When you’re faced with the prospect of picking up a $500,000 car things are nerve-wracking enough. But then you realise that the only full day you have with the car when you’re not at work is a day you’ve agreed to be “Daddy Daycare” while the wife is at work. Can you put three kids including two car-seats into a Rolls Royce Ghost? Yes, yes you can.
Despite plenty of web searching, all I had to go on to be sure I’d be able to get the kids car-seats into the car was a single press photo which to me looked like it showed a car-seat anchor on the rear parcel shelf of the Rolls. This was enough to go on, so I took the plunge.
Click here to read our full Rolls Royce Ghost Review
I have three kids, Jackson aged 8, Victoria 4 and Harrison 3. Cute, but man can they make a mess of a car in no time flat.
A white leather interior? Strewth, even a darker tan or something would have made me feel better! I threw down a towel on each of the rear outside seats. Separated by a centre console which folds out from the rear seat to allow control of the rear entertainment system (And access to the fridge), I got both seats in with ease.
The child restraint anchor points are exceptional in quality, as with every other detail of this car. They have a soft grey colour to them, with a “lid” which comes down over the anchor point, even when a seat is in place which gives a finished look to the rear parcel shelf despite the rug-rats sitting just centimetres away.
Climbing in and out of the car was easy for the kids despite the huge size of the car (Compared to our Commodore or Mazda 2), but the seats did have to act as steps into the child-seats, fortunately, the towels were out for that:)
I opted for the middle seat in the back to stay down as the arm-rest and entertainment control, despite it being of any use to the kids. Jackson rode up front. Interestingly, if he had been in the back between the two car seats the space he had is smaller than that which we have in the Commodore. This is mainly due to the luxurious nature of the rear edge seats, which also have a rounded wall into the side/door to allow for a more side sitting approach so two rear passengers can chat.
I’ll talk more about the rear entertainment system in the Tech review, however it was clumsy to get going, because you had to ensure that the front system had been set to allow the rear system to have priority, and thus, take over the sound system of the car, not just work through headphones. This is the kind of thing that would be explained at the Rolls Royce dealership if you were a family buying a Rolls (wonder how many of them there are?).
The kids enjoyed a DVD, they had cup holders at the ready, and a fridge between them to keep the drinks cool when not in use.
Because of the fully adjustable seats I was able to keep Harri’s seat well away from the one in front of him – because he has a habit of putting his grotty little shoes on the seat in front – that avoided a quick leather clean at the end of the day.
Most of all, the kids loved having one extra level of control over their normal daily driving experience. They could close the doors themselves, with the push of a button.
Overall, there is now no question that it is possible to take the family in a Rolls Royce, including car-seats. Sure the fuel-efficiency isn’t one for the family budget, but if you’re able and willing to spend $747,000 on a car, I’m tipping you aren’t checking the price of fuel, let alone your fuel consumption rate.
