docbrock

My wife wants a baby. I want to keep the Boxster. Is there a legal way to transport kids in the front passenger seat of a 2014 Boxster S?

Phil G.

I'm a pediatrician. In a word, no. It's simply note safe for a child under the age of 10-12 to even ride in the front seat. Many states, including Pennsylvania require that babies be placed in a rear-facing car seat in the BACK seat until they're at least 2 years old. Just got back from my garage. Nope, the Boxster doesn't have a back seat! Time to start looking for a 911??

docbrock

I saw some pictures of baby seats in the rear of a 911. I was thinking I would have to get a Macan, but a nice CPO 911 cab might do the trick.

PorscheStrong

Car seats are pretty rough on the underlying leather seat, and even in the 911, the options are limited, and it will be a PITA to get the seat back there. Take it from someone with 3 kids and 2 Porsche's, they won't be riding in your car for a while, unless it's a slow ride in the neighborhood you sneak in while your wife's at yoga.

I remember being at a dealership about 15 years ago telling his wife, in as sincere a tone imaginable, that they needed to focus on the 911, not the Boxster, because the back seat made it more "family-friendly" with their young kids. And she was actually buying it. My uncle and I did all we could not to laugh out loud.

BillC3

You'll have to double-check, but I'm pretty sure there are LATCH anchors already in place for the Boxster's passenger seat. You'll also need to get the passenger airbag cutoff switch, which disables the passenger-side airbags (available from the dealer, and you might as well have them install it too).

The biggest risk to infants in the front seat is actually the airbag(s), not the relative location of front vs. back. Plus, while most (all?) states require kids to be in the back, they all have exemptions for 2-seat cars. Just be sure to disable the airbags before putting a kid in the front seat.

Incendiary

So you have to ask for a manual cutoff switch to be installed? It isn't like most cars where the sensor will automatically disable when weight is below a certain point?

schweez

I looked into this pretty extensively. From what I was told the 981 does not have a disable kit. It works on sensor alone. When a car seat is installed the passenger airbag "off" light will appear. It's near the rear view mirror.

The 987 did have an actual kit you could buy to manually disable the airbag. I think it's a shame that Porsche did away with that and went with a sensor only. I'd rather manually be able to do it.

Phil G.

I rarely even let me twins sit in my Porsche, let alone drive it. They're 32 BTW.

Phil G.

BillC3, you are actually correct, although the recommendation is to have kids restrained until at least 12 in the back seat of a vehicle. The key is a rear facing carseat until at least age 2 to prevent injury to the cervical spine, neck and back in case of a front end collision and injury from an airbag. Although a recommendation, there is no law that states the child must be in the rear seat of the vehicle, although that's the current recommendation. Thanks for the clarification.