Want a BRZ but....
 

hey everyone!

i'm seriously considering a BRZ.... buut, my wife and I will be looking to start a family in the near future, and i'm concerned that this car will just not work for a pregnant woman and eventual baby.

Can anyone from this forum speak from experience on how the BRZ worked as a daily driver in a similar situation?

Thanks!

I personally believe this car isn't made to be a "famiy car". You really can't beat the practicality of a four door sedan. Here's why

1) the BRZ/FR-S is a pretty low car (stock) which will make it really hard for a pregnant women to get in and out of.
2) the back seat is useless (in my opinion)
3) you're just going to want to go sideways in this thing all the time:burnrubber:


In all means this is a super fun car to drive.
Hopefully this helps a little in your car purchase :)

Guess you could buy it, drive it and trade it in for a 2015 WRX. Other than that these cars don't strike me as the most family friendly cars.

Let's be real about this: the BRZ is not a baby-mobile.

The car is low as hell and the suspension is pretty stiff compared to most cars. So not only will it be difficult to get in and out of with a belly full of baby, but that from week 6-10, your morning-sick wife will be a motion sick passenger that might puke all over your brand new car...as in all over the interior. Unless the roads you're on are pristine and you have no fear of puke stains and puke stink, by all means, buy one.

Secondly, unless you're 5'6 or shorter and don't ride gangsta-style, the only way to "comfortably" get your wife and child in the car is to have your 5'2 and under wife sit behind you and have the rear-facing child seat next to her with the passenger seat all the way up unless you or your wife don't mind sitting in an even less comfortable position in the passenger seat...figuring out how to break the laws of physics and have 2 objects occupy the same space at the same time would work too.

My advice: keep the A3 in your sig and buy a twin AFTER you don't have to deal with rear-facing seats. At least that way, you'll have some space to be somewhat comfortable.

Yeah, BRZ and a rear facing seat is just not gonna happen, especially if you're going to try to fit a third person in the front seat.

I say this as someone who carries a little person in a front facing car seat regularly.

Thanks for the honest opinions - appreciate it.

I did think about leasing it for 2 short years and then get either a 2nd car bigger car or just turn in the lease for another larger sedan.... but this would still mean having a pregnant wife in the BRZ... sigh... decisions..

You can totally go for one as long as you have another car that's comfortable and practical for your wife and future children.

If you're looking at the BRZ as your only family car, I'd nix that idea. Get a WRX if you want a fun daily driver that can also function as a small family car.
The BRZ is my daily driver; we have an outback as our main family car. my wife and 5-yr old son ride in the BRZ occasionally, but i definitely wouldn't want to use it as our only car.

Funny I have a wrx wagon as my DD now I take my 8 year old to school daily, next year the 3 year old will go t school too and my wife drives a new outback
Still my grab a BRZ though

paging @thill ....he seems to make it work

Driving a coupe with a newborn will really suck IMO. It's easier with a 4 door so you can get the car seat in and out easily and if your wife chooses to sit in the back with the baby, it will be more comfortable for her as well. We got a Mazda3 hatchback for my wife when we were expecting our first child. It's handled everything the past 5 years including our second child. I had a 02 WRX sedan that was used as a "backup" to the family car. Once the girls switched to forward facing seats though, I sold the WRX and picked up the BRZ. It's doable with my 5 year old, but it's definitely not what I would consider a family friendly car by any stretch.

Just some advice, but if you can only have 1 car, then it should be a family oriented car. You have to make your future child and growing family your priority. You can get a BRZ or whatever is the hot car later on.

Look at the new Mazda 6's. If I need a 4 door that could still have a bit of fun, it would be that car thats near the BRZ's price range(around 30K fully loaded)

Got my BRZ before I got married...
Now waiting on this before growing the family...

http://www.ft86club.com/forums/showthread.php?t=48849

I did my test drive in a BRZ with my wife, toddler son who both sat in the back and my younger daughter who sat in the front. We had plenty of room. Keep in mind that was only a 20-30 minute test drive and I was not in the throttle or driving hard.

Life is far too short to drive boring cars.

BTW, I have lived in Japan for the greater part of my adult life and I see so many families here that drive econo Kcars. Compared to those the BRZ is not that bad.

