Well the V back seat is no different than the non V back seat so there will be plenty of guys here that can help. I have 3 kids 6 and under and not a single car seat in the ATS lol. That's what the Odyssey is for.
You can get one or two forward facing car seats in the ATS, however you will need to move the front seats up some. Its doable, but the next problem is loading and unloading. The rear door opening is very difficult to access and awkward shaped along with a very long pointed rear section of the door making it almost certain that you'll have to hold the door from hitting a car next to you.
Here is where you run into the BIG problem. Newborns and up to a year old....longer if you can, must be REAR facing. The rear facing car seat takes up a LOT of room and the front seats will need to moved forward and tilted up a lot. I would even venture to say that they would need to move up so far that the front seats would be close to unusable if you're anywhere near normal height. The good thing is one kid would allow you to put it behind the passenger seat so as long as no one has to sit there it'll probably be doable. Definitely not an optimal car for any amount of kids, but you'll make it work. Remember, rear facing for as long as you can! I actually just switched my little boys seat around he is 1 1/2. That's in our minivan and we still had to have the passenger seat up to where I couldn't comfortably sit there with our large rear facing Diono seat. The day you get to switch to forward facing car seat is a great day, trust me lol.

 

Hey! Thanks for responding and giving me a ton of information. Sounds like I would put the rear facing car seat in the passenger side since I don't plan on having anyone sit in the passenger seat. If when we decide to take my car instead, I think I'll have my wife sit back with the baby but most likely we will be taking her SUV.

Sounds like this is doable and will wait the day when I can flip the car seat (the good day). I suppose I'll do some research to see what's the most compact car seat if there's one available. You bring a good point about the door, I'm sure there's times where I will be parked next to another car.

I plan on leasing the ATS V so if we decide to have another kid, I'll probably get an SUV for myself.

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Sorry it double posted for some reason.

 

In 2008 I was looking at a BMW 335i and came very close to buying it but my daughter was still in a rear child seat (but not rear facing) and even though the seat would fit it was tight and I went with the 2008 CTS instead which was a great decision. Consider how often you will use the child seat in your car and if it is frequent then you may want to rethink the ATS. There is a huge difference between doable and practical. I love the ATS sizing but I wouldn't have wanted it when my daughter was in a car seat and especially not a rear facing seat.

If you go with the ATS make sure to get a separate car seat for it so you don't have to constantly move the seat itself between cars which would add to the pain with the limited space in the back of the ATS. Many things which will fit in the back of the ATS won't fit easily through the rear doors of the ATS so you want to minimize installing/removing items.

I went through a somewhat related issue with my 2008 CTS that I had when we got our current German Shepherd. When it was time to take Cheyenne to be spayed I arranged it at the vet school in Champaign/Urbana because they do a far less invasive laporoscopic process and to keep her comfortable after surgery I decided to use my CTS instead of my much rougher riding GMC crewcab diesel pickup. Her travel crate would fit inside the back seat of the CTS but only by first splitting it into top and bottom halves and reassembling it in the car. Trying to put a crate together in a small backseat was a major pain but it was worth it for Cheyennes' comfort. Now her vet visits are done in a much larger travel crate which slides in and out of the back seat of the pickup with no problem.

Putting Anna in the back of my second gen CTS was very easy and comfortable for both of us. The ATS, like the BMW 335i, would have been a much tighter fit. I am not sure where you are located but when it is very cold outside you don't want to be fumbling around with an infant trying to place him/her in a seat that is difficult to access. It gets a little easier with the front facing child seat except that also pushes the child out some distance from the seat back creating the same legroom (or lack thereof) situation as a larger adult although you probably won't have the ATS by the time your new arrival is large enough for that to be an issue.

Some of my very best memories in life are of young Anna and it will be a great time for you. BUT there will also be stressful times and you will want to minimize sources of aggravation such as dealing with a car that really doesn't fit an infant seat well.

 

In 2008 I was looking at a BMW 335i and came very close to buying it but my daughter was still in a rear child seat (but not rear facing) and even though the seat would fit it was tight and I went with the 2008 CTS instead which was a great decision. Consider how often you will use the child seat in your car and if it is frequent then you may want to rethink the ATS. There is a huge difference between doable and practical. I love the ATS sizing but I wouldn't have wanted it when my daughter was in a car seat and especially not a rear facing seat.

