[IOMike]

Long time since I posted as I ended up getting a new Silverado then F150 over a Camaro due to incoming kid(s). Now I'm to the point where very soon neither kid will be a rear facing car seat and I'm over driving a truck. Something I would drive all year and take the kids in as needed. My wife won't want to ever drive this (she doesn't like driving my truck either), so if she is gone I will occasionally need to haul the little ones to the store and such. It will not be the primary family vehicle. Additionally I don't want a "fun car" I can't share with the family or at least the kids.

I'm looking at springtime selling the truck and getting a Camaro instead. With me being 6'1, how does it look to have two forward facing car seats in the Camaro back seat? I know I can't put a (will be) 5-year-old in the front, so both would have to be in the back. I generally sit pretty close to the wheel for my height.

[Jim50thSS]

buy a convertible. I mostly drive mine in fair weather and getting kids buckled in is way easier with the top down.

[dfwcowboy]

It’s bad enough just for an infant or toddler in a car seat, but kids grow quickly and are going to need leg room. The 6th gen just doesn’t have it.

[arpad_m]

Originally Posted by IOMike

Long time since I posted as I ended up getting a new Silverado then F150 over a Camaro due to incoming kid(s). Now I'm to the point where very soon neither kid will be a rear facing car seat and I'm over driving a truck. Something I would drive all year and take the kids in as needed. My wife won't want to ever drive this (she doesn't like driving my truck either), so if she is gone I will occasionally need to haul the little ones to the store and such. It will not be the primary family vehicle. Additionally I don't want a "fun car" I can't share with the family or at least the kids.

I'm looking at springtime selling the truck and getting a Camaro instead. With me being 6'1, how does it look to have two forward facing car seats in the Camaro back seat? I know I can't put a (will be) 5-year-old in the front, so both would have to be in the back. I generally sit pretty close to the wheel for my height.

Prepare for a ton of negative responses, but the rear seat experience for kids isn't nearly as bad as people sometimes make it out to be.

I'm 6' 2", have 3 kids, now from 12 to 17 and they never complained about the back seat in the five years I've had my Camaro; in fact, they want me to take them and whenever I asked them if it's okay in the rear, I never heard a single complaint. They're kids and wouldn't just feed me a lie and suffer just so I can feel better about my car.

Unless you have to push the driver seat almost all the way back, there is legroom, not sedan amounts of course, but enough. Headroom will become an issue as they grow past teenage years, I can't sit up straight in the rear for example (although my wife can), but in your case that's a long time from now. Also, there are zero amenities in the rear, not even cupholders, and the rear window is tiny, so there's that, too.

The actual thing to consider is that there are no rear doors, so getting in and out of the car is a process, and I'm not gonna lie, that alone makes it somewhat uncomfortable for non-enthusiasts, no matter what coupe you buy, Camaro, Mustang or Challenger. If this is not an issue, you can install 2 forward facing car seats using the LATCH system in the Camaro and you'll be just fine.

[SnakeEyeSS]

Car seat is going to be rough, I bought my 17 right after my kids got old enough, they didn't need to be in one anymore. There's going to be a few years where their legs aren't long enough to reach under the seat with their feet and so that's going to be room that they have to have to fit back there.

My kids love the cars, But there are times when they say they'd rather take our other cars because there's more room. If you have one family car and you're not forced to take the Camaro all the time, go for it.

[fj5gtx]

I have 3 kids, all over 5'10" now, and all of them are having head room as well as foot room issues. All have been in the back, once.... they opt out now due to the first experience.

I would think little ones wouldn't have much problem, although if you have the front seat back all the way there isn't much distance between the back of the front seat and the front edge of the back seat.

Maybe try to put a kid in the back seat before you commit.

[Vtor_ZL1]

I stuffed 2 full size cars seats in back of the Camaro for few years. Kids loved it.


Since they sit up high, they get pretty good view of the road.


They eventually outgrew the seat capacity ( car seat seat belt weight rating ) and graduated to booster seats using factory 3-point belt.

[IOMike]

Originally Posted by Jim50thSS

buy a convertible. I mostly drive mine in fair weather and getting kids buckled in is way easier with the top down.

