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Question to parents out there; if you could only have one car?

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Hoboken
#1
Recently, my wife and I purchased a condo, but it only comes with one parking spot. I've been parking the FiST there and street parking our GLI, but has become a pain. My wife takes public transportation to work, so we've decided it makes sense to only have one car. My wife doesn't drive stick and refuses to learn, so looks like I'll need to be selling the FiST within the year and buying an automatic [:(]

We are also considering starting a family. So a question to all you car enthusiasts out there who also have kids, if you could only have one car to daily drive, haul kids and be safe, and still be fun to drive, what would it be? I'd prefer to not have an SUV as I never liked big cars and our parking spot is really tight. Right now I'm leaning towards...

GTI/Golf R: Might not be big enough, but good DSG which I need if I can't have a manual. I could get a roof rack with box for extra space.

Golf Alltrack: Bigger than GTI/R, but smaller engine so I'd probably want to go APR stage 1 with this.

BMW 3 wagon: Kind of expensive for what you get.

Volvo v60: Not a ton of space for being a wagon.

Jagual F-Pace: I'd need to lease this as they are new and out of our price range. Also an SUV, but I guess drives like a sedan so worth a look.

What else am I missing? It's going to be a sad day when I have to sell the FiST and need everyone's help so I don't hate my commute. We'll eventually move out to the country, so one day I'll be back in a FiST or a Miata or something fun.

Cheers!

Deli
 


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291
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86
Location
Ontario
#2
I am a little biased but have you thought of a subaru(I miss mine every now and then)? They have a CVT version of the WRX and also the Legacy 3.6R could be a lot of fun.
 


Erbarry

Member
U.S. Marine Veteran
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Location
Rancho
#3
Keep in mind the newborn stroller and car seat. These items are big, the stroller needs a bit of room to fit in the cargo area and then some to fit groceries and the car seat takes up a lot of space between the front and rear seat.
 


OP
Deli
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Location
Hoboken
Thread Starter #4
I am a little biased but have you thought of a subaru(I miss mine every now and then)? They have a CVT version of the WRX and also the Legacy 3.6R could be a lot of fun.
I've considered them and will test drive one when it comes time. I'm not a fan of CVT's but I've heard the WRX one is alright (although not nearly as good as VW DSG or BMW ZF8). I'd also prefer a hatch. I fit a full size living room chair in my FiST the other day and that's something I could never do with my GLI even though it's a larger car. I wish they made the WRX hatch, but sadly it looks like that's not happening.
 


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291
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Location
Ontario
#5
I've considered them and will test drive one when it comes time. I'm not a fan of CVT's but I've heard the WRX one is alright (although not nearly as good as VW DSG or BMW ZF8). I'd also prefer a hatch. I fit a full size living room chair in my FiST the other day and that's something I could never do with my GLI even though it's a larger car. I wish they made the WRX hatch, but sadly it looks like that's not happening.
The CVT is not as bad as I thought it would be. I drove my buddies a couple of weeks ago. He has the same problem you do, his wife refuses to drive a manual. If you are waiting a couple of years they might have a WRX hatch again(2020 MY). The trunk in the sedan is surprisingly roomy, not living room chair big but still pretty large. My FiST has been a great compromise between daily driving and weekend fun, but if your wife refuses to drive manual you are outta luck.

As far as space in the FiST, both my kids sit in the back with no issues. My kids are 10 and 5 so no humongous car seat, just a booster at this point.
 


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425
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84
Location
Brooklyn
#6
In my experience with a 201..4? forester, I will never CVT anything it just doesnt feel right nor does it excite me, and it seems my driving is extremely rough with the CVT.

I am not a parent but I vote for the Golf R because that is what I will go with if I had a kid. I owned the 12 and had experience witv my friends 17. It is a fantastic car.
 


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142
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38
Location
Peoria
#7
Honda Odyssey Touring.... If you want something fun well, your screwed there is nothing fun that is automatic (IMO)
 


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123
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34
Location
Halifax
#8
Why not look at the ecoboost ford Flex, those things can hall ass modded
 


Sticky

Active member
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Location
Trinity
#10
I love toyotas. It's what I wanted to buy but they didn't have a good enough 4dr performance car for me so I bought a Fiesta st. I've heard problems with focus auto. I'd get a Toyota or ford suv and Hondas are always great too.
 


Messages
181
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53
Location
Maysville
#12
EcoBoost Fusion...We have a 2015 non ecoboost and it is a great car for me, my wife, and 2 young kids. We are both tall and have plenty of leg room as well.
 


OP
Deli
Messages
174
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Location
Hoboken
Thread Starter #13
Some interesting ideas out there; some of them I haven't thought of. I'd prefer not to have a sedan (I like hatches) and I'm also a bit hesitant on anything with a CVT, but I'll give them a test drive since it might all be in my head. I would love a CTS-V wagon, but sadly those have become a bit of a unicorn in my area and are still way out of my price range even used. I'd have to get another job just to pay off the full I'd burn running that at higher RPM's just to hear that sweet engine. Keep the ideas coming!
 