Just make the right choice for you because you alone will have to live with your decision, not all of the E-folks that are full of opinions... ;)

Cheers,

-Nate

Forget it about driving a pregnant women in this car! Suspension is way too stiff on rough roads and she'll hate this car soon enough. My wife hates this car period. You'll be even more sorry that you can't drive it (hard) as you wish. Take a rain check and buy one later in life. The new WRX sedan could be an interesting alternative (4 doors and maybe more compliant stock suspension)?
Good luck

My kids love the car. My now 3 year old is still in a front facing carseat and I don't have any problems fitting it in the car along with a second booster seat. But too be fair, I rarely take the kids in the car and our other vehicle is a Honda Odyssey minivan....

If this was my primary family car I would have bought something different for sure, especially with a pregnant wife :)

You could adopt a kid that's big enough to ride without carseat/attachments/etc. :cheers:

BRZ wouldn't be an ideal family car... however...

If your wife also has a car... maybe upgrade her car to a more appropriate 'family' car? (suv or what not). you can keep your BRZ and drive your wife's car when it is 'family' business related driving.

I'll chime in...

I had an sti with a rear facing newborn. It worked but was somewhat uncomfortable. All rear facing click-in-with-a-base seats are uncomfortable in and "fun" sized car. They just are.

My son is now 4. I had him in the back of my e36 m3 with bucket seat and he did fine with that. He can't buckle himself in which meant I had to kneel in my seat to buckle him. I had him sitting in the middle rear of that car.

I now have him in the brz sitting behind the passenger's seat front facing. He's comfortable and it's only a little uncomfortable for my wife up front.

When/if we have another child I'm going to consider another car but probably end up keeping the brz. Here's why:
-There are smaller rear facing infant seats (like the coccoro combi). Not all of them are those huge click base models.
-The rear facing stage doesn't last forever. Before kids did you plan on keeping this car longer than 2 or 3 years?
-My 4 year old will soon be in a booster and be able to sit behind me comfortably. He should also be able to buckle himself soon (right now he just isn't strong enough to do Britax's buckle)

Seat I had in the sti was something like this: [ame="http://www.amazon.com/Graco-SnugRide-Click-Connect-Tangerine/dp/B00AHVR1QI/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1382469311&sr=8-2&keywords=rear+facing+child+seat+graco"]Amazon.com: Graco SnugRide Click Connect 35 Car Seat, Tangerine: Baby[/ame]

I had this in the sti and the brz: [ame="http://www.amazon.com/Britax-Marathon-70-G3-Convertible-Seat/dp/B00834D5SO/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1382469354&sr=8-1&keywords=britax+marathon"]Amazon.com: Britax Marathon 70-G3 Convertible Car Seat, Onyx: Baby[/ame]

This was the only seat that I could get to work in the m3: http://www.target.com/p/combi-coccor...FUjZQgodyW8ABw

In the brz I now have: [ame="http://www.amazon.com/Britax-E9LH41A-Pioneer-Harness-2-Booster-Seat/dp/B00D6TI84W/ref=sr_1_9?ie=UTF8&qid=1382469423&sr=8-9&keywords=britax+pioneer+70"]Amazon.com: Britax E9LH41A Pioneer 70 Harness-2-Booster Car Seat - Onyx with Carrying Case: Baby[/ame] (my only complaint is that the headrest rattles when he isn't sitting in it. I found a thread on a car seat forum (yes they do exist) that says it has to do with the nylon material (for easy washing) that the headrest wings are made out of. I'm going to try foam or foam tape to quiet it down tonight.)

Jalopnik asked this very question.
http://jalopnik.com/5928491/2013-scion-frs-will-it-baby

For the TL;DRers:
"So, the final verdict: Yes, the FR-S will baby. It'll take some work from you, but it's worth it."

I am dreading having to deal with these issues...but I'm looking forward to buying this kinda stuff here:

http://www.12v.com.my/image/data/pro...f500k-blue.jpg

Thanks,
Nick C.

