Hello all,

the wife and I are expecting our first baby, and trying to figure out what the best baby seat option is for a 1st gen Panamera

- any suggestions for a specific brand / type that you’ve had a good experience with?

- are baby seats supposed to go in the middle? This being my first child, I’m not 100% sure, but would assume so to minimize injury from side impact. obviously this wouldn’t work in a Panamera, so assume others just use the passenger side?

- any suggestions for good seat protectors? Or anything else I haven’t thought of?

thanks!

 

Unfortunately I don't have any Panamera specific advice for car seats models (kids are older now), but I do have some general advice. People put their car seats in the middle for three reasons that I know of. 1. The back seat is too small and the front seat hits the car seat when its on the left or right. 2. They want their baby to be closer to them. 3. The "safety" of being away from the doors.

For number 1, the Panamera has full sized adult back seats. With the passenger seat moved up a little, you should be able to fit most car seats back there. The rear door is also made with adults in mind, so getting the seat in and out should be fine. For 2, you probably shouldn't be reaching around to interact with the baby any way. You need to see the baby, but for anything more involved than tossing a toy or repositioning a sippy cup, you're going to have to stop and deal with it. And for 3, many center positions aren't designed with a car seat in mind and people misuse the LATCH anchor points just to get the seat in the middle. There is another thread talking about using the center position, but that's just a terrible idea in the Panamera.

I've had a lot of experience with car seats, and behind the passenger is the best bet. The seat is made for it, it gives the best visibility to you of the baby, and you don't have to adjust the drivers seat into a less than optimal position.

Another thing to consider that I didn't realize - my 2012 doesn't have the metal LATCH anchors so for the toddler seat I use, I have to just buckle it in with a seatbelt. This is fine, but for baby car seats, some have better systems than others for using a car's seatbelt. Many of the latest car seat designs assume you will have LATCH anchors and they don't spend a lot of time making sure you have a good experience with a seatbelt. When you check out the baby seats, make sure you pay attention to how the cradle attaches to the car and make sure you can get it good and tight with the seatbelt. Of course if your car happens to have LATCH, then make sure the seat you choose makes for a good experience using it.

The seats in the back are "bucketed" a little more than a typical commuter car. You sit down into the seat, and the seat bottom has an angle to it. Again, make sure the car seat base has a way to adjust for this. Strategically folded towels can help even out the angle, but its nice if the seat has a mechanism to help level it.

Seat protectors seem to be about the same to me. Note that once they move to cups with a rubber straw, they can play with the straw and spatter milk or whatever on the roof and everywhere else. For the first 9 months any seat protector will catch spills or snack dust.

 

First and foremost congrats on the new addition to the family.

I asked this very question on this board when I got this car so happy to share my experience.

We first had my daughter in a Doona (has wheels that come down and turns it into a stroller) which fit fine in the backseat. And then at some point when she was around one we got the Nuna Rava. Did extensive research and from what I gathered it hit all the points we were looking for in safety, comfort, reliability and also being able to fit in the backseat of the panamera. We're still using the Nuna (daughter is now 4) but the Nuna lives in our family SUV now. We keep a WAYB Pico in the Panamera trunk for whenever she comes for a ride with me.

We installed the seat on the passenger side. From the drivers seat it makes it easier to reach back at an angle rather than having to reach completely behind you. And secondly it just seemed to make more sense from a safety point getting her in and out curb side rather than street side with cars passing.

As far as the seat protector I used . Doesn't shift and move at all and also didn't leave any marks or imprints on my alcantara seats. Plus the one with the red stitching matched with the red stitching of the seats.

Goodluck!