Porsche 911 996 and a newborn

Do they go together well or is it a marriage made in hell? Hi Everyone, Been umming and ahhing over a 911 for years. Finally decided to take the plunge and started looking seriously a few weeks ago. But we are expecting our first child in April next year. On the face of it buying a 911 now seems like a really bad idea. Poor boot space, difficult access to the rear for a child seat and probably not the most comfortable or quiet car around. Has anyone successfully managed to combine living with a 911 as the only car and having a newborn baby? Or should I just forget the idea now and buy an estate!?

In my opinion if the 996 will be your only car it will be difficult to manage with a newborn and my advice would be to forget it. My son is nearly 2 years old and taking him in the Porshe for a long distance is not an enjoyable experience for him (although he loves my 996tt and he can recognise it among other cars including other Porsches!). The big issue is not really the car seat, car seats for toddlers (and I believe for newborns) can be bought at Porsche or places like Papas Mamas (there are a lot of threads on car seats) but the lack of bootspace. You will need a pushchair for your child and it is impossible to store a pushchair in a 996. If the 996 will be a second car then this is a different story and you should go for it.

Hi, and congrats on the forthcoming addition to your family 8) My thoughts; A 996 is not an ideal family car to be frank, but if you are prepared to compromise a bit on the convenience of 4 doors I wouldn't rule it out. Don't underestimate the amount of clutter babies need- travelcots, sterilisers etc so of course it won't be ideal vs a hatch or an estate. But you could fit a roof box when you've got loads of clutter, and the clutter drops quickly as the little'un gets older. The Quinny Zapp pram fits fine in the bonnet bay of a 996, and they do a travel system with Maxi Cosi. The front seat will need to be all the way to the front though when you've got the carrier in the back seat. Luckily Mrs B is only 5ft 4 and I'm a short-ass too... You can get an airbag deactivation unit for the front seat so you can put the kiddywink on the front seat. Me, Mrs B and two kids have travelled for the weekend in our C4S, but it was pretty tight, don't get me wrong, but it can be done. A 996 is very refined and safe- they cruise very quietly when you aren't ragging them... my youngest used to go straight to sleep when ever we went out in it. So you get brownie points for giving the missus a break whilst you go out for a drive! Dunno what you're budget is, but a Targa is the most practical as the rear screen opens like a hatch. You could fold one rear seat down to place bags etc on. A C2 has more front boot room than a C4.

First of all congratulations on the baby and welcome to the forum. A 996 is not the ideal family car but it can be done. However avoid any of the 4 wheel drive variants (C4S Turbo) and anything with a roll cage . Car seats are readily available and rear access is not that bad. Have a look at the 996 Targa, the opening rear hatch is very useful.

Thanks we are over the moon and thanks for replies too. Yes, it would be an only car. We live in London and only drive at the weekend. Most of our journeys tend be up to the Midlands or Yorkshire, IE long motorways cruises. Budget-wise not too sure. Initially i was thinking of going for a turbo, which looks like costing around £35K, but a C2 might be a little more practical and would probably save me £10K too. Sounds like a C2 Targa would be the best option. What are the convertibles like for space? I'm thinking access to the rear seats with the roof down might be easier and allow a little more to be stored on them. It might just be that we hang on a few years and make do with a more practical car in the meantime. 1st child is probably going to be tiring enough without the hassle of a cramped car. Difficult choice, as right now with two incomes we can afford it, maybe in three years time it'll unaffordable. Decisions, decisions....

Whilst my 997 C2S is ideal as a family car, I would not promote it as an only family car especially for a newborn. 9 months old and you have more options. I had a Cayenne when Jack was born but shortly after bought a 911 - we did however wait until Jack was 9 months and big enough for a front facing seat as i'm not sure you can fit a rear facing seat in the back and if you can find one will seriously restrict front passenger space as seat would have to be moved forward a lot. The more standard approach would be to have a rear facing seat in the front passenger seat which means that your wife is relegated to the back - again not idea on a long journey. Also with that option you have to get the front airbag deactivated which costs several hundred quid. As mentioned, if you do decide to buy one, go for a 2wd as the boot space is larger. We use a quinny zap stroller which fits in the boot nicely however again it is not suitable for a new born so you would have to buy a car seat / pram combo where the car seat sits on the frame of the pram. Like the quinny Buzz I think - if indeed the frame of the buzz fits in the boot

One certainty is that in 3 yrs, 996s will be cheaper than they are now so no harm in waiting. Cabs have less room in the back, and you effectively lose the rear shelf which is handy for light objects... Also- where you you park in London? I'd worry about leaving a cabrio on-street. You could have an Audi RS6 or something for the time being- just the job for m-way blasting. Or dare I say it an M3 is very practical- proper boot and split-fold rear seats.

The airbag deactivation gadget costs about £80 from a specialist, takes 10 mins to fit (even I managed it) and then your local specialist takes about 2 mins to tell the car its been fitted via the OBD. The Maxi Cosi Cabrio infant carrier fits the Zapp. It always makes me smile seeing other Dads' faces as they step out of their people carriers and we unfurl "en-famille" out of the Carrera- you can see them think "there is hope!"

