Enjoying your Porsche at weekends? Dilemma
Discussion
I'm faced with a dilemma and I think I know the rather boring and practical answer but I'm hoping that some of you here can convince me to be wreckless and follow my heart?
Expecting a child but wanting to purchase a turbo 997. My wife has a second car which can be used for babies etc but at the moment I only use my car at weekends, and that is mostly to see family etc. this is where my problem lies; I won't be driving my P car if there is a baby in tow unless we drive separately and that would just be odd!
My question is this:- how do you enjoy your car at weekends if you live in London like me, where do you enjoy a spirited drive not on a track? Please help me to rationalise the irrational?! I've just been lazy and not thought about how to make the most of my current car.
Thanks!
Expecting a child but wanting to purchase a turbo 997. My wife has a second car which can be used for babies etc but at the moment I only use my car at weekends, and that is mostly to see family etc. this is where my problem lies; I won't be driving my P car if there is a baby in tow unless we drive separately and that would just be odd!
My question is this:- how do you enjoy your car at weekends if you live in London like me, where do you enjoy a spirited drive not on a track? Please help me to rationalise the irrational?! I've just been lazy and not thought about how to make the most of my current car.
Thanks!
poprock said:
I’m sure there are child/baby seats available for the 997 Turbo. I know plenty of people who have used 911s as only cars, with and without kids.
From my reading you need a rear facing seat for the first 2 years which makes it v v difficult to have my wife and baby in the car logistically speaking.......once past 2 years they can sit in front facing seats which free up space - 2 years seems a long time!!Wheeler hogs said:
From my reading you need a rear facing seat for the first 2 years which makes it v v difficult to have my wife and baby in the car logistically speaking.......once past 2 years they can sit in front facing seats which free up space - 2 years seems a long time!!
Fair enough - the law makes it trickier then. Seems daft, doesn’t it? Everyone moans that the rear seats in a Porsche are a bit tight, so you’d think they’re PERFECT for children … but the regulations get in the way!You can fit a rear facing baby seat in the back, with the wife in front but it's a squeeze.
You can disable the airbag and have a rear facing baby seat in the front passenger seat and go for nice long drives when they won't stop crying.
You can also get fwd facing child seats to fit in the back or when they're older.
What I've found you can't do is find more hours in the day just to go for a drive.
I don't know how other new parents have found it but I don't use the car very much at all at the moment, simply because it's easier to jump in the snotter with the pukka rear facing kiddy seat and the DVD player and the rear seat full of toys & books and assorted crud.
You can disable the airbag and have a rear facing baby seat in the front passenger seat and go for nice long drives when they won't stop crying.
You can also get fwd facing child seats to fit in the back or when they're older.
What I've found you can't do is find more hours in the day just to go for a drive.
I don't know how other new parents have found it but I don't use the car very much at all at the moment, simply because it's easier to jump in the snotter with the pukka rear facing kiddy seat and the DVD player and the rear seat full of toys & books and assorted crud.
Edited by DJFish on Monday 7th January 10:16
Wheeler hogs said:
From my reading you need a rear facing seat for the first 2 years which makes it v v difficult to have my wife and baby in the car logistically speaking.......once past 2 years they can sit in front facing seats which free up space - 2 years seems a long time!!
This is why the market for performance SUV's is booming! Cayenne Turbo, sir? 
Track days are the answer - and the only way REALLY to enjoy your fine machine. Bedford Autodrome is 90 mins from central London and safe as houses, Silverstone is about same and tremendous fun, albeit requiring a higher standard of driving. Just book yourself in for a day or two a month of track driving and your thirst will be quenched.
RankAmateur said:
Track days are the answer - and the only way REALLY to enjoy your fine machine. Bedford Autodrome is 90 mins from central London and safe as houses, Silverstone is about same and tremendous fun, albeit requiring a higher standard of driving. Just book yourself in for a day or two a month of track driving and your thirst will be quenched.
^^^ +1 for gentle track use and Brands is even closer. The Indi circuit is great for learning ^^^
Wheeler hogs said:
From my reading you need a rear facing seat for the first 2 years which makes it v v difficult to have my wife and baby in the car logistically speaking.......once past 2 years they can sit in front facing seats which free up space - 2 years seems a long time!!
It was 9 months by law, but there are many arguments that you should keep your children rear facing till 4 years old.We used to be able to get my daughter in the back in a rear facing seat, with my wife squeezing into the front. she's about 180cm. Any taller would be a struggle.
Mine was bought with a hope to use as a family car, but in fairness, in about 4 years, we've only had the family in it 3 or 4 times.
Luckily I can drive to work, so it gets used daily, and as mentioned before, spirited drives start at 6 am till about 10 AM on a sunday morning(all within the legal limits).
Callughan said:
Plenty of people cruising around daily in London, but you really need to throw the odd country run, meet, track day to enjoy it.
Thanks for the input. I've never done a trackday before, but gather Bedford is a good beginner option. I'm also interested in the Porsche driving skills at Silverstone. How about meets? How can you get involved in these?Tino said:
It was 9 months by law, but there are many arguments that you should keep your children rear facing till 4 years old.
We used to be able to get my daughter in the back in a rear facing seat, with my wife squeezing into the front. she's about 180cm. Any taller would be a struggle.
