Steven: I have three kids and I picked the SSL. Your family would hate the RS because of the manual locks and windows.

Picture having to go around, locking each door individually, after your kids got out at school and forgot to lock them. Picture your kid in the back seat rolling down the window after you told him not to, and being unable to roll it back up without his help. Nor could you lock the switch out on him.

And generally, picture driving down the road on a beautiful day and being unable to roll down the windows, or roll them back up if it starts raining or you get on the freeway, without pulling over. (Not to mention the ABS issue you described, and the lack of a factory radio.)

To my mind there is no doubt: A family man such as yourself needs the GSR or, even better, the SSL.

 

Whatever you do, don't bring your child home from the hospital in the Evo unless you live in Germany (roads=perfect).
I had to do it and I would never ever do it again. I literally had to drive 5mph and pull over to let the traffic behind me go because of the crappy road around the hospital. It was too much for the little one, Evo is too harsh for when they're newborn. A year later is already cool. My son loves my Evo now (he's 2).

Evo IMHO is a great family car if you have a silent exhaust. It doesn't bother me, but my passengers tend to get irritated a bit if we take longer trips. It's droning.
We have 3 small cars and I have yet to find a reason to buy a minivan (never SUV).
We actually drive around in my wife's Toyota Echo most of the time and can fit absolutely everything that we need into it. We always carry a stroller, some toys for my son and other stuff still fits in the trunk and cabin.
I guess minivan comes in handy when you have 3+ children or when you go camping for a week or more and need more stuff.
We always travel light and I hate when items bounce around the cabin (therefore none of my cars have anything hanging on the rear view mirror etc.)

 

I have an RS as my daily driver and unless power windows, locks etc are something that you absolutely have to have, then I say save the money and get the RS. It is way more discreet for one thing, secondly I dont think the noise inside the car is that bad at all. Almost everyone I know with an Evo, whether they be MR's or GSR's have aftermarket exhausts and thats going to cause the car to be loud regardless. The Anti-lock brakes have never been an issue, anytime I've needed to stop, it has done so without any problems.

As a side note, have you checked the import laws, when I lived in England and imported my Civic there were certain time parameters on ownership, etc, otherwise you end paying huge amounts of tax. You may have already worked it out, but if not, you need to look into it, there are definately laws about owning the car for a certain period od time before it can leave the country. At least there were when I lived in England.

 

Love it! I can relate to you, "brother." Guys like you and I love to drive great driver's cars like the IX RS. Now, if I had the money, I'd still keep the RS for a family car, but I'd go with a Porsche 997 GT3 RS and the Ferrari F430 CS (when they both make it to the market soon) for my personal drivers. Nah, I doubt I'll ever make enough money to get even the cheaper Porsche. My next car will likely be a personal driver (2-seat/door), a used C6 Z06.

 

The RS almost talks back to the pilot. Its communicative skills relay so much more information that I'd ever experienced in a personal vehicle. At the risk of coming across like a geek, when I test drive the Evo, I was murmuring "Holy mother of Jesus" under my breath. Really. It's as if the car fit like the proverbial glove.

You and me both. I could see the GT3, in particular, with yours truly behind the wheel.

My next car may be a roadster. Either a C6 or a Boxter S. Used, as I also lack the funds to go new, unless my children are willing to go through life without a college education. We have no plans to ever sell the RS.

BTW, ever since I showed a Recaro child seat to my 6 year old daughter, she's been bugging me to get one. Almost every time I pitch the car with her inside, she recites the benefits of better support. So, I ordered a seat in gray to match the RS' interior. I hope, or rather she hopes, to have it sometime next week.