As a new parent, it’s important to pick the right car seat for your Mini. New Minis come equipped with the standard ISOFIX anchoring system, but you should still check the owner’s manual and research the proper guidelines to make sure your child is as safe as possible.

Having a baby is a joyous occasion, but picking out a car seat—well, it’s a little less fun. There are so many safety ratings, product recalls, user reviews, and price points that it can make your head spin. You know you have to pick a good one, no matter what, but it can start to seem like an impossible decision.

Car insurance

expert

Jerry

is here to tell you that it’s not impossible, and we’ve created a handy little guide to picking the best car seat for your Mini. We’ll help you get the ball rolling by giving you some tips on how to choose and install the right car seat. In addition, we’ll tell you about some of the best Mini models for families and give you an overview of car seat laws in all 50 states. But wait, there's more—we'll also give you some tips on how to lower your

Mini insurance costs

Compare insurance quotes from 50+ insurance companies with Jerry in under 45 seconds

Find Savings!

4.7/5 rating on the App Store | Trusted by 5+ million customers and 7 million cars

4.7/5 app rating | Trusted by 5M+ drivers

How to choose a car seat for a Mini

The

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

(NHTSA) has a set of car seat guidelines for children aged 0-12 years. Your child’s age, weight, and height will roughly determine what kind of car seat they need.

For very young children, the NHTSA recommends the use of a rear-facing seat until the child outgrows the height and weight requirements (usually around age three). You’ll then move on to a front-facing seat for the four to seven age range. After that, the NHTSA recommends the use of a booster seat until your child is 12 years old or taller than four foot nine.

Still a bit unsure as to what kind of seat your child needs? Take a look at the table below:

Category	Age groups	Features	Types
Rear-facing	0-12 months and up to three years	Protects neck and spinal cord during crashes	Infant car seat, convertible seat (for 12+ months), or all-in-one seat (for 12+ months)
Forward-facing	Four to seven years OR over manufacturer’s weight and height limits for rear-facing seats	Uses a harness and tether to limit forward movement during crashes	Convertible seat, all-in-one seat, or combination seat
Booster seat	Seven to 12 years OR over manufacturer’s weight and height limits for front-facing seats	Raises the child so the vehicle’s seat belt fits properly	Combination seat, all-in-one seat, high back booster seat (for cars without headrests), or backless booster seat (for cars with headrests)

Are you overpaying for your car insurance?

Compare quotes and find out in 45 seconds.

Compare Rates Now

No spam or unwanted phone calls · No long forms

No spam or unwanted phone calls · No long forms · No fees

4.717k Ratings

5M+Drivers Joined

7M+Cars Garaged

The best car seats for Mini owners

Once you’ve settled on what kind of car seat your child needs, you still have to decide which one you’re going to buy. Before you start looking, check the dimensions of your back seats, because these measurements will determine which car seats will fit in your vehicle. Here are a few good car seats for Mini owners:

Rear-facing seats:

Graco Extend2Fit

($210) or

Britax One4Life

($400)

Front-facing (convertible) seats:

Graco SlimFit

($200) or

Diono Radian 3RX

($300)

Booster seats:

Graco Affix Highback

($80) or

UPPAbaby Alta

($180)

Note that several of these options are able to be converted as your child gets older, so you could theoretically buy one car seat and stick with it permanently. The NHTSA offers a

Car Seat Finder

on its website, which you can use to compare ratings for different seats. For booster seats specifically, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) publishes

booster ratings

that you can check to ensure you make the right pick.

MORE:

How to get a toddler or baby to stay in a car seat

Make safe driving pay

Get rewarded for safe driving. Earn points and unlock benefits. Totally free.

Start earning now

Installing a car seat in a Mini

After you settle on the specific car seat you need for your child, you’ll still have to install it. To do this, you’ll need to locate your Mini’s ISOFIX attachment points. The ISOFIX system, also known as LATCH (“Lower Anchors and Tethers for Children”), has been a legal requirement for all cars sold in the United States since 2002.

Detailed instructions

are available on the NHTSA website, but the basic steps are the same no matter what kind of seat you’re installing:

First, read the instruction manuals for both the car seat and your vehicle

Use the seat belt or ISOFIX/LATCH lower anchors to connect the car seat or seat base.

Test the seat to see if it moves. If it moves more than an inch, secure it more tightly.

Make sure your child is buckled in tightly, but comfortably.

For maximum safety, it's best to

install the car seat

behind the front passenger seat. The rear seat may be the most protected from possible collisions, but advantages of the outer seats include:

The ISOFIX attachment points are located in the rear outer seats, not in the middle.

You can more efficiently keep an eye on your child.

The outer seats protect you from traffic as you take the child in and out of the vehicle.

Despite what you may think, it is never a good idea to put the car seat in the front passenger seat. Sure, you can watch and interact with the child better, but the front seat is not designed to secure a car seat. Your child will actually be in more danger this way.

MORE:

"I’m earning

awesome rewards

every week, just for driving safe!”

The best family Minis for car seats

You might not think Mini is an ideal brand of family car, given the name, but you would be surprised. While a Mini Cooper's trunk space and legroom may not rival, say, a

Dodge Grand Caravan

, Mini nevertheless offers several models that would make excellent pint-sized family cars.

