Rear seats in a 996 usable for small children/child seats?
Discussion
I currently own an 02 Boxster S which I love to bits and have had for 3 years, however recent arrival of young SaTTaN the 1st is causing the usual debate over our current fleet.
My wife has a basic Seat Leon 1.4 which she is happy driving, my Boxster is only really being used for occasional blasts by me at present and has been languishing in the garage for most of the last 5 months
None of my cars have ever been garage queens and its done 40-odd thousand miles since I've owned it (no sense in not driving it - the temptation was too strong! 
I've spent ages looking about at other cars (m3/s4/s6) and there's nothing else I'm really all that interested in thats got 4 seats and is in the same cost-bracket (~£20-30k) with the Porsche extended warranty @£700p.a up to 9yrs its 1/2 the price of running a similar-aged M3 which was the closest contender.
It would be nice to have something that we can take all of us out in for the occasional jaunt, whilst being good to drive/blat on my own.
I'm thinking along the lines of trading up to a used 996 but I'd be interested in your opinions on how usable the back-seats are for kids, I'd prefer a cab; but from looking at the size of the rear seats I think a coupe would be more usable.
I had an Audi TT Coupe for a while before I got my Boxster and the rear seats were obviously useless for adults but I would think they would have been ok for kids/car-seats.
Anyone doing this in their 996?
By my thinking this gives us two usable cars, rather than the current situation of a "family" car and a "me" car (which needless to say isn't appealing to my wife considering the amount of cash its shedding every month in depreciation/insurance etc. whilst not being driven)
My wife has a basic Seat Leon 1.4 which she is happy driving, my Boxster is only really being used for occasional blasts by me at present and has been languishing in the garage for most of the last 5 months
None of my cars have ever been garage queens and its done 40-odd thousand miles since I've owned it (no sense in not driving it - the temptation was too strong! I've spent ages looking about at other cars (m3/s4/s6) and there's nothing else I'm really all that interested in thats got 4 seats and is in the same cost-bracket (~£20-30k) with the Porsche extended warranty @£700p.a up to 9yrs its 1/2 the price of running a similar-aged M3 which was the closest contender.
It would be nice to have something that we can take all of us out in for the occasional jaunt, whilst being good to drive/blat on my own.
I'm thinking along the lines of trading up to a used 996 but I'd be interested in your opinions on how usable the back-seats are for kids, I'd prefer a cab; but from looking at the size of the rear seats I think a coupe would be more usable.
I had an Audi TT Coupe for a while before I got my Boxster and the rear seats were obviously useless for adults but I would think they would have been ok for kids/car-seats.
Anyone doing this in their 996?
By my thinking this gives us two usable cars, rather than the current situation of a "family" car and a "me" car (which needless to say isn't appealing to my wife considering the amount of cash its shedding every month in depreciation/insurance etc. whilst not being driven
)
Kids are fine in the back of a 996, no problem.
Just returned from a family jaunt from London to Northumberland, wife and daughters, plus luggage, cramped but dooable.
Almost as practical as much larger GT's Jaguar XK, Bentey Continental GT etc.
Same small rear seats, bigger boot of course, for the golf brigade (I'm with Billy Connellly on that one )
Just returned from a family jaunt from London to Northumberland, wife and daughters, plus luggage, cramped but dooable.
Almost as practical as much larger GT's Jaguar XK, Bentey Continental GT etc.
Same small rear seats, bigger boot of course, for the golf brigade (I'm with Billy Connellly on that one
)
and the room in the back of that was terrible 
Firstly congrats! Space depends on how old the kids are. Babies and todlers take up a lot more room than a say a 5 year old because of all the extras eg extra sets of clothes, nappies, babyfood, pushchair, travel cot, etc etc. We have a 2yr old and no problems getting everything in for a weekend away ...but with baby no.2 on the way, we've come to the conclusion that for 2 babies the 996 will be fine for only for daytrips but too tight for a whole weekend away.
So your optioins are:
a) get a 996 now and then get a bigger family car if and when baby 2 comes along.
b) keep the boxster and get a bigger family car now.
Option b) is cheaper but option a) is more fun.
PS: you can remove the two rear backrests in a 996 to give more room for the babyseat.
PPS: is there a 0-9mth rear facing babyseat that fits in the back of a 996? We've only used it for the 9mths+ front facing babyseat.
So your optioins are:
a) get a 996 now and then get a bigger family car if and when baby 2 comes along.
b) keep the boxster and get a bigger family car now.
Option b) is cheaper but option a) is more fun.
PS: you can remove the two rear backrests in a 996 to give more room for the babyseat.
