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Looking for most interior space, specifically back seat ...

3K views 7 replies 6 participants last post by  danspartan 
#1 ·
Hi all. Looking to acquire my first Forester after 14 years driving a 2001 2.5RS ... I need room in the backseat for a rear-facing babyseat and need to still have room in the front seats for my husband (6'1") and me (5'11") ...

A couple of my other Impreza buddies remember reading somewhere that with the newer body styles the Forester switched from the Impreza platform to the Legacy platform and gained some wheelbase/cabin length?

I confirmed it on Wikipedia, but that's not necessarily saying much ;)

Can anyone confirm? I'm going to take the car seat with me when I go car shopping, but I wanted to know if I needed to disqualify a certain bracket of years because of that ... I prefer the look of the '06/'07's, but I fear that they're going to be too small in the backseat?

Thanks! :)
 
#2 ·
Always take the seat with you when checking out a new car.

We have a Recaro convertible seat rear facing in the back of our 2014 Forester and while I am not quite that tall there is plenty of room for me to move the driver's seat back more.

The latest Forester is still Impreza based but it has grown larger than the previous generation.
 
#3 ·
I am around 6'1" and my fiance is around 5'11' and we are both on the plumper side. I have had my niece and nephew in the back seat before, but they are 3 and 6. There was a good amount of room for them and we kept our seats as far back as we normally do.

I also agree taking the seat with you is the best way to test for fitment.
 
#4 ·
3 car seats

I will confirm for my wife and I, she has a 2014XT, and we fit 3 car seats wide. We have a 3, 1, and 4 month old. So the two boys, 3 and 1, have forward facing seats. They are a slimmer fitting seat. Then the baby has a carrier seat with base. Eventually she will have the same seat as her brothers.

The seats are Diono Radion. They are a great seat and would recommend. We just researched car seats for 3 wide. There are several out there, not a ton, but there is some variety.

So for us, the new improvements to the interior with the newer models, 14+, works very well. I have an 07 XT and I have two seats for when I have guys night out and we fit fine. It is a tighter fit for front seat riders to the kids in the back, but it would definitely work. For my three, it wouldn't be the best option, but I would say for one kiddo it would do just fine.

Our past cars were my 05 WRX and my wifes 10 impreza hatch. The foresters fit a ton better for everyone, especially that they are going. If you are planning for the future, and more children on in the mix, I would say go for the newer models 14+.

I have rambled enough 0:), but if you have any further questions, don't hesitate to contact me. I would love to put up pics, but I am not really proficient on how to in the forums, lame I know, but I will find someway if you want pics.

Good luck!
 
#5 ·
Thanks everyone! We are only slotted to be in Germany for 3 years (that could change), so I'm looking to pick up a Euro Spec Forester for while we're here (finding a used USDM one is nearly impossible) and then sell it before we return to the States ... for that reason, I'm focusing my search on the '07-'10-ish range for price/practicality/cost recovery at time of sale reasons ... I'd love a brand new one, but I have to think about selling it and not losing a ton of money shortly down the road ... then again, coming out of an '01 that still had a tape deck, anything will be an upgrade LOL.

We have the Britax B-Safe infant seat, and I will definitely be taking it with us when we go shopping to make sure that we can both comfortably fit in the car with the baby ... for now, we plan to remain a 1 kid/1 dog family while we're in Germany to make travelling and enjoying Europe as easy as possible.
 
#6 ·
The Forester has always been based on the Impreza platform. It has grown larger generation-to-generation.

The current model, first available in 2013 has plenty of room for a large rear-facing child seat on either the passenger or driver side.

The previous generation (2009-2013) has a few inches less room in the back, so everything gets tighter. You should still be able to fit the seat on the passenger side and still have reasonable room up front. The driver's side, you'd have to test it. An infant seat should be fine, but they don't last long.

If you go older than that (pre 2009), then everything squeezes again. The driver's side is probably out. You could very well be having to push the front passenger seat full-forward, and that eliminates one of the spots in the car. This was the case for my '04 WRX wagon, which is similar dimensions-wise. Only house pets could fit in the front seat passenger seats with the rear facing infant seat behind.

I know you aren't looking for a '14, but here is my car, with a large, rear-facing Clek Foonf set up on the driver's side. I'm 6'1", and it worked fine for me. It was nice to put the seat on that side, and it makes the "60" of the "60-40" fold down available without removing the child seat.

 
#7 ·
The Forester has always been based on the Impreza platform. It has grown larger generation-to-generation.
I really thought at some point it shifted over ... oh well, good to know!

The only thing I know for sure is that there was no way that baby seat was going in the back of my 2-door RS and putting my husband and I in the car. It literally made me cry to sell her, but family first, right?

I'm eyeing a couple of '09/'10 models at the moment, but I suppose the real test will come on Saturday when I'm at the dealership with the baby seat and my husband ...

I'm longer in the legs, but I don't like my seat reclined very much, so I'm hopeful that the seat will fit behind me, but may need to shift my search to a newer Forester, or a Legacy wagon if it doesn't fit ... my husband is shorter in the legs, but he's a seat leaner, so the dog can ride behind him ;)

I know the B-Safe is one of the smallest footprint infant seats out there, but I don't know how it compares against convertible car seats ... I suppose buying a new seat could always be an option now that we'll have something with 4 doors ...

We originally got the B-Safe because we both had 2-door cars and with its "small" footprint, we thought for sure it would fit, and that it would be easier because we could pop the seat in/out as needed ... that backfired ;)
 
#8 ·
We just got a 2015 Forester last week and took it on a ~1,000 mile road trip. Large kennel with two dogs, a suitcase, a laundry basket (dog stuff), plus some extra crap my in-laws gave us to bring back all in the back seat (with lots more stuff in the trunk). Back is sore from the shear volume of stuff we brought back.

Noticeably bigger throughout than our 2003 Forester which already had good hauling room. We had adults ride in the back seat at times. Nobody huge, but nobody child-like either. Engine/road noise, ride smoothness also noticeably better than the 2003.

No worries about space. If you need more you might as well get a giant SUV or a minivan.
Can't imagine there are many sedans/car-like SUVs with much more space than this car.
 
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