[elhigh]

I like the Tercel Wagon too, but I don't know that that's what you really want. With one person aboard it's okay, but it's never going to be a speed demon, and not even a speed delinquent when everyone's aboard. Much-vaunted Toyota reliability notwithstanding, the last Tercel Wagon came off the line in what, '88? They weren't wildly common in the first place, and they're just going to get rarer, and same goes for parts.

I checked out a new Yaris yesterday. There was a fair amount of room in the back, and the front looked actually roomy for such a little car. The five-door should have a mountain of space for whatever you need to do if you don't need all the seats.

My personal fave and dream car is the previous-gen Scion xB. I like the compact form factor, the way the body fills the car's footprint right out to the corners and encompasses a gigantic volume inside. The rear footroom is the kind of thing usually not seen outside of limousines, and the car is hugely popular for livery outfits in cities. Tuckable shape, big space: no wonder. Driven conservatively, the xB should easily get into the mid-30s mpg-wise.