I had a jeep cherokee before this one and I she a tear or two (literally) when I traded that in for my Contour
What?
Suv's are great if you need to go off road (Hunting, fishing, whatever -good choice on a Jeep), but on the road they suck. Bad gas mileage, horrible body roll, etc. Some are made with a ton of HP and may beat a Contour in a straight line but I love the connection with the road you get in a tour in the twisties.
For my purposes, daily driver + weekend trips I couldn't be happier with my SVT...