I Need a New Car!

I think you best bet would go the hybrid route. The Honda Civic hybrid gets 40/45, (not quite as good), but I think it might be a bit more roomy than the Prius. Or you can get a Ford Escape hybrid, which gets 34/30. Again, not quite as good, but I think it would definately be roomy enough for what you need.

We are in the market for a new car too. Right now I have a Toyota 4Runner that I LOVE, but it's getting old and I'd like something that gets better gas mileage, but is still nice and roomy. So, here is what we've found...
The Toyota Highlander makes a hybrid version that gets 27mpg city & 25mpg highway. It runs about $33-$40K and is rated well by Consumer Reports (86/100 points)
The Lexus RX Hybrid is another option. It gets 26mpg city & 24mpg highway. It costs a little more than the Highlander at $41-$43K, but it is a Consumer Reports "recommended" buy and is rated 83/100 points.
The Prius gets 48mpg city & 45mpg highway, so I think it is tough to find anything as good as that. They are roomier on the inside than you would think, but I know we still want something a little bigger.
Good luck!!!

we are looking for an RN for a med spa, do u know of anyone who has experience.

Chevy - Tahoe and Suburban both have recently come out with Hybrids. I am not certain what the new gas mileage is on those but worth taking a look at perhaps.

S.

We have a Honda Fit that is almost 2 years old. It is an awesome care and gets about the best gas mileage without being a hybrid. We have 2 carseats and can still carry some cargo. For longer trips we still feel we need a bigger car so we just bought a Mazda 5. I LOVE it! It has the functional features of a minivan but it looks much cooler and is considerably smaller. It gets about 27mpg and can carry our family of 4 and anything that we need to take with us. It was named one of the top 10 urban vehicles.

I would call Mel Williams. He could find you whatever you want. He is a good friend of mine and owns a car dealership in Carrollton. Tell him R. sent you and he will take extra good care of you. His cell is ###-###-####

Saturn has a hybrid Vue, and you can fit two carseats in the back.

Have you been in a Prius? Their backseats are extremely roomy. Bigger than my Corolla for sure and I have 2 carseats in my backseat.

I don't know the mileage of the Prius, but we bought a Toyota RAV4 last year (red) and I love it! Plenty of room and it gets about 24 MPG. My last tank was 23.5 and that was running the AC all the time. We have taken it on a 2500 mile road trip and we had plenty of space for a car seat and all our gear, plus it was a good ride.

I didn't want to be a mini-van mom and this was the perfect solution for us.

Have you checked out Scions? I don't have one, but I think I have heard that they are feul efficient and they are roomy. I've been in a smaller one before and it fit 4 grown adults comfortably.

We got a Mazda 3 hatchback and love it. Got it for me originally and found out we were preggo 2 weeks later so I took over our SUV because I now need room for 4 kids instead of just the 2. It fits 2 carseats easily and has a LOT of room in the back..big stroller and then some. My husband isn't near that size but he is very tall and fits easily. Gets great gas mileage (is automatic but can be switched to manual) and runs around $17-$20k.

My next pick is the Tahoe Hybrid but wouldn't be quite as good gas mileage. The Ford Escape Hybrid has gotten excellent reviews though.

Honda Polit. I have two in car seats and two older children in middle school and love this car. Just recently took a road trip and got 400+ miles from one tank of gas. My husband is right at 250 and 6'2" so the way he sits in a car is always an issue and Hondas seem to always fit him nicely.
Good luck and God Bless,
A.

I did just a few searches on autos.msn.com and found that the prius is the best, but the Honda Civic Hybrid comes close for the gas mileage and I know is big enough because my cousin has one and she loves it. The prius is rated 48/45 and the Civic 40/45 (city/highway), so you get the same mpg on the highway.

Good Luck!

UPDATE:
I read all the other comments through 5/20/08 and they seem to be about half the mileage of the prius and the civic. If you want a small SUV for decent gas mileage; I drive a Chevy HHR and LOVE IT! I have a ton of room and actually get 25 mpg in the city even though it's rated 20 and 28. However, my fiance is about 6' 250 lbs and it's a little small for him but isn't a problem around town and we've yet to take a long trip in it.

Vehix.com is a good website if you know what you want, but it appears to be very similar to msn autos.

I think Toyota and Ford both have a small SUV that is available in a hybrid. I'm rather certain they are special order, or at least not popular enough in Texas to keep them on the lot, but I could be wrong. Good luck!

My husband drives a 4 door Yaris it gets 38-40 mpg. The back seat is big enough to hold 2 carseats. Husband might have trouble, Is cheap great car! We also have a minivan so we've never taken a trip with the new baby in it. But the 3 of us fit well.

M. - - -

I saw that someone recommended the Honda Pilot. I also have a Pilot and I love it, BUT it is certainly not as gas efficient as some cars and not even close to the Prius. Ford Escape is a hybrid SUV that is getting very good reviews. Where I work has bought 5 of them so far and been quite pleased. They also have several Prius and, trust me, two adults and two carseats would fill that car completely (read sardines!).

I also read that the Tahoe will have a hybrid next year, but I would never recommend buying a vehicle on it's first year out. Too many bugs to work out.

The Toyota Highlander also may come in the hybrid. Toyota advertised several years ago that it would be a hybrid the next year and then that didn't happen, but they may have gotten there now.

Go to Vehix.com . . . they are the best place I have found to study the vehicles and read reviews and compare.

Good Luck!