# New, going to be looking for a practical tt!



## clarkey979 (Aug 23, 2009)

Hello!

Nice forum, just joined, looking to buy my first tt (mk1) in the next couple of months and thought I would get on here and do some research. I currently have an S2000, which I am really going to miss, but with a new arrival [smiley=baby.gif] I would like something with more than two seats. I realise that the TT isnt the obvious family choice, but we have a load lugger and this would be a second car so it would just be used occasionally with a car seat.

Anybody else do that here, I see it has isofix? Or do they quicky give up the tt and get something more practical.

Thanks!


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## jammyd (Oct 11, 2008)

Welcome to the forum


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## YELLOW_TT (Feb 25, 2004)

Welcome dont for get to join the TTOC www.ttoc.co.uk


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## clarkey979 (Aug 23, 2009)

Thanks, I will check that out... so it begins!


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## T3RBO (Dec 9, 2003)

Welcome to the forum


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## malstt (Apr 18, 2007)

Welcome to the forum. 8)


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## Mark Davies (Apr 10, 2007)

Unless you are very short and are going to drive with your seat pushed far forward you can forget about having adults in the back for anything other than a quick spin round the corner, but other than that you'll be surprised about how practical the car can be. You can get child seats in the back just fine, but I'm sure we'd all admit that the access into the back past the front seats is rather restricted - getting a baby in a carry-cot in there is going to be awkward. But if your kids are of an age when they can climb into the car themselves then it should be fine.

Besides that you'll be chuffed with the size of the boot - espcially compared with the S2000. Drop the back seats and it's absolutely cavernous. I regularly transport heaps of diving kit with it and have even had a sideboard in there!

So okay, it's not a family estate but it certainly is a big step up from a 2 seat roadster and it's far more practical than most other comparable sports coupes. The 350Z has no back seats at all and a ridiculous beam across the boot, the BMW Z4, no back seats, the Alfa Romeo Brera does have back seats but the opening into the boot is very high and narrow. That leaves you with the likes of the Toyota Celica of Hyundai Coupe, but I'll just presume we're simply not going there!

Finally - probably the best alternative and one even as a TT devotee I think you should look at - is the Mazda RX8. It has very useable rear seats and those rearward opening back doors make it unique in the coupe market. Getting children into the back is an absolute doddle. The boot isn't massive by any means - perhaps only half the size of the TT - but is adequate. I expect much the same as you have in the S2000. My sister-in-law has two kids aged 4 and 2 and has an RX8 and manages with it well enough. Like yourselves they have a family people-carrier too and the Mazda is used as an occasional transport for the kids only, but does the job well. Balanced with that you'd have to consider the issues arising from the running of the car - high fuel consumption, drinking oil and high servicing cost for that rotary engine. It's pretty damn quick though and gives the TT a run for it's money! However, to my eye it's a rather ugly car and I think I'd still go for the TT for that reason.

If you do go down the TT route welcome to the community!


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## clarkey979 (Aug 23, 2009)

Hi thanks all for the warm welcome and thanks Mark for the very comprehensive reply, just what I was looking for. This is what was playing on my mind... and you also read my mind on the short list of cars as a replacement for the S2k and you're right...toyota and hyundai are defo not on the list. The RX8 is a second choice at the minute, I really like the suicide doors, but the boot and the efficiency issues really let it down - especially the boot for me, I could probably live with the fuel consumption as I don't do that many miles.

I was attracted to the TT as its been high on my list for many years, that design and all year round usability is great... along with a few creature comforts which are suddenly attractive. Also last winter I got stuck on my snow covered drive (which slopes down from the road) in my s2000 - the way it was parked meant that all the weight was distributed to the front, while I was trying to drive the back wheels. So while my wife could get out in her car I couldnt - so a TT with 4wd should do the trick!

Many years ago I had a Corrado VR6...so I am quite drawn to a 3.2 tt...though not crossing the 225 off the list. You highlight the boot and folding seat facility as a big advantage and this is a big draw for me, especially the hatch design.

I am only going to use a car seat with the little guy occasionally with an isofix base that I will just leave in there. Is the access to the back seats really that bad? I need to go a have a look really. How does the mechanism work? Slides forward or tilt - but still leaves little room to get a bulky child seat through? What if I permanently installed one and then just had to get the little man buckled in?

Cant wait, will continue to do my research and will bide my time until I find the right one...


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## Mark Davies (Apr 10, 2007)

The seat back just tilts - the base not moving forward at all. There's plenty of travel on the seat though and the lever for shifting it forward is easy to get to when you're not sat in the car but just leaning in, so if it's just for very occasional use you can make room enough to get a child seat in without too much hassle. Fit the seat on the nearside of the rear and you won't be messing with your driving position.

I'm not sure I'd be wanting to do it day after day but there's so many advantages that the TT has over the alternatives I don't think needing to do it just every now and then would be anything to put me off.


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## clarkey979 (Aug 23, 2009)

Right that's it sold me! Thank-you for your help! Occasional use for child seat it will be, I just want to be able to use it every so often so that we are not always going out in the load lugger, but at least I have the option of carrying the little guy. With the S2k, it's completely redundant on weekends. Right back to the research...


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