I generally don't like convertibles, Camaro looks pretty good top up and down. Any thoughts on headroom and visibility (top up) in comparison to a non sunroof coupe?

[IOMike]

Originally Posted by BuckeyeROC

Have you considered a Dodge Charger? I drove a 392 Charger bc of the kids for several years and it was a GREAT daily driver. I didn't want to go from a pony car to a 4 door at the time, but it ended up being a nice compromise. Now that the kids are even bigger, even the Charger became too small and I went to the TRX for a daily for even more room.

Also, I'm about 6'4" and sold my Z/28 only bc my head was RIGHT on the ceiling when driving. It just wasn't comfortable and about impossible to drive with a helmet, too. I think the 6th gen is similar? The Charger has much more room for larger people than a Camaro.

I just have no interest in anything Chrysler, ever again. I have looked into the Mustang a little as they do have fewer compromises and I understand to be slightly larger but the worse manual, less low-end torque and worse handling / feeling just kills it for me.

[Ventmaster]

As usual +1 for everything arpad_m said. Also, when my kids were small I was driving a "86 Z/28 and they loved it! It had no more backseat than the current car. Unlike arpad, I sold that Camaro when the oldest boy hit 16 years. I could foresee the argument when his first prom date came up and his mom would side with him about taking it. "Preemptive defense" is what it's called and is just as important as situational awareness IMHO - LOL. As I expected, he wrecked everything I ever let him drive!

If the Camaro is not gonna be your primary vehicle as you said, then jump on it and get your order in cuz they're not taking many more orders. And it might be helpful to get familiar with the tools here on C6 to determine when your dealer has an allocation available. My dealer had no idea he had 2 and if I hadn't notified him they would have lost the chance to place my order back in '17!

[PostalLDMC]

Originally Posted by IOMike

I generally don't like convertibles, Camaro looks pretty good top up and down. Any thoughts on headroom and visibility (top up) in comparison to a non sunroof coupe?

When I saw this about kids from 3 to 10. It brought up this summer Camaro car shows. They had a big meet at VOLO museum and My wife talked to other wife that put 2 kids in the back with car seats. They all said at first, they would worry about the wind and breeze over the top of the windshield. The kids loved it, their reason was they got to wear sunglass or their swim goggles. The best part is the wives said bring up dairy queen or a drive in and the kids became angles for a day. Like the dads I talked with you put the kids in with the top down easy to buckle up. Then as then top up or down. If they change their mind, he pulls over and in no time the top is up, and air conditioning is on.

[Idaho2018GTPremium]

I had a 2018 Mustang GT with one car seat in the back. Had it back there until my youngest was 5 or so, but I can’t remember the exact age he stopped using it. Anyway, he was fine back there. As he got older he had to bend his legs but we weren’t doing long distance drives. I have 3 total kids now 9-12 yrs old and take all 3 on drives in the ZL1 regularly, they fit OK, but I can’t sit quite as far back as I like. It’s also a little of a pain getting in and out, etc., but we don’t do it that often to make it not feasible. Once last year our Volvo SUV was in the shop a few days and I had to take/pick up the kids from school 3 or 4 days in a row. It started getting a little annoying and I really appreciated the 3 row family vehicle after that.

I guess my thought is it’s doable if not taking kids daily.

[jlaudio11]

What F150 do you have? My bolt on ecoboost runs 11’s and fits my 6’ 180lb 13 yo way better than the Camaro. Have you looked into the atsv or ct4’s? Same alpha platform but with 4 doors. Getting two little ones out of car seats in a Camaro sounds like it would get real old, real quick.

[LT1gen6]

Can't imagine my kids being happy in Camaro coupe rear seat.
1) My seat back touches backseat cushion. No leg room in left rear. Little on right
2) Poor visibility for kids in back seat. View to front is front seat back. View to sides is minimal due to tiny rear windows and high body sides. 3) Little light comes in from back window
3) I decided long ago that Camaro is just for me and a front passenger. More than that necessitates using a different vehicle
4) I choose to drive a different vehicle many times anyway, since I live in a snow belt where roads are salted
5) Cheers to anyone that has kids that love riding in back seat of Camaro