What are the alternative choices?

I'm not a fundamentalist SUV hater, except for the enormous ones like Hummers or Excursions. Your reasons for getting one are all reasonable and perfectly valid.

If the SUV thing bothers you a lot, what about an Accord or Camry hybrid? Still roomy, good mileage, none of the SUV issues. No third seat, though.

Well, we're looking at a hybrid Saturn Vue purchase later this fall. And I despise SUVs, but we're working on a family, and are constantly struggling to find ways to transport stuff we buy for the house, plants, etc.

And you make a good point re: carpooling. So, I'd say if you really can use it, buy it. We're taking the plunge, but are also going to resist relying on it as our primary vehicle, and we're starting to bike places whenever possible.

Like so many things in life, there are no easy answers.

Also, hi! I've been mostly gone from the interwebs for over a week. Nice to be back!

I'm considering getting an adult sized Big Wheel myself. We all gotta do our part.

At least the Highlander is based on the Camry-platform, as opposed to being a true "truck" chassis which is more dangerous to the occupants. The car-platform should also help handling, which benefits everyone. It'll still be a visual-hazard, which is my biggest day-to-day annoyance with SUVs.

But with your genuine need for the space and desire to hybrid, is there another choice? Is anyone building a hybrid minivan yet?

Have you test-driven a Prius? No third row seat, but a coworker of mine (who is both big AND tall) has one, with no problems. We've taken it to lunch a few times, with two men over 6'2" (and lil ol me).

I would look carefully at the gas mileage listed, and remember to take off like, 20%. The Toyota Highlander Hybrid says it gets 27 mpg, which is the same as a roomy mid-sized sedan like a Subaru.

If it were me, I'd think pretty hard about a minivan. Since they're out of fashion, they seem to be underpriced. Then again, you live in, what, Pennsylvania or someplace? When I visit my family in PA, I always see a lot of Subarus and Grand Cherokees. Do you feel like you want/need 4wd?

As far as the Highlander is concerned, there can be only one.

I don't think the hybridness outweighs the SUVness, largely for the safety to drivers of other vehicles and crowdedness of the urban environment factors. (There is also the meta-issue of if hybridness allows people to ignore the impact of private vehicles because they are "green" but I have no answer to that. I'm single, with nothing really to ever transport, so it's a simple thing for me to not own a car).

That said, you seem to have given it a reasonable amount of thought and you should do what you're comfortable with.

Welcome back, tr33huggr!Good to see you!

As far as the Highlander is concerned, there can be only one.

Heh. My husband refers to his 97 year old grandmother as The Highlander. Every time she has a health scare, he just goes to the hospital to make sure her head is attached.

Anyway, thanks for the input, everybody. The Subaru Outback is another contender. He's driven a Camry before, so he might possibly fit in the hybrid version. Minivans are right out since this is his work car and he already takes some ribbing about driving a station wagon. As for the 4WD, we do live in a pretty rural area, so it would come in handy. On the other hand, we've lived here this long without it, so it's not completely necessary either.

For the record, he's 6'7" and about 270 lbs. So it's not just head room that's the problem. If the center console is too wide, he literally can't get his leg between the console and the steering wheel. If the dash comes out too far, he can't squeeze in at all. And then there are a few models where he can fit in, but putting the seat that far back renders the backseat useless.

It's a bit like Cinderella, really.

Mullacc and crush, I agree with you on your criticisms of SUVs and that's what's keeping me from being completely onboard with the idea. I just want a car that fits the terms of his car allowance, can fit my man and my kids (and maybe a friend or two), has as little impact as possible and doesn't make me an asshole for driving it. Does a car like that even exist?

Sounds like you need a Transformer. No, a Transformer Hybrid.

OptiPrius Prime!

What about a station wagon?

On a tangential note, a few weeks ago I read an article about a new Lexus hybrid (I think it's this one). The article exclaimed about how cool it was, and how being a hybrid did not damage its luxuryness, and how much power it had, and how it still enabled the owner to feel good about its impact on the environment. Toward the end, in almost an afterthought, the writer included the MPG it got: 19. (Although the page I link to lists it as 20/22.) It seems weird that a car being touted as environmentally friendly gets worse mileage than my badly-tuned seven year old Chevy.

