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If you really think you need to get an SUV, considers these options first

My parents bought a station wagon when I was 10 or 11. It was a trusty green Subaru Legacy, with window winders but no CD player. I learned to drive in it, even turned my first few laps of a racetrack in it. That car survived everything. The problem was station wagons weren't cool then; SUVs were the thing. For a road trip, my parents somehow rented a Jeep Grand Cherokee because I really wanted to ride in an SUV – just to ride in an SUV.

Yes, this story is embarrassing, but it's meant to illustrate a point. There was, once, a time when SUVs were new and novel, cool and interesting. In 1992, Arnold Schwarzenegger persuaded AM General to make a civilian version of the Hummer and the sport-utility craze took off. Today, they're ubiquitous and it's all his fault.

In 2017, Canadians are buying more SUVs and SUV-like crossovers than cars. Sergio Marchionne, chief executive of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, believes now that we've crossed this line, we'll never go back. He believes the SUV isn't a trend, that it's here to stay. Now, SUVs are everywhere – having become almost the default choice – I'm nostalgic for that old green Brighton and anything else that's Not Another Sport Utility Vehicle.

If you think you really need an SUV, do yourself a favour and consider these eight perfectly capable alternatives first.

Honda Civic Hatchback

Base price: $21,690

Why it's a good alternative: It's the same price as Honda's smallest SUV, the HR-V, but the Civic hatchback offers so much more bang for your buck. The hatchback has a more sophisticated motor – a 1.5-litre turbo unit with 174 horsepower – and is wider, which makes it easier to fit three people in the back seats. The Civic has more useful cargo space, too, with more volume with the rear seats up.

Ford Transit Connect Passenger Wagon

Base price: $31,499

Why it's a good alternative: It's a cargo van, retrofitted to function as a family vehicle. Because it's a cargo van, the Transit Connect is supremely tough. It's built to handle some abuse. Think: lots of plastic. It'll seat five people, or seven with the optional third row. No matter how many seats it has, they all fold flat to create a cavernous 2,952-litre luggage compartment worthy of, well, a cargo van.

Subaru Crosstrek

Base price: $23,695

Why it's a good alternative: It's a bit of a Frankenstein, the result of a freakish experiment that crossed the Subaru Impreza hatchback with the Forester SUV. It's got a (slightly) increased ride height that will appeal to SUV drivers and a useful 90 millimetres of extra ground clearance. The black plastic cladding around the wheel arches gives it that faux-rugged look that's so hot right now. But it's essentially an Impreza. You'll pay an extra $3,000 for the Crosstrek over the base five-door though.

Kia Sedona

Base price: $27,995

Why it's a good alternative: Yes, it's a minivan; no, it's not fashionable. While SUVs are flying out of showrooms, minivans are having to overcompensate to stay competitive. The Sedona is a lot of car for less than $30,000. The list of standard features is impressive, too: third-row seats, V-6 engine, Bluetooth, backup camera and a five-star U.S. NHTSA safety rating.

Volvo S60 Cross Country

Base price: $50,700

Why it's a good alternative: Nobody else will have one of these. Volvo isn't discontinuing its lifted, all-wheel drive S60 sedan – not exactly. A Volvo Canada spokesperson said the company isn't bringing in any new ones for 2018. Since there's an all-new 60 Series arriving next year, the S60 Cross Country is effectively discontinued after only being available for two years. Such rarity could make it an oddball future classic.

Audi A5 Sportback

Base price: $47,950

Why it's a good alternative: The Audi A7 – introduced in 2010 – was one of the best-looking cars on the road. It still is. The new A5 Sportback brings those sharp four-door-fastback looks down to a somewhat more affordable price. Good luck finding a more stylish SUV for the money. The huge hatchback trunk opening and standard all-wheel drive make it a practical choice, too. Even the base 2.0-litre turbo engine is strong enough to propel the A5 from 0-100 km/h in six seconds flat.

Toyota Prius V

Base price: $28,990

Why it's a good alternative: The RAV4 is consistently among the bestselling SUVs in Canada. For a change of pace, consider the Prius V. The hybrid RAV4 is roughly $5,500 more expensive and its fuel economy isn't as good. The big Prius is rated at 5.5 litres/100 kilometres in the city and 6.0 on the highway, while the hybrid RAV4 gets 6.9 in the city and 7.8 on the highway. The Prius V's trunk is huge, too. It'll fit an upright double bass in travel case, no problem.

Volkswagen Golf SportWagen

Base price: $24,195

Why it's a good alternative: I'm using the Golf as the token wagon here, but there are many more options: the BMW 3 Series, Mini Clubman, Volvo V60, Mercedes C-Class, Audi Allroad, Subaru Outback. If you're budget knows no limits, the Porsche Panamera Sport Turismo and Mercedes E63 wagons both offer more than 600 horsepower and will leave most sports cars in their dust. Since SUVs became so ubiquitous, maybe now the station wagon can finally be cool.


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