mbollman

I'm going to have to disagree with most on here.

I have a 2013 GS 350 F sport and a 4 1/2 month old. We take our car out as the "family" car all the time with zero issues, including plenty of room for a stroller in the trunk.

Granted, my wife and I are both short people (5' 3" & 5' 2"), but again zero issues. I also regularly have 4 people in my car at work during lunch and have zero issues.

So I think it comes down to how tall you and your wife are and whether or not the trunk will handle two strollers. I think it might fit 2, but I would test fit it myself.

good luck.

Mike B.

SW17LS

It works because you and your wife are quite short. One of my business partners is 5'3 and he has a 2015 GS. I fit just fine behind him...but I don't fit behind myself because I am 9 inches taller than he is.

mehran888

Not sure if I can add much that hadn't been said. We picked up my '13GS when my older son was 1 year old and we were expecting with our second.

If you're trying to fit two car seats back there with another adult... Good luck. Also, the front passenger will be tough against a rear facing for anyone taller than 5'5 (which my wife isn't).

Aside from that the car has been great and I have no regrets having it over an SUV. The car is both my daily driver as well as our weekend car. We've done plenty of trips with both kids, the wife, 2 dogs (small and medium), umbrella strollers and luggage.

My only current consideration is that as the boys get older we may want to take adult and kid bikes with us. Nothing a roof rack won't solve.

Go for driving dynamics (as well as consideration of your adult passengers) above all else. Just keep in mind that there are millions of families out there without a minivan or SUV who are doing just fine!

96SC4

iTrader: (2)

^^^i think about that a lot actually... helps me justify not getting an SUV
As far as the rear facing car seat...it would be in the middle
My 2 year old(forward facing) would be behind the passenger seat.

Thanks for your insight on the topic

AL13NV8D3R

Believe me I actually talked my wife into getting into a GS considering having one kid and one more on the way. I too convinced myself to get the GS because it was more fun and i would never want to be stuck driving a boring SUV or crossover. So we went out and bought a GS. Fast forward two years and I highly regret my decision about buying a GS. And I cant wait to get myself into an SUV.

To the guy that says they travel with two kids wife and two dogs? How in the world did you fit everyone? This reminds me of a clown car that is so tiny yet can fit 20 full size clowns.

And fit strollers and luggage too how is that possible?

Another thing to consider is that....yes you can fit two kids and a wife back there but trust me it aint comfortable. Everytime you put your kids in the car seats you have to bend over and sometimes you may even bump their heads on the roof or door frame trying to get them in there car seats, both not good for your back and your baby.

This car is not designed to have a car seat in the middle. The proper way to install them is on both outboard seat. Thats why they dont have latch anchors in the middle seat. Although it is possible to do so you must use seat belt. But seat belt will not give a firm attachment for the car seat.

You will get tired of your kiddos kicking the back of your seat making it very uncomfortable for whoever sitting in the front. And have fun hugging your steering wheel whenever you take the kids out.

I thought of every possible concievable way to make the GS work so I would not have to face reality and get into a Daddy mobile and live a life or boringness. But for the confort of my children wife and myself the inevitable must happen. I will be a future owner of an RX. Good thing though is at least the new RX is not quiet as boring as before the redesign.

SW17LS

And take it from me, when you travel with two kids, space and ease become the new "driving dynamics" lol

LexLuthors

Hi 96SC4 I hope this helps, this is my setup right now. I recently went from a 09 ES 350 to a 13 GS 350. I have a 2 year old son & a 6 year old daughter, so I have her booster seat set up behind me and my sons rear facing Graco seat on the other side. I am 6" and with my daughter behind me there is more then enough room and I have no issues with my sons rear facing seat. I fit some of my personal items in the trunk along with a larger diaper bag and Graco double stroller. It is very doable because I do it on a daily basis since this past September. Now if I end up going Black Friday shopping don't get me wrong we'll take my wives Toyota Sienna. But you will be fine with a 4GS, if you would like pics just let me know.

rxonmymind

Bwhaha! Careful, my wife next time said I need to shave my legs. She models so no slack there.
Anyway, given maybe another 2-3 inches added to the back seats I'd gladly jump on the GS. Even if that meant sacrificing trunk space.

allivant

i currently have an 07 GS and have a car seat and booster in the back for my 5 and 2 yr olds. it's a bit tight but they don't need the room. since mine is a 450h, the trunk is really small. we've actually taken road trips with it but we don't use strollers anymore. if we need the space then we take the wife's '10 Highlander Hybrid. my daughter sits behind me (6'2") and my son is on the passenger side. he is front facing.

2SwiFt29

iTrader: (6)

First time dad here with a 2 month old. Speaking as a F-Sport owner, the rear seats are not child seat friendly. I have a base but it's just not as secured because of the seat style even with a towel underneath. Stroller fits fine in the back trunk but with a seat and my wife sitting behind me, she complains about not having enough rear seat room. I'm 5'11 and I end up having to move my seat up. My wife is 5'5 so definitely not a family car. She has a 2012 Accord and next year, we'll probably just end up getting an SUV in place of her car so I can keep my GS.

