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We bought a Saturn *SUV* in 2004 because we needed a stick shift and Saturn had discontinued stick shifts in their station wagon (which had been our previous vehicle). Our old wagon had gotten 24-26 mpg in the city, and an astounding 39 mpg on the highway. Yes, the "SUV" label was evil and we felt guilty (and our friends all looked at us like we had four heads), but it had the cargo capacity we needed. And a stick shift. And a 4-cylinder engine. And the mileage was at least not horrible. I was disappointed in its rock solid 22 mpg regardless of city or highway, but it did weigh 400 lbs more than our wagon did and the gear ratios are set for more torque than actually needed. Then we moved to Flagstaff last spring, and now it consistently gets 26/29 city/highway for some reason (altitude? different fuel mixture?). In 2004 it was called an SUV, but it's an SUV body on a car chassis, which is what is now called a "crossover". My point is this: what's in a name? And the answer is : who the hell cares? What matters is what it actually is and does. Get over the silly label fixation, and tell your friends to get over it, too.
