I love every thing about my CRV ( 2003) but it is nearing the end of its life. The new CRV’s are bigger outside and smaller inside.
I need a small big car that is easy to park in city garages and can fit a bicycle with wheels on in the back the way I can now and NOT have a huge console in the front between the front seats. I also like the head room in the CRV. Any one have any suggestions?
Cars are like shoes – what fits me may not fit you. Check out Toyota RAV 4, Subarus, Hyundai Santa Fe & Tuscon and buy what fits you the best. Go out and drive them all and buy a nice used 3 - 4 year old one from the original owner with all service records.
Or, you just may want to wait until the new Bentley SUV comes out next year if you have an extra $200,000 laying around.
If you mean you don’t want a console between the front buckets, you are out of luck. All now small SUVs have that feature. You can look at pictures and specs on line at a site like cars.com, edmunds.com, or autos.msn.com. After you narrow the list down, go see them in the showroom and take a few for a drive. And put Chevy/GMC and Ford on the list. They have attractive small SUVs too.
Hmm. As is common with cars, small SUVs have definitely been getting larger (most inside and out). So what is small? The Mazda CX5 is smaller than some, and quite nice. Also very efficient. The VW Tiguan is quite tidy and uses mostly Golf/Jetta mechanicals that have an OK reputation. I would expect more problems from an aging Tiguan than most competitors, so it might not be a great choice to keep a decade. I quite like the Kia Sportage, though some of think the ride is a too hard. For a really little ute thingy there is the Mini Countryman, though the utility is very limited. Likewise the oddball Nissan Juke, very tight in back. There is also the new Buick Encore, a sort-of ute related to the Chevy Sonic. Those are the smallest nominal utes around.
The CRV’s up to 2011 do not have a console in the front/between the two seats, only the high trim has one. (that actually was a gripe of mine since the arm rest on the seat was in an uncomfortable position).
There’s no difference in outside size of the 2003 and 2013 CR-Vs (the new ones a little shorter and wider). The 2013 is very slightly smaller inside.
With those needs, you’ll have to try out several and see which you like.
The first car of that ilk was the RAV. But the most successful design was the CRV. So much so, evryone now makes an SUV that seems to look like one. Unless your " love" extends to Hondas in general, I agree with @twotone and suggest you start wearing several others. Besides, just like a good mate, you don’t love them ( cars) going into a relationship. It’s something that happens over time. Another CRV would be my fall back investment if other makes don’t initially appeal to you. Car makers generally don’t stray too far from a successful formula. Just to be a wise guy, how can we love a car that we feel needs replacement in just ten years ? They( all cars) really don’t love us back and are just money suckers…The CRV seems to do it more politely. ;=)