1111GS

Doable...Yes. Comfortable... No . There are many out there that are doing fine without a minivan or suv or even with a smaller sedan. But GS is definitely not a comfortable family car. When I had my 13 GS we took it out for maybe 10 times over almost three years. I've had this one for about 4 months and we had not taken it out once. My wife is petite size but she complains about not having enough air to breathe in the back If you want a quiet nice life, get something else if hers is not a minivan or suv already. . RX is not a bad choice at all.

mehran888

No problem. Everyone here is going to give you their opinion. And that's just what it is. If you have a good relationship with the dealership, give them a verbal commitment to the Lexus brand, and then ask for a car for a weekend. I'm sure they'd be willing to give you a demo.

I also feel like I need to defend my thoughts for the person who said that my post made them think of a clown car. For the record, I am actually an SUV guy. I like the bouncy driving dynamics and love the utility. But TBH, 90% of my driving is in the city, where pick-up and handling trump straight line coasting. Which is why I picked the GS350 over the 4Runner and GX. Beyond that, the GS350 was picked (in addition to Lexus quality) over E-Class, etc due to the interior styling which back in 2012 was tremendously above everything in its class, although I do agree that it's a subjective preference.

Back to the clown car comment:

Our dogs were (one has passed away) 50 lbs and 20 lbs. So not huge, but a good size where they both sat on the ground in front of the kids carseats and would nap for a 3-5 hour drive (with a potty break in the middle). Beyond that, we travel relatively light. We have a 24" (medium) suitcase and two 20" carry-on size ones. We can fit them quite easily in the trunk, along with two umbrella strollers. Fitting a portable potty, a scooter or two, some dog food, etc wasn't very hard. Then, my wife would put some food/snacks for the drive in the footwell beside or under her feet.

If you don't have pets, you can safely put a carry-on in front of any non booster car seats as the kids feet don't hang down at all. And you can also put snacks, etc for a road trip in front of the other seat.

The rear facing does put a damper on things, and I'll be the first to admit that while our younger son was rear facing, we didn't go on any trips longer than an hour,because it was a bit uncomfortable for my wife. Also, with our carseats, we couldn't actually fit two side by side so we leave the middle seat empty all the time, unless it's an emergency. So that's a consideration.

Also, to speak about loading the car with kids, bumping their heads, etc. TBH, I find getting my kids in the GS is much easier than either a minivan or my mom's LX. I think it's less about seat height, door size, and more about habit. Whenever we rent a minivan (more on that below), my wife curses that she has to lift the kids higher to get them in the car (true), while someone who owns a minivan might complain about having to always bend lower to put a kid in a car.

The last point I'll make is that buying a GS350, or any other sedan does not prohibit you from renting a car when you want to. Some here might argue that you're already paying for the car, so renting on top is a waste of money. I could make the same argument about premium gas, or going to a movie theatre when you have cable at home. In the 3.5 years we've owned my GS, we've rented a car (locally) about once a year. Basically any time we need to seat a fifth person . Inlaw visit, road trips with family, etc. Frankly, I'd rather pay the $500-$1000 to rent a van for a week when it's going to be subject to 1000+ miles of driving, a food/food traffic mess, and also not have to worry about perfect parking spots in shopping malls or rest stations.

Anyways, I could go on forever. Feel free to PM me if you have thoughts, and apologies if I've come off aggressive here. I'm just pretty passionate about my car and wanted to share my own opinion.

In closing, one other thing I'd add is discussing expectations with your wife, or any other key stakeholder in the purchase. Whether someone agrees with you 100% or not isn't as important as them at least understanding the process that brings you to the decision, and being accepting of that.

Regardless, whether you choose a Dodge Caravan, Nissan GTR, Acura MDX, or GS350... please post pictures for all of us to see .

MEAHT

iTrader: (1)

Sup 96SC4!
Congrats on the babees
I have a 5 year old and a 1 year old and both the baby seats and booster seats are perfectly fine in the back seat. Plenty of room for either our double stroller or 2 individual stollers.

Moved up from a small IS
You will find no lack of space at all, till they become gigantic 6'' tall teenagers lol

You wont be disappointed

MEAT

96SC4

iTrader: (2)

Wow! More responses than i ever expected... You all make great valid points.
Thank you all for your time and opinions... It's crazy how split the advice really is.
I should have done a poll, b/c i swear it's 50/50, get a GS, don't get a GS.

What i think i'm going to do is test drive some of the CUV/SUV's that i don't really want, and then go test drive the GS. Only way to make a proper car buying decision is test drive, a lot.

Just wanted to hear it from the horses mouth, first.

Again, thank you all

GM11

96SC4 how tall are you and your wife? Thinking your 2 year old will be forward facing and the infant will be rear needing more room.

My kids are 9 and 6 (6 and 3 when I got the GS) and they love it. cool in summer with the rear shades, the air circulation is great back there and they can control the radio from the armrest etc. They never stopped complaining in the Camry before that even though it had a ton more rear space. This is our only car.

Will get an LS eventually but right now no issues, I'm 5'9 and and wife is 5'2.