What do you drive?

[ChemGal]

The smallest crossover one could buy used at the time - Nissan Juke. I was also interested in the Honda HRV at the time but we didn't want to pay the new price. Toyota also had something coming out but it wasn't even available new yet - forget what it was called.

I like small and Chemguy liked the sporty aspect of it. Cargo space is reasonable with the seats down. Backseat space is not so reasonable if one expects to have adults back there regularly.

I test drove the size up, the Rogue. Hated it. We're both short, we both hit our heads on the roof getting in and out - not the edge by the door, the actually roof of the vehicle. I'm still confused by the vertical clearance. Had horrible handling too, I stuck to the quietest streets on the test drive because I was way too uncomfortable to do any more.

 

[Jill]

My choice of cars is Subaru. They have great stability, drive well in snow and on wet roads. They don't seem to need a lot of maintenance and repairs and they last many years.

 

[Northwind]

OOPS, sorry @Northwind . Hah, @Boots doesn't know my husband, and i was thinking of your location and a volvo being good, so my post really is not relevant for @Boots.

The Rav is a great choice for this location too. We got the AWD version.

 

[Luce NDs]

I drive a second hand Forester, bought as a roomy vehicle that I could carry stuff to the graveyard with .. after my 15 year old Pontiac Transport failed to transmute ...

I told the dealer not to fuss over it, they detailed it and within 10 minutes of taking possession I had a dirt and grass covered rough box in the back ... I deal with death regularly ...

The vehicle is good on gas ... and has stood up well considering what demands are put on the poor old mu-Le ... some people have no respect for working ide-aums ...

 

[Northwind]

My choice of cars is Subaru. They have great stability, drive well in snow and on wet roads. They don't seem to need a lot of maintenance and repairs and they last many years.

We had a Subaru for 14 years. It was a great car. We might have looked at getting a second one if we had a good dealership in this town. We didn't want to have to go to Edmonton to buy a car and to get it serviced at a dealer.

 

[Mendalla]

The smallest crossover one could buy used at the time - Nissan Juke. I was also interested in the Honda HRV at the time but we didn't want to pay the new price. Toyota also had something coming out but it wasn't even available new yet - forget what it was called.

I like small and Chemguy liked the sporty aspect of it. Cargo space is reasonable with the seats down. Backseat space is not so reasonable if one expects to have adults back there regularly.

I test drove the size up, the Rogue. Hated it. We're both short, we both hit our heads on the roof getting in and out - not the edge by the door, the actually roof of the vehicle. I'm still confused by the vertical clearance. Had horrible handling too, I stuck to the quietest streets on the test drive because I was way too uncomfortable to do any more.

The whole sub-compact crossover genre, which the Juke more of less kicked off, has little appeal for me. We have three adults, one very tall, so the lack of rear space is an issue and in the ones I have looked at, like the HR-V, cargo space is minimal if you have a rear passenger. I think a Fit (which the HR-V is based off of) or similar subcompact hatchback probably gives as much value as the "cute utes" (yes, I have heard them called that). On the Honda front, at least, the Fit actually has more cargo space than the HR-V with the seats up.

Bias alert: I am, in general, not a fan of SUVs. The only benefit I see is cargo space and AWD and the latter can be had on some fairly good sedans (eg. the Subarus that @Jill mentions). Given a choice between a crossover or SUV and a sedan, I will take the latter. The CRV is a practical, reliable vehicle but hardly my preference for driving (though the 2017 with the new 1.5 l turbo engine is a big improvement over 06's 2.4 VTEC).

 

[ChemGal]

The whole sub-compact crossover genre, which the Juke more of less kicked off, has little appeal for me. We have three adults, one very tall, so the lack of rear space is an issue and in the ones I have looked at, like the HR-V, cargo space is minimal if you have a rear passenger. I think a Fit (which the HR-V is based off of) or similar subcompact hatchback probably gives as much value as the "cute utes" (yes, I have heard them called that). On the Honda front, at least, the Fit actually has more cargo space than the HR-V with the seats up.

Bias alert: I am, in general, not a fan of SUVs. The only benefit I see is cargo space and AWD and the latter can be had on some fairly good sedans (eg. the Subarus that @Jill mentions). Given a choice between a crossover or SUV and a sedan, I will take the latter. The CRV is a practical, reliable vehicle but hardly my preference for driving (though the 2017 with the new 1.5 l turbo engine is a big improvement over 06's 2.4 VTEC).

For me it was the AWD and the height. This winter was much more enjoyable trying to get on/off the driveway than what it was in my car.

In the test driving phase I wasn't even sure if a crossover would be in our final search criteria, I liked the idea but I really was a car driver who didn't like switching up what I drove. When I found the Juke really comfortable I was expecting Chemguy to think that it was ridiculous to go with a crossover that was so small. Was pleasantly surprised to find out he just really liked it.

Certainly not for everyone, especially if having backseat passengers with leg lengths close to an adult's. When we were just looking online we had originally omitted it as we thought it was 2-door.

When driving, the seat is pretty much all the way forward, so at least there's decent space in the back if I'm driving.

 

[Boots]

We ended up with a Mitsubishi Outlander.

Our goal today was just to look but....we fell in love. The price was right and it is in fantastic shape! The dealer gave us a great deal on our trade and threw in a hitch and install on the Outlander too.

 

[Luce NDs]

We ended up with a Mitsubishi Outlander.

Our goal today was just to look but....we fell in love. The price was right and it is in fantastic shape! The dealer gave us a great deal on our trade and threw in a hitch and install on the Outlander too.

Car salesmen always have hitches ... sort of like an absolute in the world of abstracts ... them's just thoughts!

 

[chansen]

Congrats on the Outlander. It's a good vehicle. Mitsubishi can't get their sales act together in Canada, but they make good stuff.

 

[Jaebius]

We ended up with a Mitsubishi Outlander.

Our goal today was just to look but....we fell in love. The price was right and it is in fantastic shape! The dealer gave us a great deal on our trade and threw in a hitch and install on the Outlander too.

Congratulations on your new wheels Boots!

 

[chansen]

I've always had a soft spot for companies that are good at engineering and don't focus on marketing, often to their detriment. Mitsubishi is one of those.

 

[Luce NDs]

Thus these BOOTZ keep rolling along ...

 

[KayTheCurler]

We drive Honda Elements. We have a car and a spare that lives in a shed in the country and gets brought out as needed! We love its versatility as it goes from four seater car to hauling vehicle/camping accessory. It pulls our wee camper quite happily. The CRV was useless to us as it wasted too much space on seating, and was more difficult to clean. .