Baby on the way... My WRX vs Forester XT

Hey all,

Looking for some advice. Our first kid is on the way! We're pretty excited, but I'm starting to doubt my WRX as a good family car. It's a sedan, and the trunk isn't the greatest for hauling much, so I've been tracking down XTs for the past week.

For those with WRX sedans, what is your experience with car seats, strollers, etc? Do/did you wish you had more room?

For those with XTs, is it as much fun to drive? Are the newer models with the CVT a good time?

So ya, dump your experiences on me. I just want to make sure I have the right car for the kid.

If I end up switching cars, I may have a 2013 WRX sedan for sale. 24k miles, black, black leather, nav, moonroof, etc... The car is in fantastic shape, and completely stock, aside from the flaps, shorty antenna, and a Red Top battery. I have brand new WS-80s on steelies on it for winter, so those would go too. I don't want to sell it, but if it'll make my life easier, I may have to.

Anyway, thanks ahead of time for your advice everyone.

 

Forgot to mention the wife has the 2012 Outback, so it's not like we're without a family car... Does one family car and one fun car work well for you guys?

 

One kid you should be alright. 2 kids you may have to be creative with how you pack all of the stuff into the sedan. 3 kids it's just not gonna happen.

 

Thanks! Congrats as well! You'll have to let me know how the car seat fits.

Hopefully we don't have triplets!

Has anyone had problems fitting read-facing car seats in back? I'm worried that there may not be much room for passengers up front.

 

When #2 was born the wife had a Toyota matrix and I had a Volvo sedan.
Matrix got replaced with a Prius and Volvo got replaced with a Sebring convertible.

The Prius got most of the family work because it was impossible to fit a stroller or anything really in the sebrings trunk (odd because it's huge, but also tiny)

The Sebring got replaced with a Silverado, which got replaced with the cros trek. Kids are too big for a stroller. Prius has enjoyed a few vacations now over holidays because the crosstrek is just so nice to drive.

Rear facing seat did touch worse in the matrix/Prius more than it did in the Volvo. Kid went front facing before the Sebring.

 

Ya, the OB has quite a bit of room, but I guess we won't know until we try. Even if the seat is touching, I'm ok with that as long we have a little room up front.

The Crosstrek would be nice, but I had a 2012 Impreza hatch, and I'd hate myself if I went back to the same or similar car. No one likes giving money away.

I think I'm kinda sweet on the newer XTs. I could handle 250HP with a bunch of space...

 

I started out with one kid and a 2004 WRX wagon. Rear facing seat went on the passenger side. Upgraded to a 2008 STI 5 door and had another kid. Moved the older kid behind me and kept younger one on passenger side. I just upgraded to a 2015 STI and have no regrets. Oldest kid is now only in a booster seat.

My wife has a 2013 Outback. We use that when we go anywhere all together or for long distance travel. This scenario works for us. It is a rare occasion when someone rides in the passenger seat with kids in the back though.

 

My wife and I both had impreza wagons when our son was born. We didn't have any trouble with rear or forward facing car seats. The sedan might be hard if you want to haul around one of those jogger strollers, ours fit fine in the wagons, but I don't think they'll easily fit in a sedan trunk.

Personally I'd say wait and see how it works with your sedan, it might be just fine.

 

I think this is the plan... The trunk in the '13 era sedans just sucks though. The wagon will be seeing much more use shortly.

 

subscribed!

 

subscribed as well. might have to start taking notes too since I'm sure we will be trying in the near future.

she is going to get a grand cherokee so i think that will be the baby hauling mobile but just in case i think i will taking notes on putting a car seat in the sedan.

congrats on the kiddo!

 

I had two kids with an 09 hatchback WRX, it worked but only to take a stroller and the kids, no real room for anything else. I had to remove the hatch cover to get the stroller in. Just buy my legacy, it can fit 5 dead hookers, so I've heard...

 

FTFY

 

We have two kids in a 2004 FXT with 214k on it, and it works good for us. We bought a dog gate so we can safely keep things in the hatch area. Can you fit our third kid in there....nope...nope you can't. But otherwise it works well for us...although we are both pretty short, so the kids have plenty of leg room.

