2006 Element
I love my Honda Element. Not a real SUV but you can pack a ton of stuff in it, remove the rear seats and you fit even more. I get 20/26 for mileage mostly since it is a brick in the wind. I can fit my road bike in the back with only one seat flipped up without removing wheels or other such messin' around. I can fit the mtb also but due to the mud factor I tend to use a hitch mounted rack. It has plastic flooring and washable seating so spilling stuff or throwing funky jerseys on the floor doesn't matter. Nor does my dog who drools a mile a minute when riding in the car. I got the 4x4 or AWD version and it is OK - I climbed an icy hill at a snowboard mountain that other SUV's (well most of them are pretenders anyway) were not making it up. The stick shift helps give it a little zip. The stock sound system kicks too. Best part, I drove it from the dealer for only $20,600 new. I was evaluating the Toyo FJ. Smaller, thirstier and nearly ten grand more - I bought a new MTB with the money I saved.