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CmdrThor
Active Member
We have a single 16 month old and I don't think there is any better car in the world if you have young children in car seats. With twins I think you will want the seven seat configuration and have one car seat in the middle seat second row and one in an outer seat second row. If you went with 6 seats you pretty much wouldn't be able to access the third row without removing a seat. We have ours in the middle seat 2nd row and with the Falcon Doors it is still very easy to get him in and out.
When you fold one of the outer seats forward the middle seat moves forward a bit too, but with our car seat it doesn't hit the front seats. As the outer seat tilts forward it is very tight and it rubs against the car seat a bit, but it can make it by.
I see you are in Atlanta, if you are interested in seeing Model X with a rear facing car seat installed in the middle seat middle row, send me a PM. You can also take 2 car seats to a store that has an X (I believe Decatur and Lenox do, but you should call ahead) and install them and see how it works. We did that at the Meet Model X event back before we took delivery. Not all car seats will fit side by side so you may need to get new car seats if yours are too wide. Once they are front facing you should have more options.
Also long trips with young children, waiting on the Supercharger is not a worry. The car was *always* done charging before our son finished eating/getting his diaper changed/running around or whatever.
When you fold one of the outer seats forward the middle seat moves forward a bit too, but with our car seat it doesn't hit the front seats. As the outer seat tilts forward it is very tight and it rubs against the car seat a bit, but it can make it by.
I see you are in Atlanta, if you are interested in seeing Model X with a rear facing car seat installed in the middle seat middle row, send me a PM. You can also take 2 car seats to a store that has an X (I believe Decatur and Lenox do, but you should call ahead) and install them and see how it works. We did that at the Meet Model X event back before we took delivery. Not all car seats will fit side by side so you may need to get new car seats if yours are too wide. Once they are front facing you should have more options.
Also long trips with young children, waiting on the Supercharger is not a worry. The car was *always* done charging before our son finished eating/getting his diaper changed/running around or whatever.
The X is great for families with babies and small children. However, I would highly recommend you bring your child seats and visit the local Tesla store to check out the 6 and 7 seat versions of the X in person. And also read some of the many discussion threads here about the 6 vs 7 seat options (for example: 6 seat versus 7 seat - need HELP please). In short, having rear facing child seats in the outer seats of the 2nd row limits access to the 3rd row. And rear facing seats won't fit in the 3rd row. The width and headroom of the middle seat of the 2nd row in the 7 seat is also quite limited, good for children, but may not accomodate an adult. So there is an interplay of various limitations with regard to child seats, 3rd row access, and utility.
We have two-year-old twins and drove them around in our RAV4 before getting the Model X. In short, the Falcon Wing Doors are awesome for getting them in and out of the car. We just transitioned to front facing from rear facing seats positions and now they can climb in themselves. We used cybex aton2 for their baby bucket, The two clek foonfs are still in the RAV4, and the model X is using Diono Raidan 120s so I can fold and store them if I need to take on more passengers. For strollers, we have a Mclaren Triumph side by side twin umbrella stroller and a Baby Jogger City select inline with two seats. Neither can fully fit in the frunk, but both are fine in the trunk, where the third row is always stowed flat. You have to remove a seat from the Baby Jogger to fold and stow it, but that's easy. Having the under trunk storage and frunk, we're never at a loss for space and all diaper and food cooler bags can be kept up front on the second row seat floor. One of our twins was getting carsick more in the Model X vs RAV4 while rear facing, but forward facing seems to have helped that. Parents of multiples unite!
We have 15 month old twins and we just ordered the X. Our Tesla dealer brought it by our house last Friday for a garage fit test, but we also used it to check car seats and stroller fit. With 2 rear facing convertible car seats in the 2nd row side seats, my 6'2" husband and I could both get into the 3rd row - the key was moving up the front row seats all the way (not a big deal if everyone is getting in the car at once, or if you only need to do it on one side).
Our City Mini double stroller fit in the trunk with the 3rd row up, with some room to spare next to it. I test drove a Volvo XC90 T8 last weekend and I was shocked it couldn't do the same, so the 3rd row would have to be at least partially folded to squeeze in the stroller (and they don't have a frunk).
We decided to order the 7 vs 6 seats, since we likely use it primarily as a 5 seater with tons of cargo space and that also allows me to be in the back with the girls (currently necessary on long trips).
Our City Mini double stroller fit in the trunk with the 3rd row up, with some room to spare next to it. I test drove a Volvo XC90 T8 last weekend and I was shocked it couldn't do the same, so the 3rd row would have to be at least partially folded to squeeze in the stroller (and they don't have a frunk).
We decided to order the 7 vs 6 seats, since we likely use it primarily as a 5 seater with tons of cargo space and that also allows me to be in the back with the girls (currently necessary on long trips).
Thank you so much, so helpful!! I am actually going to test (overnight) drive the 6 seater tomorrow. I will have my step children and babies to test it out. I am concerned about rear facing seats and how to access the back. All this will make more sense as I need to do so I am sure. What do you love most about the car and what do you dislike the most?