PPS: is there a 0-9mth rear facing babyseat that fits in the back of a 996? We've only used it for the 9mths+ front facing babyseat.
ballast said:
Whilst we're on the subject....what's the best booster seat to use in the back of a 996? Anybody any views?
I'm in the same position too ... what fits best ? Pictures would be helpful in persuading her in doors that the 996 is a sensible daily car to take my daughter out in :-)
Using a 996 for transporting kids is fine, only certain car seats fit due to the slim footprint of the rear seats.
the boot is fine and a buggy fits in "quincy zap" if i recall correctly. the area behind the rear seats is good as well
The only problem is birth to 9 months, they have to travel in rear facing baby seats. these only go into the front seats off 996's, you MUST get the airbag deactivation unit as well ( there was one for sale here). So your misses will have to travel in the back seat for the first 9 months, not to big an issue as the seat can be push full forward.
We have a 2 year old & planing another as well, and there has been no mention of "we will have to change the car".
As for the idea of keeping the boxster & getting a better family car, how would you feel walking past your porsche on a sunday to go for a family day out in a bardge, when you know you all could be going out in a 911, Plus junior will be the coolest kid at nursery, my 2 year old tells everyone his dad has a pooshh & the engine is in the back,, start them early I say
the boot is fine and a buggy fits in "quincy zap" if i recall correctly. the area behind the rear seats is good as well
The only problem is birth to 9 months, they have to travel in rear facing baby seats. these only go into the front seats off 996's, you MUST get the airbag deactivation unit as well ( there was one for sale here). So your misses will have to travel in the back seat for the first 9 months, not to big an issue as the seat can be push full forward.
We have a 2 year old & planing another as well, and there has been no mention of "we will have to change the car".
As for the idea of keeping the boxster & getting a better family car, how would you feel walking past your porsche on a sunday to go for a family day out in a bardge, when you know you all could be going out in a 911, Plus junior will be the coolest kid at nursery, my 2 year old tells everyone his dad has a pooshh & the engine is in the back,, start them early I say
Both the torch-meister and I have britax trio seats in our cars .. They're not rearward facing but they convert into booster seats when needed , so they're good from say about 9 months til 4-5 years old...
My wife and I and our two kids have (semi)comfortably headed off for weekend breaks to the west of Ireland in the car , it really is incredibly adaptable family wise.
My wife and I and our two kids have (semi)comfortably headed off for weekend breaks to the west of Ireland in the car , it really is incredibly adaptable family wise.
to say I forgot about his seat in the excitment off getting a 996. didn't have time to look up for advice, just a quick nash to OPC before misses fond out.Strangely it was researching this very subject that I found pistonheads.
We went away for four nights in mine with Mrs Torch packing! It was Easter too, so more clothes needed for colder weather, and a load of Easter Eggs. Travel cot and our old MacLaren buggy went behind the rear seats.
At the time my kids were four and one and a half, so we still needed a lot of stuff for the little 'un, but not quite as much as a baby.
I've had an estate before, and you generally pack lazily. Remember you can always buy stuff such as Nappies elsewhere.
There's also a roof box option, there's a thread on here about it.
My Son's now just two, and Porsche mad, it's great to watch. I always was the coolest Dad at Nursery anyway.
We went away for four nights in mine with Mrs Torch packing! It was Easter too, so more clothes needed for colder weather, and a load of Easter Eggs. Travel cot and our old MacLaren buggy went behind the rear seats.
At the time my kids were four and one and a half, so we still needed a lot of stuff for the little 'un, but not quite as much as a baby.
I've had an estate before, and you generally pack lazily. Remember you can always buy stuff such as Nappies elsewhere.
There's also a roof box option, there's a thread on here about it.
My Son's now just two, and Porsche mad, it's great to watch. I always was the coolest Dad at Nursery anyway.
Note I said my kid was the coolest, even if I got tinted windows I don't think I could be discribed as cool. scruffy perhaps..
My old man got my lad a 1/20 model 996 from some old toy shop & its a cracker the guy said they had it for ages, it's a ringer for my 1998 996 orange lights the lot.. he loves it, but it's a toe breaker if he drops it.
My old man got my lad a 1/20 model 996 from some old toy shop & its a cracker the guy said they had it for ages, it's a ringer for my 1998 996 orange lights the lot.. he loves it, but it's a toe breaker if he drops it.
Geneve said:
996 rear seats are very good, and one of the main reasons for the 911's enduring popularity. But, only the Coupe and the Targa. The Cabriolet is much more compromised with near vertical back rests.
Cab works fine for my daughters. They are seven and eight and their only grumble is it messes their hair up if I have the roof down.
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