 

I have no kids, so no experience on that front. I think the new XT's are pretty sweet however, and having the auto/CVT might be nicer for the child instead of constant shifting. Plus, all of that room in the back.

If you do end up selling your WRX, keep me in mind, especially if you further were interested in trading for my 3.6R limited sedan. It may be a sedan, but the trunk is massive and there is plenty of interior room for 4 adults.

 

The bigger sedan would be nice, but the big hatch on the Forester looks so appealing. If the WRX goes, it'll definitely be posted here first. That said, I doubt it's going anywhere. My future dad self says that I should get something more practical, but I love my car. I'd be pretty bummed if I got rid of it.

Does anyone on here have experience with the Eyesight system? I saw that some of the Foresters have the feature, but is it worthwhile? Seems expensive for something the driver should be doing in the first place.

If anyone sees a good deal on a '14ish Forester, feel free to post it here. I may be interested if it's good.

 

For me with two kids which one is a teenager and the other is 2. I still have a car seat in my 04 sti. With the car seat it is a little tight but it works. As far as luggage space I am limited as well. I use to have an 02 wagon that was awesome for the kids and hauling strollers etc. I wish I still had the wagon for the family and my sti for play. If the wife has a good amount of space such as the outback, you should be fine with the sedan. Until you get multiple kids your sedan will suffice and work just fine. Hope that help..

 

The new xt tourings drive very nice. The fiance and I are looking at new cars and planning for the future. She likes the jeep Cherokee trail hawk and I'm guessing that's what we will end up buying but the forester is very nice for the money

 

I have a Forester XT 5MT, really fun to drive and it's a bit off the radar compared to a WRX, it doesn't get much attention which is nice. Still pretty quick too.

 

Which year? Newer models don't offer a MT. I also read that earlier models were a pain with car seats... Hard molded seats, less room for rear passengers, etc.

 

Congrats on the baby! I have 3 children 2 are in car seats. We as in the 5 of us squeeze into the legacy wagon. We also fit into the 09' impreza hatch but it was even tighter.

There is more to think about once a family starts then a turbo and maintenance of it My 2 cents. Unless you have no reason for financial worry children are expensive!!!

Your wrx should be fine for now. As soon as 2 of my 3 are out of daycare its OXT all the way!

 

I have an SG9 s0 2006.

The newest XT I'd get would be an SH. I'm not a big fan of the newest model.

 

I HAD an 06 FXT, three kids. 8, 5, and 2. My 2 year old was rear facing in the middle, the other two had boosters. They fit fine, getting the seat belts to clock was hard at first, but the two odder kids mastered it.

Road trips, and shopping wasn't too bad.

Two older kids sat on bubblebum boosters, and baby is in a Diono Radian 100 something. one of the narrowest carseat made.

 

Alright all, thank you for your advice. Not only because of space, but also because of finances, I'm going to explore an XT. I kind of have my eye on this base XT in Eden Prairie. http://www.carsoup.com/details/used/2014/Subaru/Forester-20xt-Premium/51291637 It seems pricey, so I'll see if he'll take the price down a bit.

In the meantime, I want to feel out demand for my rex. If I get serious about it, I'll make a separate thread. It's a 2013 Limited sedan in black with black leather and 24k miles. I bought it as a certified preowned, so it was/is in fantastic shape. Includes nav and moonroof. It is completely stock aside from the Red Top battery, Perrin short antenna, rally armor flaps. I also added subaru all weather mats and trunk liner. I currently have new 16" WS-80s on steelies with TPMS on it, and the stock wheels in storage. I'd like to get $28k (~$33k new) for it. Let me know if I'm crazy, but it should be worth it. I have pictures from this fall on my personal machine at home, if anyone is interested.

Thanks again, all.

 

So I found an 09 XT with ~50K miles for like $18K. It would definitely cut my payment, plus give me more space. I like feedback on such things, so what do you guys think?

Is it going to be that much more fun to drive vs a newer (2014) 2.5?

Also, if I do this, I'll need one of you to buy my car.

 

I like that body style a lot and if it was in my budget when I was car shopping I for sure would have bought an SH body FXT!