Awesome info! Thanks!! Twins rock!! We are at the baby buckets (Graco click connects) and will be upgrading to rear facing for toddlers soon. We also have the baby jogger with recoverable seats which we will test out in our overnight test tomorrow! So what happen if both baby seats are in end 2nd row seats and someone needs to get in 3 rd row, it will not move up without hitting the back of the carseat right?
I KNOW EXACTLY what you mean about needing to be between them on long trips. We call it being the monkey (entertainment). I would think 7 seater too but nervous about not being able to see out the rearview mirror at all, thoughts?
i have 6 seat config, with two booster seats in second row and one forward facing car seat in the third row. with 3 kids in car seats, i don't know how we would handle having the 7 seater. we need to get into the third row ourselves frequently, and i think it would be a major pain with 7 seats. its hard enough for us in the 6 seat config. keep in mind when you get 'called' to the third row with kids, the second row is usually already strapped in. in 7 seats at least one child would have to get out. with 6 seats we can leave the kids strapped in and climb between the second row seats (here is where the FWDs really come in handy for us)
also, my 5yr old in the 3rd row doesn't have a ton of leg room, and if an adult ever has to also sit in the third row, the adult has to sit at an angle to put their legs between the second row. figured you'd want to hear of this if you have another child after twins, like we did. the equation changes a fair amt from 2 kids to 3 or >.
i also agree with @commasign, it would help to test seats. we had more than one booster that didn't fit in the second row ourselves.
also, my 5yr old in the 3rd row doesn't have a ton of leg room, and if an adult ever has to also sit in the third row, the adult has to sit at an angle to put their legs between the second row. figured you'd want to hear of this if you have another child after twins, like we did. the equation changes a fair amt from 2 kids to 3 or >.
i also agree with @commasign, it would help to test seats. we had more than one booster that didn't fit in the second row ourselves.
Yeah, when the car seats are rear facing, you're going to be limited to only sitting upright up front (no reclining) and the second row seats can't be moved forward very much. If you manually move the front seat up, then move up the second row seat, you might be able to get in the third row. Even with the 6-seat configuration, you're not going to be able to slide past rear facing seats to the middle.
When you finally go forward facing, you can access the third row if the baby is out of the seat. The second row will slide forward and the seat will touch the first row.
CmdrThor
Active Member
I love that I don't hit my head loading my son in his car seat, don't have to go to the gas station, but still can drive long distances (our other car is a LEAF). Love the storage space, the handling, Autopilot, giant touchscreen, auto front door, doors close with just a click of the fob, or automatically if it's just the front door. Love the connectivity from the app, always can see where the car is, what its status is, etc.
There's not much to dislike. I suppose the fan for the A/C is pretty crazy loud when it is hot, and I did have a few issues where the front door went crazy once and my falcon door hit my front door, but Tesla took care of those issues. There is certainly no other vehicle that I would rather be driving.
I think it depends what you are used to. I'm currently driving a Prius with a wide mirror on the middle seat headrest in the back row, so I can see both my twins in that mirror. Meaning I'm already used to crappy rear view mirror visibility. I'm totally comfortable using the rearview cam for backing up and side mirrors for viewing cars around me. I had zero problems when I test drove the X in city and (stop and go) highway traffic, between the mirrors and the forward screen that shows the cars around you (I don't know the "correct" name for that yet).
That said, I loved the 6 seater that I saw and definitely prefer it. But in the end, we decided the 7 seater meets our needs better, since they need me between them for the near future and the extra seats are for extra adults/future car pools. The twins will be our only kids.
This is what we tested and it worked. My husband is tall but lean and I'm very thin, so it may have been more doable for us than others (I could also scoot in the 2nd row and move into the third row in the 6 seater without moving the 2nd row at all).
I did realize when we were researching this that all 3rd row seats/access just sucks with rear facing car seats, except maybe in a minivan. The FWD provide more help than other 7 seat vehicles we looked at.
I had to smile when I read this, as we thought that would be the case when we had triplets (surprise). Then we had a bigger surprise (#4).
We have 16 month old twins and a 3.5 year old. One week in and it's worked great. We went with the 7 seat configuration for flexibility. The twins car seats (rear facing) are setup behind the front passenger and center seat. At first we put the 3 year old on the same row, but he messed with his sister too much, so now he's in the 3rd row, on the driver side. We generally keep the other 3rd row seat folded down. More often than not, one of us sits in the 2nd row passenger seat with the twins.
As others have said, the falcon wing doors are great for getting kids in (2nd and 3rd row).
As others have said, the falcon wing doors are great for getting kids in (2nd and 3rd row).
16 month old twin boys here. We went with the 6-seat configuration and received our car yesterday. So far we are thrilled with our decision! The big car seats are front-facing in the middle row "captain's chairs" and leave plenty of room to move them forward and access the back row. Having the middle area open in the second row is a must for any sort of comfort in the back for adults with legs.
The falcon doors are a godsend for loading/unloading the boys. No more "feeding" them into a small opening headfirst (we were coming from a Prius). Just step up and drop them in. I think we will be seeing a lot more cars like this on the road soon.
The falcon doors are a godsend for loading/unloading the boys. No more "feeding" them into a small opening headfirst (we were coming from a Prius). Just step up and drop them in. I think we will be seeing a lot more cars like this on the road soon.