Mine was bought with a hope to use as a family car, but in fairness, in about 4 years, we've only had the family in it 3 or 4 times.
Luckily I can drive to work, so it gets used daily, and as mentioned before, spirited drives start at 6 am till about 10 AM on a sunday morning(all within the legal limits).
Thanks Tino, I suspect it will be a solo vehicle for the first year or so, and then when the baby can sit front facing, all can enjoy it!We used to be able to get my daughter in the back in a rear facing seat, with my wife squeezing into the front. she's about 180cm. Any taller would be a struggle.
Mine was bought with a hope to use as a family car, but in fairness, in about 4 years, we've only had the family in it 3 or 4 times.
Luckily I can drive to work, so it gets used daily, and as mentioned before, spirited drives start at 6 am till about 10 AM on a sunday morning(all within the legal limits).
Baby only needs to be rear facing for around 9 months depending on size and then can go quite happily go front facing in the rear.
This thread comes up regular as clock work and seems to be divided by those of us that happily used our cars with family in tow and those that don't.
It is perfectly doable you just need to learn that you don't need to take the entire house with you when you go out and this is a good lesson to learn as quickly as possible anyway. There are buggies that will fo in the front and plenty of space for nappies, the rest is just dead weight leave it home.
We bought our 911 when my sone was 9 months old and he went all over in it, weekends away, day trips, Le Mans for his third birthday etc. Even managed to do Christmas in the 944 once but it was a tight fit.
This thread comes up regular as clock work and seems to be divided by those of us that happily used our cars with family in tow and those that don't.
It is perfectly doable you just need to learn that you don't need to take the entire house with you when you go out and this is a good lesson to learn as quickly as possible anyway. There are buggies that will fo in the front and plenty of space for nappies, the rest is just dead weight leave it home.
We bought our 911 when my sone was 9 months old and he went all over in it, weekends away, day trips, Le Mans for his third birthday etc. Even managed to do Christmas in the 944 once but it was a tight fit.
Wheeler hogs said:
Thanks for the input. I've never done a trackday before, but gather Bedford is a good beginner option. I'm also interested in the Porsche driving skills at Silverstone. How about meets? How can you get involved in these?
Owners clubs are a good way of finding out about meets. PCGB and TIPEC are the two big ones in the UK. Both host local monthly get togethers up and down the UK at which you can find out what activities are going on near you in the coming months. Alternatively, most parts of the UK have informal groups of Pistonheads members who get together for drives etc. Just search around your local bit of the PH forums.I had a lovely 997 GT3 that I used until my son was about 9 months old, but I sold it on the basis that neither he nor my wife ever set foot in the thing, so it was being driven less than an hour a week.
A couple of months later, once the boy was over 10kg, I bought a 996 Turbo S and stuck a Maxi Cosi Tobi front-facing baby seat in the back. That was 6 months ago, and since then we have taken it on trips as a family ranging from a couple of days to a couple of weeks. The best advice is that you just need to pack intelligently. We take a small buggy (Quinny Zapp in the front luggage compartment) and a load of squashy bags that either fit in the rear footwells, in with the buggy, or can be securely belted on to the spare back seat.
The big change we found at a year old, aside from being able to use a front facing seat, was that the amount of stuff we needed at our destination was greatly reduced. Even things like not having to cart around baby milk, bottles, sterilising equipment, etc, eradicated one large bag from the travel list. Otherwise, we just make sure that we stay in places which can supply cots (pretty much any hotel), although I know some people have found travel cots that fit on the back shelf of a 996 or 997.
Compared with a lot of the other 2+2 competition, the 911 has proved remarkably practical, and of course it is still an absolute hoot to drive when you are let off the leash!
Pete
A couple of months later, once the boy was over 10kg, I bought a 996 Turbo S and stuck a Maxi Cosi Tobi front-facing baby seat in the back. That was 6 months ago, and since then we have taken it on trips as a family ranging from a couple of days to a couple of weeks. The best advice is that you just need to pack intelligently. We take a small buggy (Quinny Zapp in the front luggage compartment) and a load of squashy bags that either fit in the rear footwells, in with the buggy, or can be securely belted on to the spare back seat.
The big change we found at a year old, aside from being able to use a front facing seat, was that the amount of stuff we needed at our destination was greatly reduced. Even things like not having to cart around baby milk, bottles, sterilising equipment, etc, eradicated one large bag from the travel list. Otherwise, we just make sure that we stay in places which can supply cots (pretty much any hotel), although I know some people have found travel cots that fit on the back shelf of a 996 or 997.
Compared with a lot of the other 2+2 competition, the 911 has proved remarkably practical, and of course it is still an absolute hoot to drive when you are let off the leash!
Pete
A 4 seater 911 is practical as long as you have a child who can fit in the back seat - ie, until they are around 12-13yo. The rear seats are there to be used as normal, albeit by small people! The only compromise you will have to make is on the type of buggy (if your kid requires one). In that regard, there are compact travel buggies that fit inside the front luggage compartment and you will not be able to have one of those giant 3 wheel types. I have had a 911 for family weekend use for years and we have just learned to travel light (which is another bonus imho).
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