I want a vehicle like a typical SUV without the typical bullshit off road stuff that comes with an SUV - not a boxy van, but something that is roomy and versitle that allows for hauling stuff. I know it’s out there - what is it?
You can try crossover vehicles or, for that matter, a minivan.
The PT Cruiser is insanely roomy on the inside and allows for removing the backseat bench for even more room. It’s not boxy but it is…an acquired taste. I used to have one and while I didn’t think the quality of the manufacture was great, it wasn’t bad either. You should be able to pick one up quite cheaply too.
A Honda Fit is a compact car with an amazing amount of space in it. The back and front passenger seats can be folded to carry large items, and the back seats even fold up to make a large, tall space behind the front seats. But to really answer your question, it would help for you to be more specific about what exactly you want from a vehicle; large amounts of cargo space, towing ability, etc?
Most SUVs don’t really have any “bullshit off road stuff”, or at least nothing beyond a thin pretense. Particularly with the newer, smaller models, an SUV is just a tall boxy car. For example, the new Ford Escape has a four cylinder engine, front wheel drive, and is based on the same compact-car platform used by the Focus and Mazda3.
I agree; it’s amazing how much room is in it. It doesn’t look like it until you get inside; start loading things, etc. It’s the largest sized car in its class, I believe.
What are you asking for?
I know they don’t have any offroad stuff, but do suburbans/tahoes/escalades count as boxy?
The Fit is amazing. It’s like the Tardis with respect to the amount of stuff that can be crammed in it. Also it’s way fun to drive for an econobox.
Toyota Rav 4 isn’t bad for a more suv-like suv.
What you want is a station wagon. Unfortunately, very few are made any more, in part due to how fleet averages are calculated to meet CAFE standards.
SUVs are considered light trucks, and are not included when calculating manuafacturers’ fleet averages. Paradoxically, selling low mileage SUVs works out better for the manufacturers than selling relatively higher mileage station wagons. :smack:
It seems most of what they call an SUV really isn’t nowdays. Even a Ford Explorer is now a car. Some bullshit off-road stuff, like big tires and four wheel drive, can be useful in on-road situations but if you want to stay away from it don’t buy a Jeep Wrangler…
If you want to haul stuff what you want is a boxy van, the most efficient shape for hauling stuff. There’s a reason semi trailers aren’t shaped like domes or wedges.
If you want 4WD but otherwise a car-or-wagon-type look; check out Subarus (Outback, Forester in particular). Comfortable with a fair amount of room to haul stuff.
If not, for practical flexibility without the “typical bullshit off road stuff”, minivans are hard to beat. Not exciting or fun, but carry 7 people? Done. Haul 80 bags of mulch? Done. Get college kid+stuff and family back and forth? Done.
Yup, you want a crossover. Some names include:
GM HHT
Chrysler PT Cruiser (discontinued)
Pontiak Vibe
Toyota Matrix
Nissa Juke/Rogue
Station Wagons:
Dodge Magnum (discontinued)
Volvo XC70
Subaru Forester/Outback
I personally am quite fond of my Outback as my hauler car. It is fast, gets about 30mpg, and is AWD.
I even managed to fit 2 booster seats and a carseat in the back one weekend as all 3 spots had latch system hooks.
Hauled a 200lb goat 30 miles with ease with everything folded flat. (And the windows down.)
What about a pickup truck? That has plenty of space to haul stuff and isn’t an SUV. There are compact pickups (e.g. Chevy Colorado), and large pickups (e.g. Ford F150).
The Honda Element is very spacious, and the interior is almost entirely rubber or vinyl or some such, so you can literally hose it out when you’re done. Useful for hauling dead bodies.
Perhaps things have changed with regard to the Honda Element, but according to this column from Cartalk in April 2005, you cannot hose out the interior and doing so will result in an expensive bill.
Edited to add, here is a 2011 thread from a Honda message board saying the same thing.
It doesn’t have much trunk space, at least if the rear seats are being used. I’ve rented one sometimes and there’s barely enough room for a couple of suitcases back there.
Thanks, everybody - this is exactly the kind of info I was looking for and couldn’t figure out how to google. I can be a more educated shopper now.
I recently traded in my 2000 Frod Focus wagon on a 2010 Mazda5 minivan and love most everything about it.
I’d been looking at new ones for more than a year after reading the great reviews for them but couldn’t see paying 30k for one by going into debt again. I was also looking at VW Jetta Sportwagens, Hyundai Elantra Touring, the Prius V, and wanted the Subaru Outback but unfortunately, they had shifted from the wagon style to high clearance SU (Stupid Ugly)V style. I had earler expressed admiration over the Honda Fit, but I felt its cargo capacity, although large for its overall size, was smaller than I wanted.
I had moved almost all of my possessions in the Focus the last time I moved, via storage units/garages, except for a 2-man-and-a-truck load of 6 large items so I wanted to keep the capability for moving my “stuff” at least to/from storage units which I use between moves.
I had to have a 6-disc in-dash cd player as I still use my vast library of music cds. The trade-in had had a single disc player.
I ruled out the 40 mpg VW Diesel due to high price of option packages. It did offer a 6-disc player.
I ruled out the ElantraTouring wagon/van because its rear seats did not fold flat to form a fully usable floor and it offered only a single-disc cd player.
I ruled out the Prius V because of cost and the radio controls were too complicated (duh!). Salesguy never got to cd capacity.
So, after many visits to the Mazda lot (on Zoom Court) I saw a 2-year-old one in my favorite color (blue) priced at much less than the 2012 models and with less than 28k miles on the odometer, so I bought it with the cash I’d saved up for it. It only gets 21.0 mpg and CR says that the suspension was its weak point (I do feel every bump) but Im still liking it.
Good luck. And check out TrueCar.com for pricing. No dealers in my area honored their prices.
I just wanna throw the Honda Crosstour into the mix. I think it’s pretty cool–it has AWD (nice if you live in a snowy place) but no other offroad stuff, and it’s got tons of room (as long as you don’t need a third-row seat). The Honda Pilot is great if you do need a third row.