Car Shopping - Small Crossovers

[Koronin]

zoom-zoom, we've also had great luck with Fords, although we've never had Ford cars, only trucks. We currently have two Rangers. One is a 1987 with well over 300,000 miles on it. The other one is a 2005 which so far has been really good to us as well. Just no experience with their cars. I've always had GM cars, previously a Pontiac Sunbird that had over 100,000 miles when I traded it in for my current car, a 2003 Monte Carlo SS. Basically what I'll be looking for in a new car is very good gas milage with a good bit of cargo space due to all the driving I do for my job and at times how much stuff I have to carry with me. My current car gets around 25 miles to a gallon, so a new one must get better than that and I basically need a hatchback or a stationwagon (if I can find one). Right now the Focus is at the top of my list.

[chryss]

I just bought the second car of my life: I used to live in European capitals, where you don't need a car, but am now in rural Alaska outside Fairbanks. AWD/4WD was a requirement, plus "small-ish SUV or small pickup truck" seemed to be the best first approximation. I ended up with a 2002 Mazda Tribute, which is nearly identical to the Ford Escape line. Mine comes with anti-locking brakes (not all of that year do), which is great.

The car has for in the last 2 months really grown on me. It seems very solid, visibility is great, handling's great. We dealt with roads that were ice for miles, melting ice, new snow, and now foot-deep slush. No issue. Driving on the highway ... well, it feels like a car, not a truck. Fuel economy is what I think of as awful, but my American friends assure me that 18.5 mpg isn't bad for an SUV.

I'd been thinking of a Toyota RAV 4, Honda CR-V, or even a Subaru Forester or Outback (and looked at Kia Sportage -- my car is a trade-in bought at a Kia dealer), but can definitely recommend the Mazda should you come across one.

Oh, my bike fits fine inside with the back bench flattened.