How much am I going to hate myself if I have a two door car with a infant seat? It isn't going to be the main baby hauler but it may sometimes have to haul the kid. I know the back seat will fit an infant seat.
How much am I going to hate myself if I have a two door car with a infant seat? It isn't going to be the main baby hauler but it may sometimes have to haul the kid. I know the back seat will fit an infant seat.
It's really only a nuisance when the seat is rear facing because you have to climb back there to lift then buckle the baby in a tight spot.
If it's not the primary baby hauler (like you're only doing it 2-4 times a week) I'd just live with it.
Side note. We never used the bassinet type seats for our kids. We'd just pop them out of the seat and put them in a baby carrier. They went right back to sleep once up against our chests.
Of course living in CA and trying to get my newborn daughter home was interesting since the nurse didn't know who Recaro was and started to get snippy with me about the 5 to 50 lbs fixed back seat.
In reply to 93EXCivic :
It depends on a lot of things...
How wide the door is, how easy to move the front seat is, what seat/base you use, whether or not you're removing the 'infant carrier' or putting the baby in/out of it (we tried to limit the sleepykids' time in the carrier to only when they were in the car)... how heavy the baby is, how strong your back is, etc.
I went about 3 years with a MINI Clubman 'daily'. The extra side door helped a bunch. But when sleepykid#2 was on the way, sleepywife indicated that if I continued to use the clubman, then I would be required to perform/supervise all sleepykid buckling/unbuckling.
Can it be done sometimes? Sure, certainly! But, also... I'm fairly certain that my perspective/approach to this is well outside the norm. ymmv, etc
How old is the baby?
0-1.5-ish will typically be in a "baby bucket" seat = easy, especially with optional base.
2-3-ish will be rear facing and unable to buckle self = very hard.
4+-ish in front facing and able to self buckle = easy.
I wrote a lot in this thread: https://grassrootsmotorsports.com/forum/grm/soon-to-be-dad-vehicle-ideas/153762/page2/
If it's like my 95 Miata, it's a firm no go as the airbag can't be disabled. Check on that before trying.
2 door- 4 seat? We had a 128i when we had our daughter. It became my car when my wife wanted the 4 door. We sold it for an allroad after I got tired of dealing with the car seat and two doors (and non-sport seats in the BMW). No one could ride in the front seat of the BMW with the rear facing car seat in the rear either. Doable, yes. Easy, not necessarily. I guess it depends on the car.
It would be an EP3 Si and little 93EX isnt born yet. A couple weeks away. I haven't bought one. I just have wierdly wanted one since they came out.
As far how often, I don't even know if it would be 2 times a week. The daycare is on the way to my wife's work so she would be picking them and dropping them off. I'd only be getting them if they needed picking up in the middle of the day.
The baby seat is a Graco with a base.
A friend of mine had a baby seat in a '79 RX-7.
You should resign yourself that children ruin everything . They make up for it by being the best thing that's ever happened to me. . . . Children's car seats are a massive frustration. They are so big .
Rear facing? Air bags?
I frequently transport one or two children in car seats in my 2 door GTI. With one car seat it's easy, just climb in the back on the side of the car that the seat isn't mounted and secure them in the seat.
Two car seats in the back is trickier and requires some flexibility, but I only do it for fun family drives so it's not often enough to be a bother.
I did it for the better part of a year in a 2 door Focus (this was 18 years ago) with the click in base. I will echo that the ones that click in and out are a breeze and aren't really harder with a 2 door once the base is strapped down. One very real concern is that a LOT of 2 door cars from that era had very poor rear sear crash safety ratings. That was the real driver in updating the car for us. When it was just one kid we had her strapped in the middle, but when kid#2 was on the way each kid would be against the side of the car in the weakest spot.
John Welsh (Moderate Supporter) said:How old is the baby?
0-1.5-ish will typically be in a "baby bucket" seat = easy, especially with optional base.
2-3-ish will be rear facing and unable to buckle self = very hard.
4+-ish in front facing and able to self buckle = easy.
