Car Dilemma's

We are thinking of buying a new vehicle. We've been thinking on this for several years but just can't seem to decide what it is we need. We like our current vehicles... our pathfinder is good for 4wd but it only seats 5 and really only 2 adults and 3 kids as 3 adults and 2 kids is squishy. Throw the dog in and you can't fit anything else. It is good on gas for an SUV but it is no hybrid. The jetta is good on gas, its comfortable and it is a nice drive but as the kids get older we find the jetta to be squishy. It is fine for me for work and it is fine for driving around town but I wouldn't want to do a long trip in it. And you can't fit the dog in it. Technically you can fold down the seats and put the dog in but then he has his head up at the front seat panting in my ear and I worry about him scratching at the leather. And with the seats down he is crawling around in my trunk space so really with the dog in nothing else can go in .

So what do we want? We want something that seats 6 or more, preferably 7. We want something that the dog can go in, that can fit ski's, kayaks and camping gear. We want something that is comfortable, safe and secure. We NEED AWD or 4WD as it is essential for us to get to various family members' houses, for skiing situations and for some of our camping and hiking that we do as DH has difficulty camping in manicured RV park campgrounds. (Growing up in the north means that you camp in places where there is no one else and the first time I took him to a regular campground he just stared at the RV next to us with pull outs, its fabric couches and satellite TV with a look of horror.) So far, manageable... but we also require fuel efficiency for obvious reasons such as gas prices but also because I drive as far as West Vancouver to Langley in the span of one day. In this day and age, a gas pig is simply not an option.

The caveat is we want it all but we are willing to find our features across 2 vehicles. In other words a gas efficient, 7 seater suv + a hybrid for commuting car combo would do the trick.

Here is what we have tried out so far:
-Honda Pilot - thought it was a hybrid, but was mistaken
-Honda Ridgeline - what an awesome truck! Seriously love it!! Doesn't solve any of our problems
- While there I found myself in a honda odyssey. Somewhere someone who knows me is laughing because I am not a huge mini van person. No offence to anyone who has one, I get the practicality, I've ridden in many and found them very enjoyable, many are EXTREMELY nice... I just never saw myself in one. Its comfty, its spacious, its not 4wd, its okay on gas but not spectacular when compared to a hybrid but better than my pathfinder
-Toyota sienna
-Toyota Highlander - I was all revved for this, thought I knew I wanted to buy it, didn't like it as much in person. sigh.
-Mazda Cx9
-went to drive a yukon hybrid but apparently they aren't in canada yet. May go to US to try one out
-found myself in a Large Diesel pick up truck that sat 6 with room for the dog, a camper and could seriously run over a small car. DH was particularly excited that he talked me into a pick up truck and I found myself cruising coquitlam enjoying feeling powerful. Being diesel, DH was convinced it would be efficient. Lesson learned, diesel may be better than gas but a gas pig is still a gas pig. We are not getting a pick up truck... at least not that one. There is a hybrid pick up coming in a year or so...
-And then the dream of all dreams... we stopped in at the Volvo lot. And there it was... my dream car, the xc 70 (cross country wagon). It only seats 5, its no hybrid but ohhhh it is ever so dreamy. We drove it. I love it. DH loves it. Crazy
-We also drove the xc90 which is a 7 seater suv that is fairly good on gas.

Next we are going to try some subaru's. There are several other hybrid's out there to try as well. At this point we have decided we need to sit down and decide on some sort of idea of what we are going to do. Do we sell one vehicle? Do we sell both? Sigh.