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Looking for a car that beats our current ride (04 SAAB 9-5 2.3 wagon) for overall combination of utility, comfort, and fuel efficiency (about 24 in town, 30-31 highway). Having a difficult time. I should note that I'm 6'6", and that means lots of smaller cars and lots of cars with lesser seats are out of the running. I can't drive cross country in a 40 mpg car that has a $40 seat. So far, the VW Passat wagon is a contender, but I question its front-seat room.

Have you checked out the prius? They are fairly roomy and can be had at very decent prices. Toyota has a bunch of incentives these days.

The Toyota Highlander hybrid might be good as well.

If all you want to do is get a little better mileage you might want to read posts around here on how to improve mileage on what you have though. You can probably increase you mileage to 20% over EPA with practice and not having to do anything to radical.

At 6'6", a Prius might not work out. I'm 6'1" and sitting pretty much at the limits of front seat adjustability. I've heard that the Civic Hybrid is better in that respect. For a more modest FE gain, the Escape Hybrid/Mariner Hybrid would be worth a look and particularly in the 2WD version if possible.

Hi Rico:

___DebbieKatz husband is like 6'-4" or something and IIRC, he fits in Debbies FEH just great. Not sure what your overall requirements are but the FEH is a heck of a city and decent highway Hybrid. Best Small SUV out there imho ;)

___Good Luck

___Wayne

My son is between 6'6" and 6'7".
He says he fits in a Pontiac Grand Prix very comfortably.

I don't expect the Grand Prix to beat the Saab in fuel economy but I haven't checked the ratings. It might be worth a brief sit-down test.

Oh, hey, how about a Camry Hybrid? Those are worth 40mpg without doing anything too fancy.

Hi Tim:

___Now that is a larger car worthy of a taller individual’s attention. Great idea!

___Good Luck

___Wayne

I keep forgetting about the TCH when these conversations come up. I don't have any idea why, because there are some drivers pulling excellent numbers with them (40-45mpg). Not only that but the GH average is sitting at 37.1mpg right now, which speaks well for the car given that the average GH member just wants to get in and drive without having to adjust the driving habits at all. I think that should be the first thing on the OP's hit list, followed immediately by the FEH. (The HCH and Prius are worth a look just in case.)