We love our Honda CRV. It is a 2003, and is currently at the shop as Paul got hit in a parking lot. This is the second time it has been hit in the back, and we have never been injured. It is a great car, reliable, very comfortable, and can hold lots of cargo when we need it to. We have over 100,000 miles on it, and have had no trouble, just had to replace tires and brakes as they wear out, otherwise just normal maintenance, and other small things that are part of the normal wear and tear on a car. I would highly recommend it. As we live on a steep hill, I can attest we got the 4-wheel drive version, and it does great in the snow. Not only do we love it, but there are three others on our street, so other people must like it, too! It gets good gas milage, and I know there's a hybrid version available in newer models, too.

I currently have a rental car that I HATE - it's a Dodge Calliber, and it is uncomfortably small - cramped width-wise and a really long dashboard - plenty of leg room, but very little elbow room - and we are not really tall or anything, I'm only 5'6" and Paul 5' 10" - definitely on our list to avoid for any future purposes.