I agree with brujita - my somewhat convoluted point is that you can get a station wagon (which tend to be roomy) that has the same gas mileage as a hybrid SUV. It will be less expensive and it will be "proven" (I know that some hybrid cars have maintenance problems, especially in cold-weather states).

For the "man-fit" test, the only thing you can do is test-drive it. My fiance's father only drives SUVs, because of the height and girth factor. I don't think that makes him an asshole - I think that there's not a lot out there catering to the conscientious, yet physically BIG dude.

The Passat is actually a wagon. I should have specified that. We'll be keeping it and getting rid of the Mazda. It's great for hauling stuff, but you can only really get away with squeezing in one extra car seat. Having that third seat while still getting the same mileage is a big draw.

But then your point about the maintenance issues is a good one, muddgirl. I can't imagine it would be easy to find someone to work on a hybrid out here in hickville.

I think that there's not a lot out there catering to the conscientious, yet physically BIG dude.

They should totally make a Big and Tall car lot.

jrossi4r, I don't like SUVs, and yet I think you have enough reason to buy one.

My peeve is with single guys who want a car that looks "offroad", even if they'll never drive somewhere without asphalt. Usually with driving skills inversely proportional to the size of the car, who will stop traffic for half an hour while trying to park a hummer in the compact spot.

And with suburban young women using their luxury SUVs to go shopping (alone), just so they can look everyone from above. While talking on the phone and zig-zagging accross lanes, of course. With a Chihuahua jumping accross the car.

If you really need the extra space (which is your case), or live in a ranch accross a creek, a canyon and a forest, go for it. If you ask nicely, I'll even let you tie a kayak to the roof :)

What qvantamon said.

If the center console is too wide, he literally can't get his leg between the console and the steering wheel.

It's worth checking out the Prius then. I've got one and my mom has a Highlander; there's little to no difference in console size between them. The Prius has a very spacious interior; we've had tall friends move the passenger seat all the way back and tilted and there's still room for an average sized person in the back seat. Plus, if you need extra storage room, the back seat folds down quite easily.

And I've averaged 45-50 MPG over the past three years. Far better than the Highlander.

That's really good to know, me3. I'll point that out to him. Actually, I'm just going to show him this thread and say, "Here's what the smart, kind, informed metachat crowd had to say."

And if he still decides he wants one, I'm going to tie a kayak to the roof just 'cuz qvantamon said I could.

He probably won't take you seriously on this, simply on price, but the mere fact you suggested he consider it as an option for "his" car will probably score you some points.

Gotta agree with everyone saying that the SUV is a danger to other drivers, and it was this article by the eminent Malcolm(?) Gladwell from a few years back (loooooong but awesome) that did it for me.

I say look at three cars, none of which I have driven:

- Honda Fit
- Toyota Scion xA (the one that looks like a milk truck)
- Toyota Sienna/Estima hybrid minivan - which is not out in the States yet, but is out in Japan

mdonley: That Gladwell article focuses a bit on the truck-style chassis used on some SUVs. The Highlander being discussed here is based on the Toyota Camry car-platform (i.e., a unibody chassis). That doesn't completely negate Gladwell's criticism of SUVs, but it helps in this case.

One thing to remember about hybrids: it's not just the MPG. Hybrids put out significantly fewer emissions than their non-hybrid counterparts, which was what sold me on my Prius back in 2001.

I highly recommend playing around with the side-by-side comparison feature of fueleconomy.gov. You'll get much better apples-to-apples comparisons there, plus you'll be able to see emissions rankings.

Interesting site, eamondaly. That's really helpful. The Highlander hybrid actually stacks up pretty good.

Thanks for the recommendations, mdonley. Unfortunately, none of those cars meet the requirements for his company's car allowance. (There's a price range he has to fit into.)