How Do Car Seats Fit in a 2018 Porsche Panamera?

How Do Car Seats Fit in a 2018 Porsche Panamera?
2018 porsche panamera; photos by christian lantry

porsche updated its panamera luxury performance car in 2017 and for 2018 added a new sport turismo model, which looks slightly more wagonlike than the regular panamera and offers a bit more cargo room. it also offers an extra seat, bumping up seating capacity from four to five with the addition of a middle position in back. for this car seat check, we tested the 4 e-hybrid sport turismo.

two

related: more car seat checks

solid

  • latch, grade a: the lower latch anchors sit in slits in the leather; access and connection was easy. there are three top tether anchors on the seatback. after removing the cargo cover and reading the owner's manual, connection wasn't a problem.
  • infant, grade a: this seat went in easily, and the front passenger had ample legroom.
  • rear-facing convertible, grade a: another easy install. again, the front passenger had plenty of legroom.

so-so

  • forward-facing convertible, grade b: latch connection was easy, but we needed to use the owner's manual to figure out how to access the top tether anchor. the head restraints are fixed, and porsche recommends routing the tether strap through the head restraint, which is what we did. connection was easy once we found instructions.
  • booster, grade b: the panamera's fixed head restraints didn't interfere with the booster's fit on the seat. the buckles are very recessed, however, which would make them tough for kids to grasp and use.

skip it

  • none

grading scale

solid indicates an a grade for optimum ease of use and fit. so-so indicates b or c grades for one to two ease-of-use or fit issues. skip it indicates d or f grades.

a: plenty of room for the car seat and the child; doesn't impact driver or front-passenger legroom. easy to find and connect to latch and tether anchors. no fit issues involving head restraint or seat contouring. easy access to the third row.

b: one room, fit or connection issue. some problems accessing third row when available.

c: marginal room plus one fit or connection issue. difficult to access third row when available.

d: insufficient room, plus multiple fit or connection issues.

f: does not fit or is unsafe.

about 's car seat checks

editors jennifer geiger, jennifer newman and matt schmitz are certified child safety seat installation technicians.

for the car seat check, we use a graco snugride classic connect 30 infant-safety seat, a britax marathon convertible seat and graco turbobooster seat. the front seats are adjusted for a 6-foot driver and a shorter passenger. the three child seats are installed in the second row. the booster seat sits behind the driver's seat, and the infant and convertible seats are installed behind the front passenger seat.

we also install the forward-facing convertible in the second row's middle seat with the booster and infant seat in the outboard seats to see if three car seats will fit; a child sitting in the booster seat must be able to reach the seat belt buckle. if there's a third row, we install the booster seat and a forward-facing convertible. learn more about how we conduct our car seat checks.

parents should also remember that they can use the latch system or a seat belt to install a car seat, and that latch anchors have a weight limit of 65 pounds, including the weight of the child and the weight of the seat itself.

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