Subaru Outback

Regarding car seats:

We have an infant and a toddler.  We purchased Totoro (the Subaru) because we needed a reliable family car with decent gas mileage that could handle a dog, people, and pulling a small trailer cross-country twice a year (a two day trip from Wisconsin to southern Colorado).  For the gas mileage, we got a manual transmission, and we didn't even think about fitting infant seats into it when we purchased it.  Like I said before, I was pregnant when we test drove.  The booster seat for my three year old fits great.  Sometimes she whines about her legs when my husband is driving, but that is only because when he takes over from me he pushes the seat back and she becomes aware of the space difference.  The infant carrier was slightly uncomfortable to sit in front of, and I always had to be in the passenger seat if all four of us were in the car (I'm 5'9";) but that phase didn't really last that long.  Not to mention, you can buy smaller, lower profile carriers now that are meant for smaller spaces.  I think Combi came out with a smaller one if I remember correctly.  When we switched to the booster seat we thought all would be fixed--it wasn't, the booster smooshed the passenger seat a bit (the same as with the carrier) because it has to be rear-facing until baby is a year.  HOWEVER!  We took the headrest off of the front passenger side, and we're golden.  My husband can now sit there if he needs a break in a long drive, and be comfortable, even for an hour or more.

We LOOOOOVEEEEE our Forester.  We've got a 2003.  My husband is already talking about getting another one because we're down to only one car, but I don't think we need another car so we'll see how it goes when we've got a little more liquidity in the funds department.

Like I said before, the problem I foresee for you is fitting two larger dogs in crates in the back.  Something that might solve that problem (I don't know if you really want to allow your dogs to be free next to one another or not) is that the Forester makes a dog barrier that is installed at the dealer.  It isn't like the namby-pamby spring-tension ones, it's bolted in.  You can still fold the back seat down if you need the extra room to slide things under the barrier, too.  One crate will possibly fit, but I guarantee two won't in addition to a family.  If you folded down the seats you wouldn't have a problem.

Yeah see if the dogs didn't factor in, I think I'd want the Forester.  With the Outback, I'm quite confident I can get dog boxes to fit.  I'll probably have to have them custom made, and they won't be like the 42" house crates the dogs can literally dance around in, but riding in the car they do not need to be standing up and turning circles.  For example, this is my uncle's dog in his dog box, mounted to the back of his Jeep.  His dog is about the same size as Kenya, and her dog box is considerably smaller (shorter in height and not as wide, but probably as long) than Kenya's house crate.  She cannot really stand inside this box.  It's a professional hunting box and I don't need something that fancy (his is insulated so the dog stays warm/cool).

For those with the Forester, is it worth sacrificing the space I'd have with the Outback?  We travel a lot but never fly, all of our travels are either day trips or long road trips, so we have to be able to fit a good about of stuff in our vehicles.   The problem with our current car (Mercury Sable) is not that it's small, b/c it's not, but the way the trunk is designed I can't even slide a normal sized box or piece of luggage into it.  That's why I love wagons and hatch backs.  My mom has a Ford focus wagon that I sometimes borrow when I need the space.  We also talked about getting a minivan and removing ALL of the passenger seats until we have kids.  That's a popular agility mobile - mini vans stacked with crates!

 I personally wouldn't want to sit in an Outback for a long trip, I really didn't like the seats.  But, that could have been the particular vehicle I was in.  The head room is less, but the rear space is larger.  If you have the family for long trips I don't think it will matter which vehicle you get as far as size, you're going to need a trailer or one of those top carriers for luggage if you have the dogs along.  We're actually going to get a tiny motorcycle trailer (that a motorcycle pulls) for our luggage hopefully this summer.  I suggest a trailer for the accessibility and for the better mileage you get when pulling one vs strapping on a car top carrier.

Depending upon when you have kids--I would get a kid friendly car now to not have to deal with financing and switching cars later if you're looking at the next couple/three years.  You can still fold down the seats and put two large crates in the Forester.  I say take the crates to the dealer and work on maneuverability.  You might need double-doors for the way they would fit.
 

We did talk about getting a top rack, but I also like those smaller pads that sit on the hitch, rather than a full blown trailer.

I really like both models about equally, it's just that I see way more Outbacks so it stays in my mind more. It may come down to DH test driving and deciding.  He is much taller and larger, so space and seat comfort are more important for him.  I've been on a lot of 24+ hour road trips and have never really noticed a difference in seat comfort no matter what vehicle I happened to be riding in, but I'm 5'6" and don't have back or knee problems.

I heartily agree that you should take at least one crate to the dealer - I took mine when I was looking and you'd be surprised how many vehicles look like they could hold a 36" airline crate easily, but really can't, either due to the slope of the back hatch, the width of doors/hatches, or the space between the wheel wells. The distance between most wheel wells is approximately 42", so to fit two crates side by side, they'd need to be 21" wide or smaller.

OOoooo, now THIS is what I'm talking about

Sweeeet!  Would they fit?  (The dogs) 

Oh yes, both those sets look like more space than what Kenya has now.  She is in a 36" at home (which is funny b/c most companies list GSDs in the 48" XXL) and could get in a 30" for car rides.  Coke is in a 42" at home and can get in the 36" b/c I often find him curled up in Kenya's crate.  The width of a 30" is 21" and the width of a 36" is 24".  As long as the boxes are adequate length, height and width don't matter that much.  For riding, there's no reason they need to be able to stand, in fact it's safer if they are lying down and not trying to stand or spin around.

That company has some nice boxes.  The only problem is they are in the UK.  I'd have to find an American company, or someone who sells that product here.  They are pricey ("dog boxes" are typically $500-$1500 a pair), but they are probably stronger than the build of the car! 

Even though the frame of the Outback might be longer, I found the interior of the Forester to much more roomy for me and the dogs. Already having a dog vehicle, I wanted something comfier as I'm in my car a great deal for work. There were many things about the Forester that I liked better than the Outback but in the end the Outback was better for my needs. The Forester is a great dog vehicle. It was tough choosing between them actually.

You definitely need to try both.