I am seriously looking at an A4 avant for my commute car, and it would do occasional duty on short family trips--I have a 2 and a 5 year old kid...am I kidding myself that I will be able to do this without extreme discomfort on everyone's part? I saw the post about child seats. Hope to make the jump to a booster type soon, but would appreciate input. Thanks

I carry my two kids just great in my sedan. The four year old in a booster while my 17 month old is in a car seat. The hard plastic seat backs hold up to muddy feet great! In fact, I don't think adults were designed to ride for too long in the back. I also keep the back seat covered with a heavy duty black towel to keep my onyx leatherett clean from OJ spills.

works well with a 5 year old and a two year old, but I think in another three years or so it will be too cramped for a growing family. The leatherette makes puke clean ups easy (don't ask me how I know).

My biggest problems with a 4yr & 7yr old have been:<p>1) them spilling on the cloth...I now have a no food , no fluid rule in the car<br>2) The marks that the booster chair made while being used (we now don't have to use it)<br>3) the kick marks on the back of the seat, lower door panels<br>4) the fact that the car does not allow the kids to see outside....translation...easy to get car motion sickness. I would carry some of those nice airline barf bags (sorry, I have kids) in the mesh section of the back portion of the front seats...that way they can get to them quickly.<br>5) the lockout feature of the windows works great, as do the child proof rear doors.<br>6) watch out for the seat belt orange female connector piece...one of mine broke...soon to be replaced next week at 30K service.<p>Hope that helps...hey, that was 6 comments not 3...<p>Steve S.<br>97 2.8QM<br>

thanks...I will probably stick with the plan. In a few years, maybe I can upgrade to an A6.

True story:<br>My six year old had the audacity last year to complain about the seat firmness. My response, "Those are good hard German leather seats. Get used to them."<p>Seriously, the A4 Avant would probably be uncomfortable for a child of eight or nine years age. The A6 Avant 200 hp should be a relative bargain after the engine upgrade this year. Safetywise, it can't be surpassed.<p>98.5 2.8 QTip, good hard German leather

I have a 3 yr. old and a 26 yr. old. The 26 yr. old is my wife who prefers to ride in the back. She believes it's more comfortable back there and it also keeps my 3 yr. old occupied. My wife sits behind me, and we pull the passenger front seat all the way up, so that my 3yr. old can't kick the back of the seat. She does keep the inside of her window dirty with her fingerprints though.

Well, I have a 4 and a 6 year old. The A4 2.8QMS has a booster and a child seat in the back, and it does just fine. You have to warn the kids not to kick the seats, but the hard plastic is actually a help here. The kids have no problem; they like Dad's cool Audi. I take them to school in the mornings (about 10 miles); we also do short family trips on the weekends in the Audi. We do long trips in our Mercury Villager (g).<p>I think that it will actually get better once I can get rid of the booster, as the kid seats elevate their legs and they therefore touch their toes to the seat back. Once they're on the actual cushion, their feet will go under the seat in front. I would expect that there will be reasonable room in back until they are at least 10-12 years or so; then it will get similarly tight as with adults.<p>Good luck!

Steve S. wrote the following issues (note my responses):<p>1) them spilling on the cloth...I now have a no food , no fluid rule in the car<p>My kids get bottled water and that is about it. We get out if we need to snack.<p>2) The marks that the booster chair made while being used (we now don't have to use it)<p>I have Kmart towels folded under both the booster and the child seat. No need to mar my $1K leather now, is there?<p>3) the kick marks on the back of the seat, lower door panels<p>It is called teaching the kids. While not a perfect solution, it helps. It will also pay dividends in the way they treat other things in life. I haven't had any big problems.<p>4) the fact that the car does not allow the kids to see outside....translation...easy to get car<br>motion sickness. I would carry some of those nice airline barf bags (sorry, I have kids) in the<br>mesh section of the back portion of the front seats...that way they can get to them quickly.<p>Haven't had this problem, but I don't drive the same way with the family(g).<p>5) the lockout feature of the windows works great, as do the child proof rear doors.<p>I agree!<p>6) watch out for the seat belt orange female connector piece...one of mine broke...soon to be<br>replaced next week at 30K service.<p>Haven't had this problem yet...