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

These things look ready to rally! http://www.gracobaby.com/products/pages/infant-car-seats.aspx

 

http://recaropromotion.com

 

Babies r us will let you try the seats in your car. (Or at least they used too)

Also, please be wary of used seats. They may look fine but the sun and heat can make the plastic brittle and not safe in the event of an accident. I know some people don't agree with car seats expiring, but it's an important thing to research and look into.

 

This I like.

That's good to know. I'll have to give them a call. Ya, we planned on getting a new one. To me, it's worth it to know the history of the seat.

Did you guys get covers to keep the car seats from screwing up your back seats?

 

I use a black bath towel under the car seat. Black cause it matches the black interior. You can go pink or white or green or what ever other color is on sale at Kohls.

 

This isn't bad for $30... http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00B7M7BKW/ref=pd_lpo_sbs_dp_ss_1

 

The Wal Mart ad that just came out is loaded with baby stuff. There lots of car seats and strollers in it.

 

Test came back and all is well with the baby! Time for the release video...

 

Thanks! Ya, we're going through this place: http://themotherbabycenter.org
From what we hear, it's pretty great!

 

The Mother Baby Center is great, we had my son there a little over a year ago. I was sure tempted to get that blue Recaro seat at the time too. I'd recommend the Graco Snugride seat for infants. It has a base you leave in and the seat doubles as a carrier and locks into the base you don't have to get the baby in and out in the cold hunched over the seat. In my WRX a bath towel underneath leveled the base and kept it from making a dent.

Edit: regarding another topic… My wife's 05 Forester has no more room in the passenger seat than my 03 WRX with the car seat behind it. I actually think my passenger seat is more comfortable.

 

in case you didn't know, if you have room, the middle is the safest spot for a kid of any age in a car (car seats do fit inbetween on WRX's, one fit in my '02, unless you're totally thugging out with the seat way back). protects them from potentially either side collsion. keep your receipt, in case of an accident, any insurance will pay 100% of what you paid or more to replace with same or better model, whether there was a child in the seat or not. they consider the seats "totalled" if they were in any type of collision. don't use the belts, LATCH works a lot better, and it's standard on all cars 2002 and newer. seatbelts were a pain in the arse to fiddle with. if you have any questions on how to put the seat in, go to your local fire station and they'll show you how to put one in.

 

i got a 2012 wrx with a babyseat behind the passenger... the front seat has to be moved up almost upfront, i'd have a tough time sitting in that being 6'1, but thankfully i don't have to sit there.

i'll tell you though, when we were picking the babyseat my only criteria was that it was a good seat and light, since you have to lug that thing around. size, etc., didn't matter. if i had to do it all over again i'd do it the same way.

same thing with the stroller, we found the 3 wheeler that we liked and bought the lightest one. you pay for both but to me it's worth it.

 

I haven't been on here for quite a while (a few years?) and this is an older thread but since I just went through all of this I have a few nuggets to share.

We traded my 2011 WRX for a 2014 CrossTrek in Jan 2014. We had a baby on the way and we got an offer from Miller Hill on the WRX (sedan) we could not refuse. I LOVED the Rex, but we assumed the hatch of the XV would give is more hauling capability with the new baby and all his stuff. A month later I picked up a 2008 Outback 5 speed as well. After he was born we discovered the following:

1. A rear facing infant seat leaves little room in the front of both cars. This it turns out is the case with most Subarus made before 2014/2015 (the new Outback and Forester have considerably more leg room that their predecessors).

2. A rear facing convertible car seat that the child will soon grown into leaves NO room in the front of either car.

3. The hatch of an XV is pretty small if a jogging stroller is part of the equation. This meant that when traveling we always had to take the older Outback which had tons of trunk room. While it has no issues, it sucked not being able to use the car that statisticly had less chance of developing a problem while miles from home. Also, the Outback left the front passenger very uncomfortable with little leg room.

Fast forward to March 2015 and I find out we have another baby on the way! Now I'm thinking about having a car seat behind me as well while driving long distances to camp sites and the grandparents and I realized it was time to switch up the cars.

Two weeks ago, after much research, I traded in the year old XV and picked up a new XT Premium. It was the answer I'd been looking for.

- back seat leg room for car seats = tons
- rear cargo room = WAY more than the XV and not all that much less than the Outback
- fun factor for dad =

Okay, so it's not a WRX and there's no manual option. That's a bummer. But, there's no other car (less the Levorg which is not sold here... Yet?) for under $30K new that can offer the fun and utility that the '14+ XT offers. S# is a blast. Toss it in manual mode and "Gear" ratios click off quickly while it revs up to 6K without issue.

Due to the height it doesn't corner like a WRX but it's not horrible either and from what I've read a set of lowering springs and an anti sway bar will get you pretty close of thats your goal. And let's be honest, my stock WRX was no great corner carver either. The springs were too soft on the '11 and it body rolled all over the place. My '08 Civic Si Sedan was better in the bends and more fun as well than my WRX.

Moving on...

Oh, and the sunroof! Wowza! I can't wait until the boys are old enough to sit forward facing so we can all go for a drive with that giant sunroom open.

Needless to say I'm pretty happy with it so far and wound recommend it to any past WRX owner that suddenly finds themselves as a parent with utility needs but still longs for a bit turbo in their life.

My only regret is not getting the touring trim level. I'm now wishing I had the HID headlights, power rear door and cool little levers the automaticity drop the rear seats from the back. Oh well.

To add to the other questions from the OP...

1. I agree that one infant seat and multiple bases are the way to go if you have two cars. We with with the Chico KeyFit. The frame stroller they make also works awesome with the seat.

2. For a convertible seat we went with Britax Advocate with extra side impact protection. It's huge. It's safe. Its crazy easy to operate and always is tightened to the right setting. It's also quite expensive so we bought only one. Which leads to this.... Ditch the LATCH system on the convertible. Use a seatbelt and your life will be sooooo much better if you have to switch cars with any frequency. It's just as safe.

3. Mentioned before but I'll say it again. Don't buy a used seat. You have no idea if it's been in an accident. It's your child's safety. Spend the money (or someone else's) on new if you can.

4. Finally, Amazon reviews will answer all baby item questions. Car seats and strollers especially! It takes time to dig through them but it's worth it.

Happy parenting,

Dylan

 

From a fellow (former) Duluthian, thank you! The Rex and the Outback will be the vehicles for a while, but it's nice to know the XT is going to work well for two. Congrats by the way!

 

I do agree with ur second post. With having a fun car and a family car. I have a 15 wrx and is the wifes and I date night car along with my DD. My wife has 11' FXT and that is the family vehicle. The FXT is perfect as of right now. Even tho my son is special needs, works great for what we need at the moment. And it is fun to drive when we are a family.