Verdict

Our big take-away message from our car search?
Our old car is a 1994 Toyota Corolla Wagon. In the last 15 years, the entire auto industry has somehow not been motivated to develop a car with similar space, the same quality fit and finish and at least as good fuel economy. That is, we could not find a wagon today that looked good, drove well and got mileage as good as our old beater. Progress.
Diesels. We need more passenger diesels. Yes, we know about VW. Their reliability needs to improve.

• Honda Fit - A little small and works a bit too hard on the highway.
• Honda Insight - A few grand less than the Prius, and it really shows.
• Toyota Matrix 1.8L - A contender but lacking in overall comfort and fit.
• Pontiac Vibe 1.8L - Twin of the Matrix. We like the 60% domestic content of both. Better suspension, seating and pricing. Still, a bit ticky-tack cheap.
• Toyota Prius - We tried to love it. We drank the kool-aid. We were immune to it. They've engineered a vehicle where even the driver feels like a passenger. This technological tour-de-force just seems like overkill. And, replacing the batteries every 8 years for $3,000-$5,000 puts a big crimp in the mileage savings. We even looked at a lightly used one for a good price. We tried, we really did. It made the most sense. But we were entirely unmoved.
• Hyundai Elantra Touring - Mileage is OK, not good. Value is great, fit and finish is great. Reliability is recently great. And we liked it. Let's give it a run.