MORE:

The top 10 best family cars

Mini Countryman

Starting price: $29,100

NHTSA safety rating: 4 stars

IIHS safety rating: Good

IIHS LATCH ease of use: Acceptable

A plus-size version of the flagship Mini Cooper, the

Countryman

still has plenty of the zip and pluck that its little brother is famous for. It also has an advanced infotainment system, surprising cargo space for its size, and a distinct, comfortable interior. If you’re determined to get a Mini for your family car, this would be a great choice.

Mini Clubman

Starting price: $29,900

NHTSA safety rating: 4 stars

IIHS safety rating: Good

IIHS LATCH ease of use: Marginal

A hatchback/wagon that is more passenger-friendly than other Mini models, the

Clubman

exists as a middle option between the 4 Door Hardtop and the bulkier Countryman. It offers the finely-tuned handling that Mini is famous for while also including more storage space than usual. You can use the premium Harmon Kardon sound system to serenade your child with Blippi The Musical and maybe even open the panoramic sunroof to let in some rays while you’re at it.

As a downside, the IIHS has noted that attaching a car seat to the Clubman’s ISOFIX system can be a bit difficult. Remember to read the instructions properly, and you should be fine.

MORE:

Car seat laws by state

If you want to make sure that your Mini’s car seat is in compliance with all state ordinances, check the table below:

State	Minimum requirements for adult seat belt	Maximum base fine
Alabama	6+ years	$25
Alaska	7+ years OR 57 inches or 65+ pounds	$50
Arizona	5+ years AND 57+ inches	$50
Arkansas	6+ years OR 60+ pounds	$100
California	8+ years OR 57+ inches	$100
Colorado	8+ years	$81
Connecticut	8+ years AND 60+ pounds	$50
Delaware	8+ years OR 66+ pounds	$25
Florida	6+ years	$60
Georgia	57+ inches	$50
Hawaii	4+ years AND 57 inches or 40+ pounds	$100
Idaho	7+ years	$79
Illinois	8+ years OR 40+ pounds where only a lap belt is available	$75
Indiana	8+ years	$25
Iowa	6+ years	$25
Kansas	8+ years OR 80+ pounds OR 57+ inches	$60
Kentucky	57+ inches	$50 for children restraint, $30 for booster seat
Louisiana	9+ years OR above manufacturer’s height and weight restrictions	$100
Maine	57+ inches OR 80+ pounds	$50
Maryland	8+ years OR 57+ inches	$50
Massachusetts	8+ years OR 57+ inches	$25
Michigan	8+ years OR 57+ inches	$10
Minnesota	8+ years AND 57+ inches	$25
Mississippi	65+ pounds OR 57+ inches	$25
Missouri	8+ years OR 80+ pounds OR 57+ inches	$50 if child is under 80 pounds or 57 inches; $10 for others
Montana	6+ years	$100
Nebraska	8+ years	$25
Nevada	6+ years	$500
New Hampshire	7+ years OR 57+ inches	$50
New Jersey	8+ years or 57+ inches	$75
New Mexico	7+ years	$25
New York	8+ years	$100
North Carolina	8+ years OR 40-80 pounds in seats without shoulder belts	$25
North Dakota	8+ years OR 57+ inches	$25
Ohio car seat law	8+ years	$75
Oklahoma	8+ years OR 57+ inches	$50
Oregon	8+ years OR 57+ inches	$115
Pennsylvania	8+ years	$75
Rhode Island	8+ years OR 80+ pounds OR 57+ inches	$85
South Carolina	8+ years OR 57+ inches only if belt fits correctly	$150
South Dakota	5+ years OR 40+ pounds	$25
Tennessee	9+ years or 57+ inches	$50
Texas	8+ years	$25 (minimum)
Utah	8+ years OR 57+ inches	$25
Vermont	8+ years AND 20+ pounds	$25
Virginia	8+ years	$50
Washington	57+ inches OR 4+ years where only a lap belt is available	$124
West Virginia	8+ years OR 57+ inches	$20
Wisconsin	8+ years OR 80+ pounds and 57+ inches	$75
Wyoming	9+ years	$50

Are you overpaying for your car insurance?

Compare quotes and find out in 45 seconds.

Compare Rates Now

No spam or unwanted phone calls · No long forms

No spam or unwanted phone calls · No long forms · No fees

4.717k Ratings

5M+Drivers Joined

7M+Cars Garaged

MORE: 8 pro tips for long car rides with kids

How to find affordable Mini insurance

Whatever car seat you choose, take a few minutes to compare

car insurance

rates in the Jerry app. You just might save a little money before you hit the road.

Jerry

, the world’s first

trustworthy super app

for car owners, we believe in simplicity. Shopping for car insurance used to be a chore, but those days are over. All you have to do is download the Jerry app and enter your information.

In less than a minute, Jerry will give you a customized list of car insurance quotes from some of the nation’s top-rated insurance companies—no phone calls, no paperwork. If you find a policy you like, our team of experts will help you switch and can even assist you in canceling your old one.

The best part? Jerry users save an average of $800+ a year on their car insurance!

“
Jerry
had a super simple app that was easy to navigate. And their terrific customer service made everything even easier. Plus I saved $700 in a single year.” —Lucia M.

Does BMW have Isofix?

Yell, all Minis are equipped with the ISOFIX system. They may be harder to find or use in some models, though, so be sure to check your particular model’s

IIHS child seat anchor

ratings to see how accessible the LATCH system is in your vehicle.

Are you overpaying for car insurance?

Compare quotes and find out in 45 seconds.

Try Jerry