redman042

We're in the market for a new RL, but I'm trying to plan ahead because we are going to start a family one day. We also own a Toyota Tacoma Double Cab pickup which will probably be our primary means of transporting our kids. But we'll also want to use the RL once in a while. So I'm wondering if the RL is at all practical for occasionally transporting kids in child seats, with a stroller in the trunk. I know it's not the kind of car you want to use for this every day (crayon marks on that beautiful leather would kill me!), but I'm wondering about once in a while.

moomaster_99

Are you kidding??? Your RL is excellent for transporting kids...4 doors...huge trunk.....

jhr3uva90

Are you sure? The way some people act, the RL is too small for transporting children. Apparently, American children have gotten so obese that nothing short of an Escalade will do!

AcuraJim

I have a 5 day old baby Car seat works great in the back and trunk will be fine for what I need to put in it. You can buy one of those "baby mats" that go underneath your car seat. It works great or should I say, will work great. I also like the roll up screens on the side windows as well as the rear window shade to keep the sunlight off of the baby

ilas

My kids are 4 and 14, and the 14 yr old is 5 10...he has no complaints about the back seat being too small. My only problem is that my 4 yr old likes to kick the back of the front passenger seat, meaning there are always black scuff marks on the seatback. I am always cleaning it. Now when I ferry him to school I have to push the front passenger seat up to aviod the mess.

redman042

Great input, thanks! What got me started was hearing my wife's brother say that they got a Volvo wagon. He has a 2 yr old and a newborn, and I'm sure for long trips with two kids, two strollers, 2 childs seats, diaper bag, and other supplies, the trunk can get pretty small and a wagon makes much more sense. But as long as the trunk will handle one stroller, we're good for the next 3-5 yrs anyway. We haven't even started on the family yet.




However I did see one person post here "go ahead and TRY to fit a stroller in that trunk". I'm assuming that's an exaggeration??

Jeff Sloan

I have a child seat in the rear center that has been there for several months. My daughter is 18 months old now, we got the car when she was 5 months old.

You will not be able to fit a rear facing seat on either side of the back seat - only in the middle. Plan to get a smaller car seat. We have the Evenflo Triumph 5/DLX seat which fits fine. It's a small seat, and when it was rear facing, it came forword to about where the rear seat vents are (front seat armrest).

Now that if it front facing, and my daughter is 18 months old, I usually bump her hear into the ceiling when loading & unloading her. She doesn't mind, but it is a little tight.

If you get a seat protector, which you should, it will cover the side seat belt latches. This is a PITA and it makes it hard for poeple to ride in back. Large people will not be able to ride in the back with the car seat - It's tight for my 130lb 5'6" wife. When the second kid comes, I'm not sure what we are gonna do . . .

Trunk space is fine, we have the Graco travel system, and the stroller fits, but takes up about 75% of the trunk. It has to go in on it's side and it only fits toward the rear of the truck.

Keep in mind out other car is a Suburban which has TONS of room - this warps my comparisons a bit. I'm not sure what other sedans are like . . . .

ckennedy

I've got a 3-year-old and a newborn, both of whom have been in the RL at the same time, several times -- the 3-year-old in a booster seat and the newborn in a rear-facing seat. It's not exactly Montana in the back seat, but they both fit back there fine.

I definitely agree with Jeff's seat protector suggestion; I don't have one yet, and have to slide the passenger seat all the way forward to keep dirty foot prints off it. That doesn't stop them on the rear seat and door, though. Oh well.

My wife's car is a Volvo XC70 (essentially a V70 inside), and there's no more front-back room ("tiny legroom?") in the rear than in the RL, though there is more head- and hip-room, due to the wagon layout. The RL is perfectly fine in every way to carry two children, but if that's the primary objective (sounds like it isn't in your case), a wagon's a better choice.