vixapphire

Hello,
has anyone of you CL owners had any experience using a removable baby car seat in your cars? How much of a pain in the bollocks is that to do with the 2-door layout and sort of cramped rear seats?

AMG2GO

Don't know but I do admire someone with a baby sticking to his guns and looking at a coupe instead of buying an ML.

vixapphire

well, the cl55 was the definite dream car for my "sporting life" fancying self... i've gone with the e55 wagon and can't complain; i love this car more than anything i've ever owned. i periodically read about folks who own the e55's experiencing brake failure in the electronic system and it makes me drive like a granny for a few days every time... there's too many ways to really fark things up without brakes in my neighborhood, never mind putting a wife and kids in the car and adding a few pedestrians to the mix. by this time (2005 model) i'd hope they've failsafed the electronic brakes to at least as good as standard brakes (i've owned a few older cars where those have failed (master cylinder) as well, and it ain't pretty), but it gets me thinking about alternatives every time i read another one of those stories....

v

mclarenm8d

>>>>>
Now, when you say removable baby seat, I'm going to guess that you will need to put it in the passenger side because the passenger seat won't be able to go back very far.

So, best bet would be to go ahead and try getting your baby seat in back of the car before you commit to getting the car and see how easy or difficult it is.
>>>>>

The first thing I did when I got my CL55 home was put my son's (2 1/2) baby seat in and my daughters (5) booster seat in. I get kinda a certain satisfaction about driving a 500 hp coupe as a daily driver with kids seats in back.

Nanna won't be able to fit in the back seat between the kids though :-).

It's not that bad. 4 door vehicles are, of course, easier for getting the kids in back but the CL is actually "surprisingly spacious" (my favorite Billy Bob line from Ice Harvest). It's a piece of cake for my daughter to get into her booster seat, and I would say that once they don't need removable seats it will be no problemo.

The procedure is basically put the seat up, put a foot onto the back seat well, and then lift the little ones into their spot. Biggest issue is making sure they don't bump their heads on the roof.

In warm climates, you can also lower the rear glass to buy a little more room for the entry and extraction procedure. Just make sure they don't put their hands out the window when you raise the glass ... the CL has a bump-retract safety feature, but I've never wanted to risk finding out if it works.

Also ... my wife and I always take the CL for weekend driving with the kids, the Volvo Cross Country stays home. My wife prefers being able to drive the CL over the convenience of getting the kids in and out of the Volvo.

Taking a different perspective on this, I would say that there is absolutely no coupe on the market superior to our CL's for this endeavor. Aston Martin, BMW 6 series, Bentley ??? No way.

vixapphire

thanks for your encouraging response!

a follow-up, if i may: what about a rear-facing child seat; is this an impossibility in that tight squeeze (once the front seats are snapped back into position)?

thanks,
vic

mclarenm8d

A rear-facing child seat will probably be an impossibility. Your hunch is correct, there isn't much space vertically between the front of the rear seat and the front seat backrest. The reason I can get things to work with our kid's front-facing seats is that the rear seats slope back.

I actually ran a few other ideas around after I responded this morning, I should be careful about making sure we are thinking of the same things ... definitions of baby and toddler, removable baby seat, etc. and what-not.

Feel free to e-mail me with links to the type of seats you are considering. If you aren't in a rush, I could probably put together some digital photos over the next few days. Somewhere, my wife and I have the old removable newborn carrier, I could try to find that for ideas.

My e-mail - mclarenm8d@hotmail.com

vixapphire

thanks again. no need for you to go to such trouble... the kid turns 3 weeks tomorrow, and we're enjoying life in the e55 wagon. she falls asleep as soon as i push the start button; ah, the wonders of those burly AMG tailpipe symphonies!!!

hopefully, the whole idea of me switching to another ride will never become an issue, since the wagon i'm in is, after a few years and several different cars, the type of vehicle that makes me feel like Goldilocks, and if such a switch ever became an issue it would be as a result of some awful brake-failure accident or near-miss. i pray that such is not my destiny...

but i reserve the right to periodically surf the cl **** on this forum and admire all you guys' cars from afar!

best,
v

rtgogo

Car seat in the rear passenger seat is not problem. I buckle up my son's seat a few times each week. I've found it easiest to leave the buckle on the strap and seat goes in quick and easy. I would not recommend leaving the seat strapped in for extended periods of time. I pull mine out after each use cause it's no issue to re-install as long as the buckle piece is fixed on the strap. I left it in the car for a couple of day over a weekend and it started to leave impressions in the bottom of the seat.....It's especially easy to install if the rear window is down on nice days...