Surprisingly, my four year old daughter climbs into the car and gets into the booster seat in the back, entirely on her own. She loves it, because there is a window that she can easily see out, and if she looks up she can see out the rear window.
With the seat installed, she is not cramped, and my Wife who is 5’10" is still comfortable in the front.
The FJ Cruiser was quite high up, so I had to help her get in. Once in, there was very little to see as the windows in the rear were not at her eye level.
That being said, there are only a couple of booster seats that will work in the 911, and same with the front facing seats. The limitation is the narrow seats. I did research when I got the car, and had to buy a new $49 seat from Walmart. No big deal.
A rear facing is going to be a problem apparently. Porsche sells a kit that provides anchors for the seat in the front, and disables the front air bag. Big bucks though.
Cabin is definitely snug. But that is what the 911 is all about. Apparently the 991s are more roomy, but at the same time, people are saying they are more GT and less sports car, more refined and less raw than the 997.
That is one of the things about the 911s, the enthusiasts always seem to find numerous reasons why the previous versions were better in certain ways when compared to the new ones. Except for the 996s. Not a lot of love for those, but at the same time they represent an awesome deal in some cases (996 C4s, Turbo, or GT3).
The attitude is great for resale, as depreciation after a certain time seems to flatline, and in some cases even goes back up. I specifically purchased a manual as I think they are going to become more and more in demand in the future, which means less depreciation if I ever want to sell. You can already see it in the used Porsche market, with the 6speed 997s going for more than the PDKs (which were an expensive option).
Plus, the manuals are a lot of fun to drive, without having to reach license-losing speeds. Lots of people swear by the PDK though, and they are supposedly incredibly fast on the track.
Actually, the rear seats on the 911 are pretty much only good for kids. Not a lot of room for even a smaller adult. You remove the seat bottoms (and sometimes the back) and they install perfectly.
If I’ve got it right, the one on the right is a Britax Marathon. I have 2 of these. Great seat.
When I had my B6 S4 Avant, I got destroyed by a 997 C4S in Toronto. I said to my wife, “well at least I can get my kid in the back”. I caught up to him at the lights, gave a thumbs up, then his 3/4yo waved at me from the back. Doh!
The best comparison to the 997 C4s in the Audi lineup would be the v8 R8. But, with the C4s you are getting a car with rear seats, that I can take my kids to daycare in.
In the above comparison, the C4s had the factory powerkit.
I never understood the purpose of the two tiny rear seats in the 911 until I recently found myself searching for a sports car that would suit my needs as a Father of, soon to be, two children. There are a very small number of modern day, 2-door, sports cars, that have rear seats and AWD (can be driven in winter).
The Ferrari FF @ $300k is a bit out of my price range
New wheel and shifter installed. They are from a GT2RS, and alcantara. Feels great and gives the interior a much more sporty feel. Ive got read seatbelts too, so all the red accents work nicely together without being too much red.
Fairly straight forward install, following instructions on the net.
Disconnected battery and got no persisting errors after install.
However, my horn doesnt work. It is going in and out fine, but no sound. Researching on the web, and it seems like a common problem after the 997.2 steering swap. Looks like a need a new control module, but Ill do a bit more research first, before ordering one.