 

Just be sure you're ready to give it up. I was in a similar but slightly different situation. I was going to get married. I sold my 06 STi and got an 03 Audi convertible. It ended up being a money pit. I sold it to the Subie dealer and was under water by about 5k. I bought a brand new at the time 13' base WRX, which I am now getting the itch to pursue another STi. It's a vicious cycle. Long story short, if you love your car, and can make it work with your wife's vehicle, I would try that first. If that doesn't work then parting ways might be easier when you need to get rid of it.
Congrats too btw.

 

Unfortunately, we're thinking about it based on financials as well. I spent a lot on it, and the payments aren't cheap. Moving to the 09 XT I found would save ~$250 a month in payments and insurance. That goes a long way when paying off student loans, a future kid's day care, and a new mortgage soon.

So ya, money sucks, and my car costs me lots of it. But man, it's sure fun to drive.

I'm going to start a FS thread tomorrow and see if anyone's interested. I'd much rather sell to one of you guys.

 

I agree, money does suck. But how cool will it be to teach your kid about Subies. I used to love fixing cars with my dad when I was young.

 

So apparently my car is worth substantially less after 7 months of driving it. Two dealerships have offered me less than KBB's low end trade price. They both want it pretty badly (apparently), but aren't comfortable paying more.

So ya, I think the only option is to pay off the wife's Outback faster. I'm thinking of taking the money from my extended warranty and putting it towards the Outback. Then I won't have a warranty claim to worry about when I start messing with the WRX, right?

Anyway, moving cars around is stressful, and I just don't want to. I'm pushing hard to keep my car now. (I sound like a politician.) Thanks again for all of the advice, folks.

 

That said, if a private party is interested, I could always entertain a good offer. At this point, a trade is off the table.

 

with baby #1 i had no problem whatsoever hauling her around in my 02 wrx, unless you're well over 6 feet, it may get uncomfortable up front. that was with baby in the middle of the rear, which is THE SAFEST place for them, more crunch room for both side impacts. all you should have to haul is just a diaper bag and a stroller (i hauled around a full size and a day stroller in the trunk). there's enough room i would say, unless you're going on weekend/week long trips, it may get a wee bit cramped.

 

Ya, the decision has been made. The WRX will live! Trade values were garbage on it, and I didn't really like the lower priced options that I drove. The best was probably the '09 Forester XT I drove at Volkswagen of Inver Grove. 50k miles, $18k, and it seemed to be in really good shape. The only thing I really couldn't get over was the 4 speed auto. It's so strange to drive after years of manuals and a CVT equipped Outback.

On a side note, the sales staff at the Volkswagen dealership were pretty awesome. If I were in the market for a Golf R or something, I'd definitely go see them.

For those of you who have driven the older XTs and then the '14+ model, which automatic transmission do you prefer? I really prefer the CVT as an alternative to the traditional automatic. So much smoother... All of that being said, I really wish the '09 had been a manual.

 

Congrats on keeping the WRX! Trade values are garbage, but I ended up getting a very decent amount for my 13 at morries Minnetonka. Go see Scott or Squiggly and they can hook you up.

 

Congrats on the new car!

 

Thanks! I pick it up Tuesday!

 

You'll do fine with the Rex. I haul my 7 and 2 year old daughters around fine in my 05 STi.

 

So now that I know I get to keep the rex, the next step is to pick out a car seat. Do you guys have any stories or examples of the seats you've used? Fortunately, my wife is pretty short, and I'm only 5'11', so the passenger side or center spot should work fine for a seat. Her Outback should hold anything, but I'm assuming I may be a little limited.

 

I've always used graco. I like their clips way better than the other brands. But they are bigger which can be tough if fitting passengers or other car seats in the back.

 

Buy a car seat that has a base and buy an extra base to go with it. That way you can just mount a base in your car and your wife's car and the seat will just lock in either. If you're having a girl I have a really nice pink and brown plaid Graco seat, base, and stroller that the seat locks into.

 

Ya, that's been the plan for a while. The last thing I want to worry about is strapping a seat in with a crying kid in the other arm. Do any of you guys with a WRX/STi have any issues with particular brands or models simply not fitting well? I'm guessing the stores don't let you try out different seats in your car, so knowing what to avoid is huge. All of this being said, I know we'll be fine, but with a brain trust like this, I have to ask all of the questions. Thanks again!