Hey guys,

Long time member .... Had an IS200 back in 2002, also an 05 GS430 and currently a 2014 F Sport RX350
I loved my GS430, and was fine for when we had our first kid, but then we had a second so went the whole soccer mum thing...TBH the RX is such a boring car, and its pretty thirsty too, but it is nice and wife loves it.

Now the kids are out of prams but still in baby seats (Ages 2 and 4), is it liveable with 2 kids? We dont need to carry prams etc so Im seriously considering a 2017+ GS350 F Sport (Would lovve the GSF but way over budget at 120k+AUD). I do have a landcruiser that we use for family getaways, so carrying bikes etc is no dramas, its more for us on weekends, going to family events etc....

 

 

 

my kids are 8 and 2 and have a GS as well. my solution was to use my older(er) lexus as the kid hauler. dirt, crumbs, fingerprints, smudges, toys, food, drawings, stationary on the seats, floor, everywhere

 

You should be okay but it might be a little cramped depending on what you're used to. I only have the one kid and he's six and is pretty comfortable in the back seat. That said, he sits behind my wife who is 5 foot even and weighs about 100 pounds so anyone that sits behind her has PLENTY of room.

 

Thansk guys, yeah both my wife and i are not that tall, under 6ft. The other issue is def the mess they can make haha

 

Only if you let them eat or drink in the car

 

 

I have six year old twins and a three year old and we use a pair of Peg Perego 120 Flex boosters and a toddler seat made for travel that sits in between on "the hump". It's tight, but it fits - surprisingly. I've quickly realized that I need to turn off my Lexus driver's seat exit control so it doesn't press on my kiddos feet.

 

I'm 6'1" with a 5yr old and 2yr old. My wife is 5'2" so the 2yr old is behind her because that seat is still rear facing. My son is on the tall side (97th percentile) and he's fine behind my seat in a high back booster. This is my daily driver and my wife has the RX. I completely agree that the RX is boring and I find us taking the GS for long trips pretty often with no complaints. The trunk is surprisingly large so we can take everything we need too. When I was shopping for a car I took my car seats to the dealer to make sure it would be comfy for me and the kids. With your height though I would think you'd be fine.

 

Two kids in boosters in mine. I use towels on the seats under the boosters to reduce wear and control the inevitable mess.

Edit: towels tuck in and are easily laundered.

 

^ Ebay yoga mats work better. They absorb the bottom of the car seat marks. Just sayin'

 

The GS 350 is really just a 4-seater with not a lot of room in the rear seat. When the front seats are positioned for most adults of normal size the rear seating is a bit cramped at best. And conversely, if ample room is made for the rear seat passengers the front seating becomes a bit cramped at best...and can be totally unacceptable for the driver. Plus, the driver's seat exit feature can really play havoc with a rear seat passenger's legs...

For anyone that may want to put a child seat in the center of the rear seat - the GS 350 does not have the center seat Latch system. However, there is a center seat belt and even though the center seat is raised and not comfortable for an adult a child seat can be used with the center seat belts - it just doesn't have the Latch system latch hooks. Latch hooks have required spacing, and Lexus has installed them only in the left-hand and right-hand rear seat positions. However, a car seat can be installed in the center position using the seat belts...where it has been determined to be the safest place for a car seat...and likely the best place that won't interfere with the driver or front seat passenger.

Most car seats' Latch connectors (e.g. Chicco KeyFit, etc.) will not reach the inboard left-hand Latch hook and the inboard right-hand Latch hook in order to install the car seat in the center position because of the [two inboard hook] spacing is a few inches too far apart, and also because the center seat is raised. The car seat's web straps that have the Latch connectors on the ends are about 1" shy of being able to connect to the two inboard Latch hooks. However, if you want to use a car seat in the center position (without using the seat belt to strap the car seat in-place), you can add a heavy duty chain link to the left-hand Latch hook and the inboard right-hand Latch hook so the car seat's Latch connectors will then reach and latch to the added links, thus not requiring the car seat to be strapped in with the seat belt. The chain links are rated at a higher tensile strength than the car's Latch hooks.

 

I have a recently purchased chicco zip air convertible car seat (same latch system as key fit) and it fits in the center seat using the center most latch from each rear seat. It's not sufficient though because my drivers seating position still hits the car seat and it's also a PAIN to get a toddler that can't seat herself into the center seat. So we put it on the passenger side rear.