With one kid its doable, with multiple it would get hard. When i transport my niece i just sit down in the back seat that doesnt have the car seat and strap the kid into the car seat. then i jump out and get into the front. If there was two it would be hard. So in the end not ideal, but definitely doable. Start a poll!

Hey OP here,

Wow! Thanks for all of your comments and honest opinions -- really appreciated!

From reading your posts, I think I've decided to take the advice and hold off on the BRZ. Instead I'll likely wait and save for the 2015 WRX which I believe is supposed to be released early next year.

Thanks again!
Have fun in your BRZs!

I bought the BRZ after my daughter turned 6 months old. Rear facing seat was fine although my wife (5'2) complained about how little room she gets in the front passenger seat. Do note that the front passenger area goes deep down the glove compartment. I am 6'2 so no one could sit behind me :(.

My daughter is now 19 months old and she likes the BRZ a lot. I have the Recaro child seat in the back. The seat freed up quite a bit of room once you turn rear-facing into front facing...

Overall I did not regret my decision to sell the Saabaru (WRX wagon) to get the BRZ. We also have a big SUV as the family hauler.

Hope this helps.

I don't have no a family of my own yet but I would never even think about my new born or pregnant wife in here. Maybe if the kid is older then it's doable but not especially if your wife is pregnant, I already have a hard enough time getting out sometimes, I can't imagine how hard it'll be for a pregnant woman. The back usually sits my nieces fine and they really like it, they're 6 and 10. Whoever is sitting behind me has to sit indian style though. But in my opinion, this as the only family car, never. Sedan for family for sure.

I would take my hat off to you if you end up choosing this car and having a baby seat in the back.

Its actually easier in a lot of ways than my four door hatch was. Cars low so he can climb right in and I just sit on the sill to buckle him up.

So glad he's three! :lol:

I'm really surprised at how many people claim they can't fit four people in this car. I've fit four adults ranging from 5'5" to 6'2" I understand that it may not be possible for some drivers but looking at this post you'd think that 80% of the owners were over 6' tall.

Completely agree that it isn't a family car and should be bought with the understanding that tossing the whole gang in should be a rare occasion for the sake of those you love.

[Obligatory morgan threewheeler/shooting brake suggestion from Jalopnik commenter]

Buy the BRZ and buy the wife a Forester. Problem solved!

Good call. :thumbsup:

I think you meant Miata or diesel wagon.

#actual Jalopnik commenter

;)

My apologies, the Jalopnik meta has changed haha

No.

I had a Miata (first gen) with pregnant wife. That actually worked out. Had a WRX wagon as a second (for me) car. Eventually though, I sold the Miata and bought the BRZ (ok, I had both for almost a year, but I found myself never driving the Miata).

My son is 5 now - back seat works fine for him in the BRZ, but good thing my wife is short and we're not carrying a stroller! I wouldn't want to break my back trying to put an infant/toddler in the back seat daily.

So - 2015 WRX might be an option if you can wait. Or go for a short term ownership on a BMW E39 5 Series Touring (wagon). I do recommend the ones with the LATCH system (I think they started that in 2002 or so?). The BMW will be cheap to buy but require maintenance $$$. But - find one that doesn't need work, drive it a year, then replace with new Subaru WRX - or similar fun, small, powerful, light, tossable, family friendly hatch.

Sure people can fit in the back but I don't think the person behind the driver will be as comfortable. Usually I would have to move the seat of the passenger side up a lot in order for the person in the back to be comfortable.

I can't speak from experience with children.... However if you can't have multiple cars then you should wait on the BRZ. Everyone's situation is different but in my driving position (6 foot 3 inches tall) I fit perfectly in the car. Room for one more person and a set of tires. WRX, keep the A3, or something but BRZ doesn't look practical for anything more than the occasional +1.

supposedly there's going to be a 4 door brz in the near future. Perhaps this specific vehicle would fulfill your needs.

The WRX is a better move than the BRZ right now.

Baby in the BRZ = How many nopes can a nope nope nope, if a nope could nope nope nope.

The BRZ is doable, but I personally wouldn't have the BRZ as my only car if I had a family, IMO. The reason being is that the car is way too low for a pregnant woman to get in and out of.

http://i.imgur.com/jXRGnaH.gif

just buy a nice to used second car