I still kinda regret getting rid of my Soul when we moved cross-country, but transporting it would have been more than a small car is worth.
That thing could swallow boxes like crazy. In the back area, it could hold fifteen 12x12x18" boxes.
Sorry, I meant the Transit Connect, I didn’t know there was a plain Transit. The Connect gets 22 mpg in the city, which is ok, I guess.
swampspruce, the problem with minivans (that’s what those are, isn’t it?) is that they are too wide to fit comfortably in my garage and still allow one to walk along either side. The Transit Connect, for example, is 72" wide, which is pretty much the upper limit*. The ones you mentioned are 79" wide. When I need to carry 4x8 sheets of something, I’ll have to rent from Uhaul.
To clarify, I’m looking for cargo room but in as small a footprint as possible. So now I’m looking at crossover hatchback things.
*Rant: so many vehicles that used to be nice and trim in width are now all bulby on the sides, wide at the bottom and then they slant in at the top so you don’t get as much space as they could have allowed given the width of the wheelbase. Prettiness over function is not what I want.
So get a used Element. I know you said that “you didn’t want to go back that far” since production ended in 2011, but it’s a freaking Honda. A quick search online found within 500 miles of me at least 10 Elements with less than 60K miles on them. For a Honda that is no big deal at all.
About one year ago, I bought a 2008 Honda Ridgeline. That’s 7 years old! With 32K original miles on it!! Low mileage used cars can be a great deal, it just takes some looking and research to find them.
I really don’t think there is anything out there today that fits the niche that the Element filled.
So I ended up with a Subaru Impreza Hatchback (found a 2014 with under 5000 miles). It has enough cargo space (barely, with the back seats down) for my needs about 90% of the time, and it should last forever. I had my primitive crappy Kia Sportage for 18 years and I only drive maybe 6000 miles/year. This may be the last car I ever buy.
Thanks for all the input folks.
Congrats! I have a Subaru as well and it has been a great car for me…