If you go with the ATS make sure to get a separate car seat for it so you don't have to constantly move the seat itself between cars which would add to the pain with the limited space in the back of the ATS. Many things which will fit in the back of the ATS won't fit easily through the rear doors of the ATS so you want to minimize installing/removing items.

I went through a somewhat related issue with my 2008 CTS that I had when we got our current German Shepherd. When it was time to take Cheyenne to be spayed I arranged it at the vet school in Champaign/Urbana because they do a far less invasive laporoscopic process and to keep her comfortable after surgery I decided to use my CTS instead of my much rougher riding GMC crewcab diesel pickup. Her travel crate would fit inside the back seat of the CTS but only by first splitting it into top and bottom halves and reassembling it in the car. Trying to put a crate together in a small backseat was a major pain but it was worth it for Cheyennes' comfort. Now her vet visits are done in a much larger travel crate which slides in and out of the back seat of the pickup with no problem.

Putting Anna in the back of my second gen CTS was very easy and comfortable for both of us. The ATS, like the BMW 335i, would have been a much tighter fit. I am not sure where you are located but when it is very cold outside you don't want to be fumbling around with an infant trying to place him/her in a seat that is difficult to access. It gets a little easier with the front facing child seat except that also pushes the child out some distance from the seat back creating the same legroom (or lack thereof) situation as a larger adult although you probably won't have the ATS by the time your new arrival is large enough for that to be an issue.

Hey man, right on for the response. I definitely would buy a separate car seat that will remain in the ATS.

I just sold my wife's 2011 BMW 335i too to replace it with an ATS V. From the sound of it, they have similar size for the rear seats.

I really wish I could find a picture of the back seat with a rear facing car seat to give me a visual. But from the sound of it, it would be a tight fit.

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I would take an infant seat to your Cadillac dealer and the salesperson should be happy to let you try it in an ATS, that would be the best test.

And once the little one arrives provide Cadillac and infant photos

Anna chose the color of my 2008 CTS because she fell in love with Black Cherry on a car they had in the showroom so that is what we ordered.

 

Just a heads up: ATS-V has two front seat options, RECARO seats and regular seats. Regular seats are almost the same as the ATS in terms of size and shape, the materials slightly differ. But RECARO have a very different shape. ATS-V's rear space is going to be very tight, so slight differences between front seats in terms of size or shape can make a scenario possible or impossible. So please keep this in mind and try the child seat on the same type of seats that you want to buy.

And by the way, I would personally choose RECARO. ATS-V has a whole different feeling with RECARO. Also in used market RECARO option brings a higher value. But in terms of space in the rear seat, I have no idea!

 

Hey Ben, thanks! I had RECARO Seats on my CTS V Coupe and really liked the look so I'm definitely getting that on the ATS V. When it's time to buy a car seat, I'll take your advice and do a test fit first. I'll probably going to some specialized baby place that will allow me to try it out first.

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I'm with Anna - love that Black Cherry. Pez.

 

Thanks Pez. That was a very nice color that would change when the lighting changed and was very similar to the color of my 1985 Monte Carlo SS. I like GM color changing paint and I am ordering Dark Slate metallic for my new pickup, it shows various gray/green/blue tints depending upon the light.

Anna approves of the color and she will be old enough to drive before the truck is very old.

 

I've had my ATS since my 3 year old was 2. It's tight forward facing, he's kicked the seat from day one. I'd lease the SUV or maybe a CT6/CTS now and then pick up an ATS-V. My little girl was 5 and her booster seat is fine. Sometimes I need to move my seat up for her feet.

 

So I'll be picking up my ATS V Sedan next week and really excited. I have a car seat a friend gave me that has the docking station which the actually car seat docks in. Hopefully it fits. *fingerscrossed*

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When my company gave me a new SmartPhone, the IT guy told me the phone can use the wireless charging. I said the ATS (2014) doesn't have that. He said just get a new car.

So if the car seat doesn't fit well, now you have an excuse to get another car.

 

Nice one. I think I'll be fine. Did a lot of research and seems it all depends on the type of car seat.

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BTW, I meant that you should get an "additional" car. Different cars for different purposes.

