Vehicle shopping...need opinions

[indysteel]

Congrats on your new baby, I mean car, GLC! Sounds like a good choice for you and the dogs. I'd never heard of the Suburu upcharge though. I guess it pays to be a Suburu dealer!

[tulip]

Congratulations! Is it a manual? My neighbor had a manual Forester (2013) and really liked it. But she had to get a minivan to accommodate her Irish Wolfhound--talk about a big dog!

(off-topic, but manual transmissions really put the driver in touch with driving, not just being on autopilot. You cannot eat a burger or text when you have to pay attention to actually driving--shifting gears. I'm delighted there are those here who appreciate manual transmissions. It also keeps many people from borrowing the car--another plus, as otherwise I would get requests to borrow my hatchback for this and that if it were auto. AND it makes it easier and cheaper to rent a car in Europe...just something to consider if anyone is curious about learning how)

[GLC1968]

No, manual was not an option on this particular trim level. But, we wanted an automatic anyway. Since we can keep two cars, I wanted one to be automatic in case of emergencies.

I don't know why we didn't consider the Forester from the beginning. I guess it was because we didn't realize that Subaru had improved their MPG so much. And that AWD makes this thing a dream to drive. It's got a better turning radius than our MINI!