The Honda was already very old when it was purchased from my mom's long-time mechanic. Its paint was faded, and it had abut 75,000 miles on it, but it was my then 15-year-old brother's first car. It smelled like cigarette smoke, it was short, and it was a two-door. It tended to overheat if the weather was too warm or it sat in drive for too long. It had no heating, air conditioning, leg room, or radio. When we replaced the radio, the speakers were crackly and low quality. It had a sunroof that was too dirty to see out of and it didn't open. There were only two windows to roll down (except one off them was off track and couldn't roll down). Its gas mileage was incredible, and it lasted for eight years through three different teenagers learning to drive. Its engine was unnecessarily loud, but it got up to speed surprisingly quick. It was easy to handle with good power steering and reliable cruise control for long trips. Apart from the fading paint, its exterior was in really good shape, and the interior seats and dash box weren't too shabby. Overall, it was a good reliable car that lasted our family a very long time, and I enjoyed driving it.

First off, this is an economy car. It is plastic and cloth inside, but the bulletproof drivetrain and amazingly usable interior set it far above similar SUVs. Many don’t realize, this first generation is almost entirely a Honda Civic drivetrain, raised 5 inches off the ground.