We've been down this road before and are ready to consider yet again. We currently are a one van family with two kiddos (6 and 9), I bike most places (and so do the kids), my wife drives the van to work and we use the van for hauling kids to events, family vacations, trips to the mountain bike trailhead, camping, canoeing, etc.
For years I've expounded on the virtues of our 02 Honda Odyssey, but as our kids have gotten older and we aren't hauling as much baby gear the terrible gas mileage has been gnawing away at me. My wife and I have started looking for a car that doesn't cost us as much in gasoline and will be as reliable, still carry a decent amount of gear for camping/biking/etc, and can be outfitted for racks or whatever is necessary for the bigger trips. Ideally it would feel a little more manueverable.
My current list, complete with the KBB on the "Good" version of this vehicle is below. Right now the prius is a clear leader (unless we just stick with the van) mostly because of the annual savings on gasoline. A quick search of the forums shows many have agonized over this decision, anyone done something similar recently and have input on my list below (upfront cost is estimated price minus sale of odyssey)? Is it missing a car? Is there a clear feature I'm forgetting? Is it not worth the pain and we should stick with the odyssey? Punch my face.
Vehicle Used KBB "Upfront Cost" Annual gas
Odyssey 2002 $2,127.00 $1,718.75
Forester 2009 $6,206.00 $4,079.00 $1,375.00
Honda Fit 2009 $4,972.00 $2,845.00 $982.14
Prius 2009 $5,970.00 $3,843.00 $572.92
Pontic Vibe 09 $4,821.00 $2,694.00 $1,057.69
Toyota Matrix09 $4,556.00 $2,429.00 $1,057.69