A Honda CR-V might fit you bill, but good ones are not cheap. Last year, I bought a 2005 CR-V and have been very satisfied with it, It has a 2.4 L 4-cylinder engine with variable valve tuning - that part works very well. The 2005 version is rated at 170 HP, has a 5 speed automatic, and will get around 27 miles per gallon at expressway speeds (65 to 70 mph). Mileage improves at lesser speeds, but tops out around 30 mpg. The rear seats folds to enlarge the cargo area. These seats are easy to fold and restore to normal position. It is the best behaved 4 cylinder I have ever driven. The engine - transmission works very well, and is smooth and quiet. Mine is a front wheel drive only. All Wheel drives are available. The main problem is these are popular vehicles and are not cheap. A good to excellent 2005 model last year ran about $14,000. Figure on an additional $1000 for an AWD (all wheel drive) version. Around here in snow country, the AWD addition is commanding a greater price than its cost when new. I took a 3000 mile trip with it last August and am planning another trip this September. I plan to keep this one for a few years. (My wife wants one, too.) The negatives: 1. Rear visibility is impaired. The optional rear view camera is recommended. Rear vision for highway driving is ok; Its the near distance when backing up that the problem (The same on many SUVs). 2. Throttle is by wire (electronic/electric). There is no direct mechanical connection between the accelerator pedal and the throttle plate. I have had no problem with mine; Its my preference to have a mechanical connection 3. The rear door is hinged on the right edge. Space must be allowed to swing the door open. This has not been a big problem so long as one stays aware of this need. later models hinged the door at the top but moved the spare tire. The older models with side swinging doors carry the spare outside on the rear of the door thus increasing interior cargo space. 4. The windshield wipers have an intermitent wipe plus 2 speeds. The intermittent wipe delay is not adjustable. 5. The rear wiper is intermittent only. Its wipe delay is not adjustable. However, it has been adequate. The Positives: 1. Seats are comfortable. 2. The odometer has 2 trip meters. 3. Brakes are well behaved. 4. Engine uses 87 octane fuel. 5. Engine is started and shut down with a key swutch - No goofy hold down a button for 5 seconds to shut off. 6. Has good road clearance. 7. The passenger space is tall allowing easy entrance/exit without hitting your head on the doorway.

We had a similar dilemma with our own DS when he was a teen. I looked at a lot of different options, but decided to go with a daybed for a number of reasons. 1) Teens tend to spend the majority of the time in their rooms, lounging on their beds and on the floor. I wanted something that would hold up to a lot of flops and would act as a kind of sofa for him and his friends that came over to hang out with him. 2) I chose a single with a separate slide-out trundle (not the ones that look like drawers) in case company needed to sleep there. In my mind, two singles are more versatile than a double. The single gave him more floor space for a beanbag, floor pillows, a rug, and a small entertainment center for his tv, stereo, books, Nintendo, etc. It also gave him and his buddies room to sprawl ;^D 3) DS requested a room that would act as a den for him and his friends. A double bed in there would not have worked for that. He really enjoyed having this room all through middle and high school . . . and in college, when he came home for visits. It worked especially well then, as he loved bringing friends home with him to show them New Mexico. A couple of things I learned if you do go the daybed route. ~ buy a good, sturdy one, without a back and arms. Guys tend to be rough on furniture at that age and he broke his first daybed frame horsing around. He disliked the arms and back, as he said he was always bumping his head and feet on the wood. ~ use a simple, easy to care for, machine-washable coverlet for the daybed. One with a small, dark print or a dark, plain one is preferable for guys. ~ large floor pillows with washable covers ~ ditto with pillows for the bed, so he can lean against them while sitting in bed. They will end up on the floor eventually, though ;^D Lynn

I don't get an ego trip from a fancy new car. In many ways I like an older car. Less likely to be stolen. Less concern if you get a ding in a parking lot or get into a small accident. Not a big deal if the upholstery should get a tear and not afraid to carry things in it, or on it. I firmly believe form follows function. I drove mini pickups for many years and they were just perfect for my use. I had to carry a photo studio while traveling. People with cars, well they had troubles! The problem was every time someone would move it was could you and your pickup haul this for us? Or could we borrow your pickup? I wound up getting a mini van that served me well for many years. Problems mounted and not worth putting money into it and I found another used one about 2.5 years old for a great price. At this point the mini vans are functional vehicles for me. I don't care if I look like a soccer mom driving it, it gets me where I need to go, hauls what I need to haul and gets me back home, reliably. Wish it got the same mileage a my last van but that's the price I pay for more power I guess. And I'm not at a point I can't afford to pay a bit more in gas for a little more protection too. One thing with cars, things like brake lines will corrode faster if they're left outside in the colder climates. A garage is a valuable thing to have. Plus if they get the salt and chemicals on them it can raise other issues so there's certain things you need to expect faster maintenance than in other areas, but then other areas have their issues too.

Hi Robo, funny you should resurrect this thread. We were pretty set on getting a Volvo crossover (DS didn't like the Subaru and we were fine with that since it didn't have any real advantage over the Volvo to us), and planning to look in earnest when they got back from their travels. We were out to lunch the day before they left, and DH mentioned a dealer friend he golfs with. I told him that I had checked his sites regularly and the only used SUVs they had were always late model and way more than what we wanted to spend. But I looked again anyway, and there it was. A 2004 BMW X3, over 100k miles. Not what we were planning on, but this dealer is a friend and we already have bought used BMWs from him and trust him. We called from the lunch table, then hurried over, and bought it. There were two other teenage boys in the waiting room with their Dads wanting to look at the same car. All of the other used SUVs they had were only 2-3 yrs old and multiples of the price. Anyway, yes, service is a killer on luxury cars, esp ones far past their prime. The cars we drive are usually still under warranty, but I had an old Benz once and we gave it to my stepson, who drove it 225k miles before selling it. You have to have the cash for the repairs, but actually it was a good deal all in. Hopefully the BMW will be the same. I am actually glad the car is so old and it even has a few dings; I don't want to spoil him. DS, OTOH, is tickled pink to have an X3. Safety wise, it has side airbags as well as front, and a low center of gravity, eg crossover SUV. Having now spent half of what we planned on, I told DS the first 7k of repairs are on us, LOL. In actuality I don't expect him to fully cover the costs of owning and insuring a vehicle; as long as he is a good student and is working at a job too, he is doing what we need him to do. The purpose of the job is to make sure they don't lose sight of the value of a dollar, but with all of the academic, extracurricular and volunteer demands on his time, (not to mention all the travel we do), he can't realistically earn terribly much. Good news is the dealer will give him a job (washing cars). ETA: Good luck to all the new drivers out there!