Been at Halfords today to get some advice. The assistant was very friendly and knowledgable (about babies, less though about Maseratis). So, this is what I've learned:
1) The idea of getting one of these new multi-age seats that fit from newborn to 7 or 12 years is rather ambitious. Those seats are just big. Way to big.
2) I understand that baby seats with a handle so you can move the seat with baby in and out of the car without waking the baby is desirable, but I'm not sure if that would really work when you'd have to tilt the seat by 90 degree to get it into the rear.
3) It seems that there are seats such as the Maxi Cosi Pebble that actually fit into the back, even rear-facing. But getting the seat with baby out of the car or, alternatively, getting the baby in and out of the seat in the back of the car is a very different story!
4) It's obviously easier to fit the seat on the front seat, but in that case, fitting the passenger (wife) to the rear needs to be considered. I suppose getting anybody else (e.g. in-laws) into the car must be discarded.
5) The real issue for fitting the seat safely is the shape of the car seat. I mean you really can't call the 3200GT seats really 'bucket seats', but they are not the typical saloon-flat shape. This issue applies both front and back. I read that people do fit anything from custom made cushions to memory foam to a pile of towels under (which also protects the car's leather), but it's not ideal, is it?
6) It kind of would really make sense to swap the 3200 for a QP, but I'm still failing to find a buyer... and actually, I kind of like the idea of keeping the 3200 (nobody heard me saying that, okay?)
7) The fit of a baby trolley in the boot is a completely different story still....
8) It's impossible to predict the future (particularly when expecting your first). I expect my life to be turned upside down, but since we don't really need the car on a daily base (other than my commute to work) I don't expect us to drive around with the baby too often. That might of course change one day, but until then I feel that changing the car just to fit a baby seat more easily or getting another car especially for that purpose seem to be a bit excessive, no?