<p>If you’re looking for something that can handle stuff but isn’t meant for off road, then look at the Prius v. The inside carrying capacity is like or bigger than a small SUV. Its over 40 mpg. Has a very nice interior. Runs from about $25k to $30k fully loaded.</p>
<p>Vote here for the Subaru Outback. We got our 2012 a few months ago. Love it! 30 mpg on the highway…way better than the retired Ford Expedition (16mpg!), though we did love that Ford as well! We put over 200,000 miles on the last Subaru we owned. We expect to do that again with this one.
Interesting that the Rav4 did not “fit” you. I am pretty tall…and it did not fit me either!
After MPG, Fit is the first thing I checked when car shopping. I would put the seat back as far as I needed it to drive comfortably, then I would go sit in the back seat. If that caused a complete elimination of back seat leg space I crossed it off my list!
Good luck with your shopping!</p>
<p>Fit means more to me than MPG. If I can’t see what’s coming, all the MPG in the world aren’t going to matter!</p>
<p>Everyone thinks it’s crazy that I couldn’t make the Rav4 fit! I have friends that are shorter than me and friends that are over 6’ and they can all make it fit for them. Then again, I’m also the person that has trouble finding off-the-rack clothes that fit. Curse you short legs/long body/long arms!</p>
<p>I love my Acura MDX, but if you want smaller, maybe the Acura RDX would fit your needs. I understand having a comfortable seat; I really wanted to love the Volvo crossover; liked everything about it but the seat. My right thigh has horrible pain after 30 minutes in the car. I though it was just an adjustment issue so waiting for the leg pain to go away which took several days and went by and test drove the car again; within minutes my leg was again bothering me. I think the salesman thought I was crazy, but there was no way I could purchase a car that caused pain whenever I was behind the wheel.</p>
<p>No pain with any other car I test drove, just the Volvo!!</p>
<p>Per the request of my friends and parents, I went back and test drove the Rav4. I got the seat “right” this time and had no issues seeing out the front or the back. It was everything I had wanted the Terrain/Equinox to be! I also sat in a new Escape (Not bad, but I refuse to pass judgment until I sit in one that isn’t the top-of-the-line!) and drove a Hundai Tucson (No major visiblity issues out of the front, but there is no seeing out the back or out of the rear-view mirror and the steering feels floaty). I liked the Rav4 quite a bit, but have now found out that is a new body-style coming out in less than a year. In past experience, last runs of cars tend to have more issues and their resell value plummets rather quickly. Do I really want to be paying on a car that is going to be outdated in the next year for the next 5 years or so? I’m going to test drive the CR-V today, and hopefully hunt down a lower-trim Escape.</p>
<p>I strongly recommend the redesigned Honda CRV as well as the Acura MDX (if price isn’t a huge issue). That being said, both cars will run you upwards of about $30,000</p>