The 996 - Backseat Family Friendly?

Hello, I am debating on buying a 996 next year when my lease is up on my current vehicle. My wife and I have a six-week old son but don't plan on having any other kids at this time. We have a four door hatchback we are keeping for longer family trips but I have always dreamed of owning a 996. I would love to know the following: 1. What carseat fits in the backseat of the 996 (front and rear facing)? 2. Is there any stroller on the market that fits in the trunk? 3. What are some compelling arguments (i.e. safety) I can tell the wife to convince her there is at least an ounce of practicality in owning a 996? After all, it does have a backseat. Whether I buy an early C2 or C4, I plan on making it run forever and hopefully one day my son will be driving it to his prom. Thanks for your advice! John

John, Do a search, there is a recent thread on car seats, I get my 2 year old daughter in the back in a britax... I think it's a roundabout.

my boys are 10 and 11, they still ride in the back of the 996 w/o any concerns. There are two things I have discovered. Fixed back seats only work until they are too big to squeeze thru...and they dont fight in the Porsche. I think there isnt enough room for it as that doesnt seem to be the case in the SUV..? all in all I would say its at least good till pre-teen years in the back, then they will want to be up front.

I think it all depends on how big you and your family are, and how much gear you plan to haul around. I'm 6'4", and so the driver's seat is all the way back in my 996. As a result, nobody can sit behind me, unless they don't have legs. As you would imagine, my boys are tall. My 16 year old is now 6'5", and my 14 year old is 6'1". The backseat in our 996 is essentially useless, at least for hauling people. We take the Cayenne when we all four need to go in one car!

As Dennis said, it's a tough sell if it's your only car but for a fun drive with the wife/Kid you can use it for sure! Just wish I could fit my 2 German Shorthaired pointers in there as well

When I got my first 996 ('99 C2 Cab), my son was about 6 (other two daughters were a few years older). We solved that problem quite easily:

someone needs to start making "see thru hoods" so the kids can look around

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Or just put a hood scoop on it with some front and side "view slots" cut into it.

Bolt this to the hood!

thats perfect and barely noticable !

Back to the OP - I use a Britax Roundabout (forward-facing in the rear jumpseat on passenger side) for my 16-month-old daughter. It's great as long as you don't need to have a really tall person (over 6 ft) sit in the front seat. I drive her to daycare 2x per week in the car. No probs. There are anchors for the top-tether beneath carpet cutouts on the rear deck behind the rear seats, which when combined with a nice tight 3-point seatbelt install, will hold the carseat in nice and tight. But until your kid is 1 yr old, they must be rear-facing (at least in CA), and that is harder to accomplish. The 996 is a second car for us, so I never bothered to figure out how to get a rear-facing carseat into it. I'm sure it can be done, just not a 3 minute task like installing the Roundabout is. Note when choosing between a C2 and C4 that the C4 has much less room in the front trunk (due to the front differential) so fitting the wife & kid's bags is way easier in a C2. At these prices there's no excuse for a 996 being just a "dream." Do it. BTW: Nice "16-ventiler" in your avatar!! I had an '87 944S for 9 years. Great car (especially after I put an S2 motor in it). Cheers, Q

Britax Roundabout here too: Makes a great playpen too:

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You would almost sware that this was Porsche's master plan all along - make it small so they could sell you a second vehicle that was bigger! It could be worse for seating... Or this one looks cramped... Or how about a ride to jail in this one if your 6'5"... not even a second seat in this one... Our only real chance is to e_x_p_a_n_d the model line up...

That 2nd pic is COOL !!!!

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Where did you get the pic of the kid in the mini Speedster? I want to buy one of those mini Speedsters for my son!

Thanks to everyone who responded!!! I laughed hysterically reading all these replies. But seriously, Is there a stroller out there that fits in the trunk? For arguments sake, say the C2 instead of the C4 (although a C4 would be a more practical year-round second car). By the way, our primary family car would be a Toyota Prius that I inherited.

I can just barely fit an umbrella into the trunk of my C4... But at age 3 I started letting my son it on a booster seat in the back. I think someone already mentioned, but a rear facing seat won't work in the back... In the front you need the airbag deactivation bar. I remember someone who did this and had his wife sit in the back. Edit: that's an umbrella for rain... not an umbrella stroller.

Your only hope stroller-wise is going to be what is generally referred to as an "umbrella stroller". Ask your wife, she will know. These are generally small, lightweight collapsing strollers that are generally used for travelling with toddlers. In fact, you often see toddlers pushing them. I have no idea if they will work for a baby <1yr. And the easiest place to put one in a 996 would be across the back (behind the rear seats) or standing up (folded of course) in the footwell behind the driver's seat. I don't know of any stroller that will fit inside the front trunk. None of that should dissuade your 996 purchase. Whatever it may lack in family convenience, it more than makes up for in family memories. BTW: You have now exceeded your allowance for questions about strollers. Your next question must involve one of the following: 1) R-compound tires 2) GT3 control arms, or 3) exhaust modifications.

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Or 4) Beating speeding tickets...

Okay, here's the most recent thread discussing child seats. https://rennlist.com/forums/996-foru...names-etc.html The 996 is a great family car up until they reach around 10 years old, then I'm told it gets a little cramped. Also, the thread posted above details rear facing seats in the back - post # 24 shows my son in his Britax Parkway and my daughter in her rear facing Graco Snugride.

Don't know about stroller in the trunk, not likely. You could get a roof rack, ha. But remember a 996 is not a Jetta.

I have my 5 and 7 year old girls in the back of my 964 (coupe). I don't even use booster seats for them, as they are much more snugly fitted in the back seats than they would be in a booster. They have pretty visibility from back there - although they sometimes get sunburnt because the roof glass extends that far back. If you are looking at a cab, need to check if there are safety restraint points. In terms of strollers, we have a completely collapsible one that would fit in there (folds up and you can carry it on your back). Unfortunately, it's not usually just the stroller you have to haul around when they are so young, so probably best to keep quiet about load carrying capacity.

I'm 6'4" and my wife is 5'4". My daughter fits behind her seat in out generic Wal-mart special car seat pretty well. Behind me there isn't a chance in hell though.

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I haul my wife and 7 month old daughter around in my 996 C2 all the time. I have a rear facing Graco car seat and for a stroller we use a Quinny Zap. http://quinnybaby.com/