More car buying advice - G8 GT vs STI

Anyone still check this forum 

I sold the Jimmy and need a reasonably safe, half practical 4 door car that can fit a car seat or 2 and won't suck the life of me. A TBSS was on the list but the wife will probably get an SUV of some sort so we don't need another.

I'm torn between a stock (or close to it) 2010ish STI hatchback or a stock 2009 G8 GT (the unicorn - a manual Audi B6 S4 Avant - is also in the running but that V8 timing chain is just too much of a gamble). Price is the same for all and all have about 100K miles on them. I don't know much about reliability of the STI's, any thoughts? The G8 has had lifter service recently and the front end is tight so the two main issues with those cars have been addressed. Both suck on gas but this will be a second car that won't get driven much anyway.

STI pros - AWD, smaller, fast. Cons - I know nothing about them and I'm not sure if I have a local shop that can work on it.
G8 pros - LS2, rare, looks great, reputation as a great car, easy to work on. Cons - not AWD, big.

Is this a stupid question in a Chevy forum?

I haven't since I started working again and moved across the country. Didn't take a computer or a car, so it's been an interesting couple months.

I know some of the Subaru of that era had engine issues. I remember one of my coworkers from about 5 years back having an Impreza (don't remember if it was STI, but it was turbo) he was frustrated with because it was costing big dollars to fix engine issues, but he couldn't sell it for much because they were known issues. But AWD is fun and I've enjoyed trying out non Chevy products in the past.

The G8 will have reliable power in a pretty awesome chassis. But it is big and heavy.

Those were my gut feelings on things too. Realistically, a big comfortable car is probably perfect for my needs right now - the power will be the fun savior. The STI would be fun but I'd probably get tired of it.

...and it's done.

Mar 2019 by Rented Mule, on Flickr

May the burnouts commence.

That's required when you buy a re-badged Australian hoonmobile, isn't it?

That's required when you buy a re-badged Australian hoonmobile, isn't it?

Magic 8 Ball: All signs point to yes.