I am sorry to say this but I agree 100% with your tought here ...

As far as a baby and the RX8 ... I think you definitely made the right choice ... I love my RX8 but I find it much easier to use my Audi Allroad or my wife's Volvo XC90 when I take them out.

The 8 is perfect when it's just one child and they are in a booster seat ...

 

We just had a baby as well. I just traded in my 8 (sport pkg) for another 8 (GT pkg) -> Dec 30, 2004. I figured the leather would be easier to clean. Everything fits fine in my car. Sorry for your loss.

When we bought our stroller, I took the display models to the parking lot and found one that fit. My wife has a Honda Pilot so we do have plenty of room in the primary kid car.

 

Me too! And my 4 yr. old wouldn't have it any other way. He loves when daddy revs the engine and makes him feel like he's in a race car! The kids seem to always ride with me these days instead of in their mom's CRV! :D

 

The curtain airbags would not impact a car seat in the back (high & to the sides). The side-impact bags only do the front shoulder areas. I guess if someone got their hand up at the headliner when it deployed, you might get a finger dislocation or fracture.
I don't think you'll put your eye out, though.

 

The Baja is ugly but in a neat kind of oddball way. The Aztec on the otherhand is just plain ugly. This is coming from someone who loved the Brat when I was younger. For some reason I've always like Subarus odd styling. I wanted an XT-6 when I was young and also liked the SVX and 2.5 RS coupe a lot.

 

does she not have a car?

 

I know where you are coming from...I had to sell my Probe GT for a GMC Jimmy when we had our first.

Thank God for the 8 though!!!!
I still have one in a car seat and the other just right for the back seat.

Now I can have my cake and eat it too!!!!

What a shame your Missus didnt apply that logic as well.
(Wait a minute....pregnant woman and logic....is there such a thing? LOL!!! Please dont flame me!)

 

The RX8 is awesome; an RX7, S2k, 350Z, or Miata wouldn't allow me to drop my two kids off at day-care or take them grocery shopping. As far as I'm concerned, Mazda struck gold with the concept of the 4-seat sports car (As speedweasel put it, " I can have my cake and eat it too").

Having written that, I can understand this guy's situation... while the 8 is big enough for almost everything, my wife's Forester is more convenient at times (like taking trash to the recycle center or going on long family trips). But people are missing the key element to his story: his wife traded in for the larger vehicle, allowing him to continue driving a sports car. That's the way to do it

 

like me, i notice that alot of people here are also driving forresters, like us.
i do have to admit, although the 8 works great with a kid, when im in a hurry and have alot of errands to run when i know my daughter will have to be hauled in and out of that back child seat 5 times in 2 hours, id rather have the forrester. but mostly, its cool.

 

The stroller to get with an RX8 is the Peg Perego P3. It is an umbrella style stroller and still allows for groceries, and the like to fit in the trunk. It is also infant seat compatible. So you can pull out an infant seat and drop it in the stroller. The stroller is a little snug getting in at the wheel part, but once it's in 40-50 percent of the trunk is still available. I pulled out all the stroller systems at babiesRus and Right start and this was best. The stroller is about $280 and the carseat $140.

By the way, for the IkeWRX guy. Most RX8 owners I know, like myself are adults. We don't finance wheels like I've seen you talk about in other threads. The WRX doesn't fit a REAR FACING car seat and a front passanger over 5'7. I tested them all. I tried the SAAB 9 2 also. So the next time you don't understand why people buy this car you should realize that maybe people have different priorites. I don't have a car payment and you finance wheels.

 

I just trashed the stroller idea and bought a sling (long semi-elastic piece of fabric). It fits in the trunk just fine. My son is almost three months old (17.5 lbs as of today), once he starts to walk I'll find a stroller that fits.

Getting a pregnant woman in and out isn't so bad if you can get them to wait for you to get over there and help them, just don't park next to anyone on the passenger side.

Link to sling:
http://store.peppermint.com/didymos.html

 

I keep a foldup stroller in my 8's trunk in case my 3year-old is too tired to walk and I carry my newborn in his infant seat or in a sling (he doesn't weigh much anyway). My wife keeps the "deluxe" stroller (that fits the infant seat) in her Forester.

The WRX has only one child-seat anchor and that was one of the justifications I used to replace it with the RX8. Yes, you read that correctly... I got the RX8 partly because my WRX wagon wasn't practical enough

 

My three kids aren't stroller age, so we are good there. IMO, the RX-8 just isn't infant friendly in any way.

Personally, one area of concern was my golf bag... which does fit thankfully. As far as kids go, we have owned a mini-van since kid number two. Currently we have a Chrysler T&C with loads of room, tv/vcr/dvd and the works. I don't care about the stigma of a mini-van, it works and works well for a family.

My brother in law on the other hand who has four kids would rather jam his kids in a pimped out Maxima... ay caramba. My wife and I always have a "fun" car or two, the RX-8 actually has a back seat for two additional passengers. Evening runs picking and carting the three kids around is doable in the 8.

To the original poster, the best of luck to you.

 

Yes, a must. As long as they're aren't pro staff bags the trunk can actually accomodate fit 2 golf bags! Amazing. And you don't even have to take out the drivers.