Does anybody have any pics or first hand experience with the rear seats, would be interested to see the use of a kids seat or booster seat. Just interested to see how practical the seats are, I haven't seen one yet but the child seats I have don't look as though they would fit the gap ( could be wrong), if the Ferrari seats as shown in a few publicicty shots are the only ones to fit why don't they offer the seats trimmed to match the trim.
Having ordered the car, I have checked out the demo model at my dealer extensively. The rear seats can be suitable for small children - let's say, under 10 yrs old. And even then, the ride would only really be comfortable with the top down, in my opinion. A non-contortionist adult cannot fit in the back seats with a driver and passanger in the front. As for the booster seat issue, the Cali does have the LATCH anchors. However, I have only seen the publicity shot of the child seat - nothing in person. You may have seen the picture already, but if not I am attaching it. If you are in the market for a GT with better rear seat room, take a look at the Granturismo/Grancabrio. I have a 2008 Granturismo and my children fit very comfortably in the back. Image Unavailable, Please Login
Hey There - First note: I'm 5'6" tall and don't need the driver's seat very far back. This means the kids get a little more room than a taller driver or passenger would afford them. I'd check out your own personal driving position and then see what's left in the back. In my case, it seem good for now, and probably for a few years. I've had my california for about 3 weeks now, and I've driven it about 400 miles - pretty much all of them with one or both of my kids in the back seats and a mix of top up and top down. Longest drive so far was to a soccer game about 40 miles each way. My daughter, age 8, ~50" tall, was fine back there. She said she has to sit up a little straighter than she'd prefer, but she seems fine and seems to like it. My son, age 6, ~43" tall, also is fine back there. He fits fine in the seat, but he has more trouble seeing out and often leans to the middle to see forward between the front seats. The manual says the back seats are good up to 59" (I think that was their number). I'd believe it. With the top down, a taller person would be looking over the windscreen. With the top up, they will hit the roof. You asked about booster seats. Couple comments on that. We have Graco Turbo-booster boosters for the kids, both with and without backs. Neither kid uses the back much anymore, and we rarely have our daughter in one period. Those boosters will not fit in the back seats of the California. They are too wide and too square in the back. I don't know if any others would fit better - I did a quick peak on target.com and they all looked about the same size/shape. I wanted one for my son so he could see out easier. Well, I gave up. In the Cali, both kids use the regular seats and seatbelts. Obviously this only works when your kids are old enough to not need a booster. I did inquire about the seat shown in the picture above, but that is more than I need now. The ferraristore.com site doesn't seem to have any of the child seats anymore. The dealer said to talk to the parts department....but I never did. The back seats do have latch anchors, so presumably someone makes something that fits. Also - the front seats have the babysmart system - put in a child seat with the babysmart technology and the airbag gets disabled. I can't find anywhere to buy these seats either though. Mercedes apparently sells them through their dealers, but I didn't chase that lead either. I'm loving the car and it has been terrific being able to take my whole family out in it. Even with the top down, we have scrunched a camera bag, soccer bag and ball, small cooler, and 2 folding chairs into the trunk, and all 4 of us into the car. Awesome!! We've also gone out for dinner in it, taken it to go fly kites at the local marina, etc. It's been amazing. Dad gets to drive a Ferrari more often now! The sad thing is, my F430, which I love for different reasons, is not likely to leave the garage much anymore. If I remember, I'll take picts of my kids in the back seat and post them at a future date.
Thanks for your reply. Yes this is the only picture I have seen too, and never seen the rear seats being used either by a kid or an adult. Thanks again, and hope you enjoy your car when you receive it.
Thanks for your comprehensive reply. Glad to hear how happy you (and the whole family) are with your new car , sounds like it's a big hit with everyone and you get to drive a Ferrari more often than normal. So it appears to be a win win situation. Also thanks for posting your first hand experience with using the car by the whole family. Sounds hard to believe everything you had packed away in the car on the trip, but just couldn't find the space for that kitchen sink ( maybe try a roof rack next time). More seriously though , thanks for you input and look forward to seeing some pics when you get the chance. Enjoy.
I decided to keep the rear seats entact on my Cali order, as I thought they offered me more flexibilty and potentially a higher resale value over that of the bench.
the backseats are virtually non-existent for an adult. I know, i've tried. You either need to be 4 feet tall, younger than 10 years old, or legless.
Here are a couple picts of my kids in the back seat. Please note that the front seats are in the position that my wife and I use them. I'm 5'6" and she is about 5'5". Not a lot of leg room, but enough for my kids for now. Also - I found a booster seat that fits pretty well and allows my son to be up a little higher so he can see out without leaning so much towards the middle. It is the Combi Dakota - got it on amazon.com. I thought about trying the Clek Ollie too, as it has latch attachments which would make it even more stable (assuming it was also narrow enough), but I can't tell from picts if the latch attachments would push the seat too far forward, and I didn't bother running around locally looking for booster seats. Our Graco turbo-boosters do not fit - they are too wide in back. Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
Not so hard to get it down, its the putting it back up that's the issue Image Unavailable, Please Login
AMEN! How about some photos of adults seated in there with the roof up? Thanks PS/ Great car and family snap-shots!
Thanks for posting those pics, there appears to be more room than I expected, I know it all depends on how comfortable you are with your seat position, however it appears as though there is more room in the rear than the Porsche Cab. The shot of the booster seat helps alot too thanks for this, it looks as though it is a nice fit. Thanks and hope you and your family are enjoying using the car as much as possible.
