:iagree: The second generation xB is great. Good power for its class, decent gas mileage, great looks, priced right. I bought one for my company to wrap for advertisement and it has been a great vehicle. It went with the company when I sold, but it had over 13,xxx miles and no issues. Everybody at the office really liked it.

This thread is being resuscitated to say I finally got the short list down to ONE. And the "winner" is ... a 2009 Honda Element 4WD EX.

Drove the Nissan Cube. It had great EPA numbers, 28/30. BUT the front door panels were about six ounces of high-density foam. Nothing to them. And I drove on a country road with normal crown, at highway speeds ... and it felt like it was going to flip over on its side. The shuddering motion, which was mentioned here, was also quite noticeable. This would be a better car for banging around in the City at speeds not to exceed 40 mph.

The Mazda 3i 5-door hatchback was also a disappointment, but for a different reason. For an inexpensive car it had a great ride. But it, too, was afflicted with a lot of shoddy plastic. One parallel parking mishap could leave you with a $2000 body shop bill -- either front OR back. Unacceptable.

The Toyota Scion xB I studied only through the website and from seeing a few on the road. I got terminally frosted seeing the "Bluetooth option" a simple handsfree link for cellphones, listed at $300. Hey guys -- the Bluetooth SIG mandated the chip circuitry was to cost no more than five bucks. Get it? FIVE BUCKS. Or maybe, like Verizon, Toyota has decided to market only to people with double-digit IQs. Between this affront and the premium being tacked on to the Prius, I've got enough hard-core hate of Toyota not to put them on my list, ever. Even if they still make very good cars.

The Element is in its 7th year of production. Long in the tooth would be an understatement. 3500 pounds, instead of 2800 like the Cube, and obviously not as peppy. But you know what? That extra unibody steel just might make the car last an extra year or two. It can handle my canoe with ease. It can even carry a tiny trailer behind it. EPA combined @ 21 mpg is 40% better than what they said my old Yukon got, but the owner forums are reporting 26-28 mpg as common. 4WD (actually, FWD with AWD) means I don't have to drive the Z at all for 3-4 months of the year if I don't want to. And the overstock.com year end price was $500 off invoice (plus the CARS $4500 clunker credit) putting it in line with the best prices we got on the Z and the 09 Acura TL this year.

Finally, the Element has actual 5 mph bumpers. But i'm still going to miss the solid chrome steel on that old Yukon!

j,

I just picked up a cube for the little woman a couple of weeks ago. It's not a car I would pick for my daily driver, but I like it nonetheless. She went with the moss green SL with preferred package, and it's a color you don't often see (even on the lots). Highway driving (75-80mph) does not feel nearly as stable as driving my S, but it's not bad at all for a brick on wheels. I didn't expect much out of 122hp, but the CVT helps make for a surprisingly peppy and smooth take-off from the line, and unless you're carrying an entire family has a decent enough amount of pull at speed.

I really wanted to like the Cube. It's 80% the price of the car I wound up with, and maybe 80% of the car. But I just couldn't get my head around the long-term durability issue. I've driven Hyundais and Kias, and I've NEVER felt a door as light as on that Cube.

It wouldn't be surprising to see them come out with a real premium trim level (not the "Krom") that addresses this, because so much else on the car was likeable or otherwise acceptable. However ... I also don't think it would work if you wanted something to drive cross-country, like NY to Montreal by way of coastal Maine. (That's what the Z is for. :)