Hijinx

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#14
Some interesting ideas out there; some of them I haven't thought of. I'd prefer not to have a sedan (I like hatches) and I'm also a bit hesitant on anything with a CVT, but I'll give them a test drive since it might all be in my head. I would love a CTS-V wagon, but sadly those have become a bit of a unicorn in my area and are still way out of my price range even used. I'd have to get another job just to pay off the full I'd burn running that at higher RPM's just to hear that sweet engine. Keep the ideas coming!
I was against CVTs too until I drove my Civic Sedan. It's very smooth and doesn't pretend to change gears as if it were a normal auto so it doesn't "hunt" for "gears" like older CVTs do. Plus, the Civic is now roughly the size of a 2010 Accord.
 


Messages
453
Likes
156
Location
West Bloomfield
#15
Out of those? I would look long and hard at the GTI Sport/Golf R. I came from a GTI and wrote most of the DIY's and sticky threads on the MK7 forums, so feel free to ask me any questions about those cars.

TLDR: Buy Golf R, get tune, enjoy sub 4 second 0-60's while getting 30 MPG's and being covered in comfort.

Video for reference. Stage 1 OTS tune, otherwise bone stock. 0-60 3.49s

[video=youtube;GINKFObNQZg]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GINKFObNQZg[/video]
 


DangerMouse

Senior Member
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334
Location
Rockford
#16
I got rid of my mazdaspeed3 when my daughter was born for a Forester turbo auto, my wife won't learn manual either. It was a huge mistake. It was only fun in the winter and I was only getting 15 mpg. I would definitely go with a gti or golf r if I could go back in time. You won't need the huge stroller all of the time.
 


Messages
109
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20
Location
Seattle
#17
My advice is to keep both cars until after you have the kid if you can. While she is using transit now, when she has the kid and is at home during a maternity leave, you will be taking your only car to work, leaving her without transport. And no one wants to be on a bus or train with a newborn, or stuck without transport in an kid-related emergency (and with a baby, every little thing can feel like an emergency sometimes).

Secondly, your car choice will revolve around fitting a rear facing car seat. The GLI should be fine for both fitting rear facing seats and strollers.

If you are set on switching, IMO a BMW 5 series wagon, or a Volvo wagon would be my personal choice.
 


OP
Deli
Messages
174
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28
Location
Hoboken
Thread Starter #18
My advice is to keep both cars until after you have the kid if you can. While she is using transit now, when she has the kid and is at home during a maternity leave, you will be taking your only car to work, leaving her without transport. And no one wants to be on a bus or train with a newborn, or stuck without transport in an kid-related emergency (and with a baby, every little thing can feel like an emergency sometimes).

Secondly, your car choice will revolve around fitting a rear facing car seat. The GLI should be fine for both fitting rear facing seats and strollers.
This was actually my original plan to keep both cars. The issue is I'm paying about $150 a month on insurance for the GLI and the only time it ever gets driven is when I move it for street cleaning. Street parking it is a pain and every time it snows you can't park on the streets so I need to find a parking garage and hope they aren't full. Also, my wife has only driven a car about 4 times in the last year. We live in a city area with access to hospitals, grocery stores, restaurants, shopping, etc all within a few blocks. When she goes to visit her parents, she tends to take a $25 Uber or takes the train which is also within walking distance. I couldn't live without a car, but she's never owned one and seems to be fine without one.

I could just sell the Fiesta and keep the GLI and save a ton of money since they are both paid off. The only thing that worries me is the GLI has the old FSI engine which is known to have a ton of issues and I'm well out of warranty and feel it's only a matter of time before I get stranded with it and that's not something I want with a kid in the back. I will definitely test drive the BMW's and Volvo's though to see if they are worth the premium cost.
 


OP
Deli
Messages
174
Likes
28
Location
Hoboken
Thread Starter #19
My advice is to keep both cars until after you have the kid if you can. While she is using transit now, when she has the kid and is at home during a maternity leave, you will be taking your only car to work, leaving her without transport. And no one wants to be on a bus or train with a newborn, or stuck without transport in an kid-related emergency (and with a baby, every little thing can feel like an emergency sometimes).

Secondly, your car choice will revolve around fitting a rear facing car seat. The GLI should be fine for both fitting rear facing seats and strollers.
This was actually my original plan to keep both cars. The issue is I'm paying about $150 a month on insurance for the GLI and the only time it ever gets driven is when I move it for street cleaning. Street parking it is a pain and every time it snows you can't park on the streets so I need to find a parking garage and hope they aren't full. Also, my wife has only driven a car about 4 times in the last year. We live in a city area with access to hospitals, grocery stores, restaurants, shopping, etc all within a few blocks. When she goes to visit her parents, she tends to take a $25 Uber or takes the train which is also within walking distance. I couldn't live without a car, but she's never owned one and seems to be fine without one.

I could just sell the Fiesta and keep the GLI and save a ton of money since they are both paid off. The only thing that worries me is the GLI has the old FSI engine which is known to have a ton of issues and I'm well out of warranty and feel it's only a matter of time before I get stranded with it and that's not something I want with a kid in the back. I will definitely test drive the BMW's and Volvo's though to see if they are worth the premium cost.
 


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