option with 2 seats is to have one in the middle and one on the passenger side which will be impossible with the available space, anchors and seatbelts. No go brotha, look at a X3 or X5 instead. I'm pretty confident that Arko528 has his seats forward facing to fit 2 year olds.

[ndinh]

Just to give you an idea, when we had the infant/rearward facing conv seat on the passenger side, my wife 5'6" and my dad 5'6" were the only ones that were able to sit in the front and their knees were touching the glovebox. It was unsafe. We used the Chicco Keyfit and now the Chicco Nextfit.

[w210e55]

I currently have a britax forward facing seat behind the passenger seat. I never had to put a rear facing in this car but I did have an orbit baby g2 rear facing in my yukon and my range rover and that thing took up ALL the space and left really any wiggle room for the front seat. I really don't think it would fit that well in the 5'er.

Now the forward facing seat, that has given front passenger room back to the front passenger. LOL

Hopefully that helps.

if you need pics I can take pics with the forward facing seat and show you how much room you might have.

thanks

[wmuncaster]

Thanks for all the advice, everyone.

I'm bummed the F10 doesn't have more rear seat clearance! We have a Maxi-Cosi Pria 85 that I test-fit in a 2011 Mercedes E550. The benz had plenty of room to fit the chunky seat behind the driver! I was hoping BMW's mid-size sedan competitor would have similar dimensions.

Any pics, front or rear-facing, would be great!

I figured that front-facing wouldn't be an issue, even in our E90. My son will be 2yo when the baby's born. However, my wife understandably wants to keep him rear-facing as long as possible... That just might not be an option without going to an SUV or full-size sedan. You've got to wonder how families in Europe manage child safety seating with all their compact cars and very few SUV's!

[Bbb34]

Originally Posted by wmuncaster

I figured that front-facing wouldn't be an issue

Even for front facing, F10 isn't exactly ideal.

Front seats are more comfortable, but also bigger than E90 which takes away space. You'll have enough leg room for your kids, but you'll need to look for more narrow front facing seat/base due to the "hump" in the middle and somewhat contoured rear seats. That plus shape of the seat due to rear wheel well that extends into the cabin and forces wider seat to cover the belt buckle - real pain to deal with unless you find more narrow seat. My kids were out of rear facing seats by the time I purchased F10, but I'm guessing all these design details would affect those as well. I'm guessing young families weren't the target buyers when F10 was designed.

[wmuncaster]

Originally Posted by Bbb34

Even for front facing, F10 isn't exactly ideal.

Front seats are more comfortable, but also bigger than E90 which takes away space. You'll have enough leg room for your kids, but you'll need to look for more narrow front facing seat/base due to the "hump" in the middle and somewhat contoured rear seats. That plus shape of the seat due to rear wheel well that extends into the cabin and forces wider seat to cover the belt buckle - real pain to deal with unless you find more narrow seat. My kids were out of rear facing seats by the time I purchased F10, but I'm guessing all these design details would affect those as well. I'm guessing young families weren't the target buyers when F10 was designed.

What a bummer!

My previous, previous car was an E46 ZHP with a 6-speed. I let my wife convince me to get an AT in the E90 and I sorely miss the manual transmission. I was excited to think I might be back in the market for a stick, but it doesn't sound like that'll happen for a few years...

Thanks for all your input!

[M5Beast_NYC]

If you want to stick with the 5 series, then you might want to look into the GT. I think the added headroom will give the same impression as what the X5 will.

[Bbb34]

Originally Posted by wmuncaster

...I let my wife convince me to get an AT in the E90 and I sorely miss the manual transmission. I was excited to think I might be back in the market for a stick...

I know exactly what you're talking about, dying breed as we might be, I too prefer manual transmission. Keep in mind F10s or really any mid/Full size family cars with manual transmissions are not easy to find in Canada/US anymore.

Regarding child seats, don't write F10 purchase off based on my comments. Both my wife and I are fairly tall, so it might be better for your family. That still won't change the fact that you need seats that are a bit more narrow or seat belt extenders for front facing ones. Of course it can be done even with wider seats, it's just not as easy to buckle kids in, as some other cars we've owned/rented.

[mko9]

I have three seats in the back of my F10, but I don't think I can necessarily give you the info you need. We started off with the infant in a bucket on a base (Chico Keyfit 30) in the middle. My older kids were both in forward facing convertibles (Diono Malibu) on either side. When my littlest outgrew the bucket, we turned one of the convertibles to backwards facing, again in the middle. It actually slides right in between the two front seat. The other convertible was still forward facing on one side, and a booster with a back on the other side. Now that the littlest is a 2+ tank, the 2x convertibles are side by side (middle and driver side), forward facing, and the booster is on the passenger side. In addition, when we went to the booster for my oldest, it also needed a seatbeat extender because they are all in there really tight. It appears that you cannot get an extender for the center seat, because of the notch in the buckle, so her booster has to be on one side or the other.

You could fit a backwards facing convertible (like the Diono Radian or Malibu) in the middle, and a bucket behind the passenger seat, but that is probably not ideal. My wife is 5'5", and a bucket behind the passenger seat was not a problem. Even in my e46, a backwards facing convertible (Britax Marathon) or the infant bucket (Chico Keyfit 30) behind the passenger seat were not a problem for her. I am 6', and I could fit in there easily. I just wouldn't want to stay there for a long road trip.