Understand you as I've had "wandering car eye" quite a bit lately. My problem is, it's among my own "herd"! With two VX's in the family it was hard to make the decision to part with one, especiallly the first one that was bought new. I pay it off next week and that makes having it up for grabs even harder! But, if I ever want to do the turbo-diesel swap on the IronMan the funds have to be available. Good Isuzu diesels aren't cheap. There's a Cummins 4-cylinder that'll fit and mate to the stock transmission, but at 200+ HP and over 500 lbs. of torque I'm afraid the 4L30E won't last long.

In any case, you've got to determine what's going to be the best fit for your daily needs and still make you feel good driving it. Call that the "fun factor". I'm working on 3 replacements for the Dragon as a daily driver: 1982 Mercedes 300D, 1988 Merkur XR4Ti and a 1986 Toyota MR2. The 300D and XR4Ti will get done first since they've got the most space, as I can't fit a server and router, or big printer in the MR2 which is the kind of stuff I haul around for work. Since I've also got an antique semi my truckish hauling needs are already met, although I get funny looks at Home Depot when making a lumber run with a tandem-axle cab-over sleeper.

So if you have occasional needs where having large cargo area (not necessarily cavernous, but tall) is handy then probably the RAV4 is your car. Toyota quality and service goes a long way, not to mention the significant boosts the RAV4 platform has received during it's life. I've always liked the RAV4 for it's simplicity and balance of features, and enjoy the opportunity to drive one.

If economy is a goal, then take a look at the VW Jetta TDI. The new styling is very sharp and they're comfortable, plus the handling qualities have been reviewed very favoritively as sporty. The fold-down rear seats offer fair storage. The power is impressive (TORQUE!) and a friend with a new Golf TDI is getting near 40MPG in excessively aggressive driving. I followed him to lunch one day in the VX and had a hard time keeping up from stops.

As for rattles, sqeaks and general maintenance issues? Well, no vehicle will be without them. The sign that they annoy you belies another issue which is your subconcious desire to move on. Believe me, as a former automotive restorer you can find something wrong with any new vehicle if you look enough. When you're in one day-to-day things you initially didn't notice during the "honeymoon phase" become apparent and repetitive. Then you'll soon be where you are now.

For what it's worth, my two centavos.