I wrote a lot in this thread: https://grassrootsmotorsports.com/forum/grm/soon-to-be-dad-vehicle-ideas/153762/page2/
This is accurate to my experience. I owned a 96 civic DX hatch.
John Welsh (Moderate Supporter) said:How old is the baby?
0-1.5-ish will typically be in a "baby bucket" seat = easy, especially with optional base.
2-3-ish will be rear facing and unable to buckle self = very hard.
4+-ish in front facing and able to self buckle = easy.
I wrote a lot in this thread: https://grassrootsmotorsports.com/forum/grm/soon-to-be-dad-vehicle-ideas/153762/page2/
This is really increasing my desire to get rid of my car and DD something cool.
I did an infant seat in a mini. Worked fine. The click in bases they have now are fantastic. It was actually easier to load him in and out of the hatch- which got really funny looks at Target. Open hatch, insert baby.
For the first year of baby number one I drove a 2000 Civic coupe, we had the base for the Graco mounted in the car and it was not a big deal for me to put baby in the back. My wife was not as thrilled as it was hard for her as he got heavier. The issue of front leg room with a rear facing seat also came up as the seat has to be fairly far forward to accommodate the baby. On weekends he and I would go out in the Track car too but that would not be a good daily.
Alright then I will add the Si back to my searching for list with a manual TSX, manual Fit or maybe a manual Accord. It will rarely be used for baby duty honestly. Since my wife will be dropping him off and picking him up from daycare most of the time in her Escape. And if we are all going somewhere it is a pretty safe assumption we will be using the Escape. Also later this year after the garage gets rebuilt I will be replacing my pickup with a used CRV.
How bad an idea would an RSX be?
93EXCivic said:How bad an idea would an RSX be?
Not sure what pricing is like, but a 8th Gen Si is similar, but better and has 4 doors and a diff.
93EXCivic said:Alright then I will add the Si back to my searching for list with a manual TSX, manual Fit or maybe a manual Accord.
How bad an idea would an RSX be?
You could always go save a unicorn:
https://greensboro.craigslist.org/cto/d/high-point-2006-honda-accord-exl-v6/7119888774.html
In reply to Fueled by Caffeine :
Agree I had twins in my e36 coupe for stages 1 and 3. Stage 2 was awful.
While the seat is rear facing it's a pain, but that's temporary and it's not like you'll be doing it that frequently. Once the seats are forward facing a 2 door is much easier.
I had both while my kids were small and the seats stayed in the 2 door car full time
93EXCivic said:Alright then I will add the Si back to my searching for list with a manual TSX, manual Fit or maybe a manual Accord. It will rarely be used for baby duty honestly. Since my wife will be dropping him off and picking him up from daycare most of the time in her Escape. And if we are all going somewhere it is a pretty safe assumption we will be using the Escape. Also later this year after the garage gets rebuilt I will be replacing my pickup with a used CRV.
How bad an idea would an RSX be?
A macpherson strut, non-vtec honda? Even if you didn't have a growing family I'd try to talk you out of it. Valve lift, double wishbones or both (TSX/integra gsr sedan).
If for some reason the base rsx/ep3 is your jam I'd be cross shopping with mazda3s and 2012+ focus hatches (they dyno quite high for a non-tuner n/a 4)
Like I wrote in the other thread I linked, get at least two bases for the "baby bucket--handle like a 5 gallon bucket" seats. One for each parents car and then just keep the base there. If Grammy will be transporting kid often then get a 3rd for her car too. Super convenient. These bases make great gifts for gift registries.
Peabody said:While the seat is rear facing it's a pain, but that's temporary and it's not like you'll be doing it that frequently.
These days your child could potentially be rear facing until they're 4 or 5 years old. Hardly temporary. Let's be honest, in the land of GRM automotive-ADHD, how many people here daily drive the same car for 5 whole years?
Do you often have a passenger? Just take out the front passenger seat. You'll have amazingh access to a rear seat and everybody will ask if you play cello.
Or the technique of my ex's mom, drive a drop top fox body and put the top down to load the kid.
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