 

my daughter was rear facing when i had my ‘13 ATS...the best thing i did was buy a B.O.B. stroller....why? one reason is it collapsed nicely and fit in the trunk....but that’s not the main reason....the main reason was we got a Graco attachment accessory for it and got 2 graco bases, one for my ATS, the other for my wife’s SRX....and with the graco infant seat it was easy to carry and it just snapped into either car and the stroller....no need to struggle with strapping in a child between cars in a parking lot....just roll up to the back of the car set the brake disconnect the baby seat and all, click into the back....collapse the stroller and put in the trunk....it was fantastic

as nice as that was when we went forward facing i gave the whole system to my best friend and got a Diono RXT.....that is probably the best car seat you can buy.....it has a metal frame so it’s heavy, but it can can go from rear facing to front facing, to booster seat, and it’s a certified airplane booster with straps so you can wear it like a backpack when traveling.....but the main reason i bought it was that it’s the narrowest seat you can buy....in fact they claim you can fit 3 of these across in most cars......space is precious in ATS, and i wanted to maintain 3 passenger capability with the car seat

 

I have put two Dionos in my ATS in a pinch. They fit fine in the back seat but there is no way anybody or anything could fit inbeteeen them. Not that anyone would try to haul 3 kids in car seats in an ATS.......oh wait I did two weeks ago lol. I had to take my wife’s minivan in for service so I left my ATS for her. Had our 1 and 3 year old in their dionos in the back seat, and our 6 year old in a booster in the front (with airbag deactivated). Obviously I would have preferred her in the back, but there was no available room in the middle seat with the two car seats on the sides. It ended up working fine and the kids seemed to enjoy a cruise in the ATS

 

Beautiful Family.....you are a stronger man than me, i feel like my plate is full with my one daughter....lol

 

Thank you. I wish there were words to describe it, but I’d have to leave that up to my wife as she’s the one at home with them all day lol. Atleast I get to leave for 8 hours a day and get a break....and yes air traffic control is a break compared to managing 3 kids 6 and under haha.

 

Thanks for all the advice everyone. This is all very helpful and I'm sure helpful for others that plan on buying an ATS V Sedan.

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When I was their age, I never got to ride in a Cadillac!

 

yes those kids are lucky.....my dad has a silver deville he preferred even though he worked at Mercedes Benz....he kept that car detailed to the max....my only memory of that car is one night when i was very young we went out as a family....i think it was to a work function at a restaurant ....and when we came out someone had tagged the car with black spray paint....my dad was not happy, but he wasn't that stressed about it....when we got home he got a rag soaked it in gasoline and wiped the spray paint right off the car.....basically wax saved the day he just took the wax off the car, and re waxed it

 

Hey everyone, so my wife is due on April 24th so it's coming up quick. What are you guys using as a seat cover or protector from the car seat damaging your seats? I've already got all weather car mats to protect the floor and want something to protect the seats.

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Really anything works, but for our Diono seats we also have th Diono seat protectors. I have even used a towel that works just as good. Just anything to go between the car seat and leather which will help to reduce indentations from the car seat, and also keep food and junk off it. We recently traded in our 2015 Odyssey that had 3 kids 6 and under in it pretty much all the time, and before I traded it I did a little interior cleaning and the seats wiped down to look literally brand new. Granted Honda probably uses a vinyl which can take a beating, but a real leather seat should be fine as well as long as a cover was used.

 

We've got got a 3 month old and use the graco click connect setup. Eye balling it the base adds a bit of length to the setup (making the passenger front seat tight. So we keep the base in my partners car and just use the baby bucket with the seatbelt straps in the ATS and a towel rolled up to keep the angle correct. Not as elegant as the click connect, but works well in the ATS. Weve got the Diono Radian RXT for the next stage, but we shall keep the bucket going as long as possible.

This being said the bucket wouldnt fit behind my seat (im 6ft) thankfully my partner is smaller (5'6") so two seats rear facing wouldnt work for us... just some things to think about! Ive been thinking about a CTS Vsport, to gain backseat and trunkspace, but would be sad to give up the manual.

 

Thanks for your response. I have the grace click connect setup as well and have two base (one for my ATS and one for my wife's MDX). Luckily, when we travel as a family that we will use my wife's SUV. The little guy will be commuting with me 5 days a week to my parents house so I would be running solo in the front, so I can pull back the passenger seat as far as I need to. That being said, I hope the click connect works for my purpose. Until my lease is up, which I'll look into buying a used CTS V3.