rear facing car seat: compared to model S, does the model X offer more leg room for the toddler in a rear-facing car seat?

[dippybird6]

Hello,
I currently lease a model S, Iike driving it. I am debating whether to get a model S or X when my current lease is up.
The only reason I am considering model X is: since model X is a bigger car, maybe model X has more leg room for my toddler in a rear-facing carseat in the 2nd row?
We recently changed the carseat from rear-facing to front facing in my model S since his legs were cramped in the rear-facing setup.
However, I would love to continue the rear-facing set up if model X offers more leg room for the toddler compared to model S. Does anyone knows whether this is true? TIA

 

[Les236]

With my grandkids I have some experience with car seats, and I drive a model X. Rear facing car seats are secured with the seatbelt of the seat, and the leg room is always limited as the car seat bottom is against the car's seatback. So I don't think that matters. However if the third row seat is available again in the MS, then those seats would be facing backwards and you'd have more legroom but the toddler would be way in the back, and would not be very well protected from a rear crash.

Sounds like the MX would have room for a front facing seat with legroom, and the MX 2nd row seats, at least in my 6-seater, are adjustable front to back and tilt a bit.

 

[dippybird6]

@Les236 thanks for tips, makes sense. I just order another model S

 

[peety3]

Can't compare to an S, but we have a near-2-year-old rear-facing. Take a look at the Clek Foonf car seat. In rear-facing configuration, it's got an anti-roll bar that also "buys" the kid some more legroom. We were able to use LATCH (which I prefer) until he got to 25 pounds, and we'll be able to use Rigid-LATCH when we convert it to front-facing (plus lap/shoulder belt due to weight). Pricey but rugged. We got the Full Moon coloring and it looks fantastic in a Blue X with white seats.

 

[cobra]

We have a convertible car seat that has a extension under the seat. It extends, so that you can adjust for more leg room when in rear-facing setup. The extension rests against the seat back and basically offsets the seat forward some to give the toddler more leg room... having said that, if the toddler has long legs I think it's still limited. We also transitioned to front facing, but more because our son already didn't like to sit in the seat a lot and thought he would be more willing sitting forward like the adults.

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It looks like the third picture at this link shows the extension, you can see it resting against the setback under the child's legs.

 

[DealMasterMike]

I have both cars. It depends on the base of both seats, but generally i would say the X is more flexible. The S has more of a bucket style rear seat which seriously impacts the car seat base and angle on the sides vs the middle seat (depending on year). Personally I used Diono RXT car seats w/the foam pad angle adjuster in both cars.

The S is TERRIBLE for boosters facing forward as the headrest isn't adjustable and the leather gets all messed up. The X is better w/the adjustable seat back. The BEST i've found to not mess up the leather and mar it is the Peg Perego Boosters which have adjustable sides, back, folds, and is more of a lux feel.

Hope that helps.

 

[Richbot]

The rear door opening on S is stupidly small for a car so large, a consequence of frameless doors and a fastback roofline. Model X is much better if you're buckling a kid in, I know, I have kids and I have small sedans with framed doors as God intended and when I tried out a *front*-facing 5-point seat in Model S I noped right the hell out of there. Model 3's geometry is even an improvement compared to Model S beacuse of the roof shape and door opening shape