Re: What car in Regina?
 

The most common modern 'SUVs' are cars with taller suspension and bodywork, and no longer truck-based. Our Forester, for example, is basically a stretched Impreza with a bigger engine and more ground clearance. Goes round corners OK, and gets about the same mpg as our Civic when driving around town (not so good on the highway, where the tall bodywork adds a lot more drag).

Edit: oh, yeah, and the old folks we drive around sometimes can get into it much more easily than the Civic, because the seats are higher and the doors are wider.

Re: What car in Regina?
 

Isn't the Forester an estate car or station wagon rather than an SUV? I think of an SUV as being a minivan with trim bits inspired by the legends of the backcountry, something like the Hyundai Santa Fe or Ford Explorer.

Re: What car in Regina?
 

Unless you live in Alberta where almost every vehicle is a truck or truck sized or a piece of lifted shit, that likes to tailgate you and terrorize you and blind you with their high def headlights if your in something smaller, that is the draw back to having a normal sized car in Alberta.

Re: What car in Regina?
 

Forrester and CRV etc certainly have car DNA. I was thinking more along the lines of the bigger beasts like Tahoes and Expeditions, and Explorers to some extent.

The point is that there is no need for an SUV in order to cope with the Canadian winter driving experience, and while the high seating and visibility can be a good thing, there are compromises that result from that. If the roads are so bad that you need that extra snow clearance then it may be a wiser decision to postpone your trip.

The top selling vehicle in Canada for the last 12 or 13+ years is the Honda Civic. Its not exactly off road rated, and its just fine in the winter. My 08 was fine with winter tires and some common sense, and my current 2012 has traction / stability control that takes all the drama away.

My other vehicle is a Subaru (Legacy, but they are all much the same), and in the worst of the winter Im not even sure I would choose it over the Civic. Its an 07 without any nanny systems, plus it has an auto transmission so does not have the 50:50 power split that the manual ones have. Its actually pretty easy (and fun) to get the back end to break loose if you want to by booting more power into it. Ultimately though if you feed the power in gently it will always find traction, to the point where it blinds you to just how little traction there is available when you need to stop.

Re: What car in Regina?
 

That's why I put 'SUV' in quotes. Most people talking about buying an 'SUV' these days are thinking more of a Honda CR-V than something the size of a pickup truck.

Besides, both Forester and CR-V have won Motor Trend's 'SUV of the year' award in the last two years. So they, at least, think it is.

BTW, according to Hyundai's web site, the Santa Fe is four inches longer than the Forester, the same width, two inches lower, and has one and half inches less ground clearance. So basically the same size but a bit closer to the ground.