Hi, congrats and welcome Orbit77! Did someone shout out Targa? What's already been said is indeed true and with the split fold rear seat, they're a treat when carrying odds and sods in the back. I use mine quite a bit for going to visit parents in West Yorks and the access to the rear is just that much better with the opening tailgate. The Cab has acute angled seats in the back (the back rests slope slightly forward) to accomodate the folding hood and therefore offeres slightly less rear space. The Coupes and the rest of the range would have you doing double gymnastics in order to get into the back and get a baby seat in, strap it down and secure it. Each has their pros and cons - the only thing I don't like about my Targa is the rattly roof, otherwise welcome to the fastest hatchback in the world!! ~ Maxie 8)

Thanks for all the replies. It's really appreciated. Best course of action seems to be to go and have a good look at a Targa. We are both pretty short, 5'4" and 5'8" so moving the passenger seat forward to accommodate a child seat is a possibility. We've managed weekends away in an Elise before so we can travel light when needed. Had an M3 before, probably wouldn't get one again as good as they are. Currently got a newish Impreza with Prodrive which once you get past the image and looks is a great car, probably the most fun car I've owned. It's got 4 doors and a decent boot so keeping that is a real possibility as is an Audi S4/RS4. But the car of choice would be a 911. I guess i need to work out exactly how much luggage I'd need to carry for a baby, in addition to the child seat and pram. It's amazing how fast life changes, only a few weeks ago i was wondering if a C2 would be fun/fast enough or if I just bite the bullet and go for a turbo. Practicality couldn't have been further from my mind. Hmmm, time to go hassle a dealer. Thanks again for all the advice.

I know I'm a bit late to this thread but got to be said 911 targa is the one for babies. You will not believe how easy it is to load through the rear hatch. Bought ours when wife was 6 mths pregnant, got a porche seat and air bag deactivation fitted, deactivation has a seat beat type buckle on it that has a corresponding one on the seat that switches the bag off when the baby seat is fitted. We bought a quinny buzz, which folds up really small, especially when you take the wheels off. And the best thing is just wait till you park it in the mother and baby slots. The wife has had people storm over and start ranting at her ' because these places are for families not you type off people' , who become very apologetic when she pulls the baby out of the passenger seat. :thumb:

Hi, I've got 2 children, daughter 2 and son 4. I've got a Targa and my wife has a 4x4. If it's your only car, then I can categorically rule it out for you right now. a) It's a pain (if not impossible) to get a rear facing seat in the back of the 996. Which means the baby needs to go in the front and your wife will not be able to fit in the back (easily and certainly not comfortably). b) You will not be able to fit any reasonable pram in the front of the 996 (even the 2WD variant) and it also won't fit behind the rear seats either. c) You will not believe the amount of stuff you need to take with you for a weekend away, so much that it struggles to fit into the 4x4!!! Sheets, buggies, travel cots, stair gates, bottles, sterilisers, sheets, millions of clothes, nappies, creams, food, sterilised milk + then there's your stuff!!!! The good news is that when you don't need the pushchair (from about 2), the 996 is a perfectly practical car for the family. We regularly drive 4 hours+ to visit the out-laws and the children are absolutely fine in the back...no complaints at all. In fact, my son loves it, because he thinks it sounds like Lightening McQueen from Pixar Cars. So, in the short term, I'd recommend an RS4 estate personally. Something definitely with 4 doors, your wife will do her back in trying to get the baby in and out of the rear of a coupe. A lot of my friends thought it would be ok, got a coupe and then swapped it after 6 months. ....Then go for a nice 997 in 2 years time that will be worth about £9,000!! Another option is to get 2 cars (we had a Boxster and the 4x4 when we only had 1 child) and the rear facing seat fits in the front no problem...but obviously no room for the wife!!! That way, you get the car you want and when you need to do the family thing, you have the bigger car. Also consider that babies are rather messy and will want drink/food etc. in the back and the car will need a lot of attention to stop it getting wrecked internally!!!! Good luck with the birth, it's certainly a life changing experience. PS - I fully encourage you take as much of the free taxi service as you can for the next 4 months and go out socially as much as you can, because it becomes a bit more limited for quite some time after the birth!!! Cheers, GD

I've got three kids all 12+ and I wouldn't even have considered the 911 as a car when they were small as the amount of stuff you need even for 1 night away is a nightmare. I got an S4 estate and it was absolutely ace for fun driving and carrying all the crap, knowing that when they were a bit older, the 911 would be on the drive. In your position with 35K to spend, I would have absolutely no hesitation in getting an RS4 estate and wait till the nipper is about 4 for the 911 - although you'll have the second baby to worry about by then

Cabriolet works great for getting the child seats in the back. Long journeys are a pain. However standing a high chair in the back seat or anything else too tall for a coupe is easy as long as you tie it down. Just hope it doesn't start raining! :fisherman:

don't do it mate! Sure, you could cope but why make life so diifficult? In my experience it's not just the baby but it's all the stuff that goes with it too, change bags and goodness knows what else and as for overnight stuff and whatever else you might want to carry a 911 is the wrong motor! You need a second car with back doors and a big boot! leather seats however are perfect to wipe up all the spillages :thumb: