That, my friends is love at first drive.  It’s the kind of love that can only come from a deep emotional connection to the automobile of your dreams and it’s a feeling that I want to highlight from time to time here on the Honk Blog.

I came across a review today from Lupara and caught myself grinning from ear to ear as she shared stories about her Mercury Milan Hybrid.  Any time you see “WOW!” or “I LOVE IT!” in big capital letters, you know you’ve found someone who is head over heels for their car.

Lupara claims that the fuel economy is even better than her old Vespa scooter and loves that the clever navigation system can pull and map an address that’s stored on her phone.

Besides the enormous enthusiasm for the car, what I liked most about Lupara’s review is that she explained features in the context of her own life.  Her kids, for example, love that they can stay in the car and watch DVDs on the nav-system screen while they wait for her to run errands.  That’s a pretty handy feature if you have children of you own.

Many thanks, Lupara, for sharing such a great review with the Honk community.  Here’s wishing you many happy miles!

To read Lupara’s full review, click here.

The Honk search tool was built to handle situations exactly like this so I fired up my browser to sort through family-oriented crossover vehicles with high safety ratings, ample seating, and great fuel economy:

2010 Toyota Highlander Hybrid

Matt and Natalie have their own organic farm, complete with fresh vegetables, chickens, and a cow (yes, really – they own a cow).  It goes without saying that ‘green’ is at the top of their list.

The Toyota Highlander is one of the few family-friendly hybrids out there and I think that my brother and his family will appreciate both the great mileage and the roomy cabin.

2011 Kia Sorento

Matt and Natalie have already told me that third-row seats are a must-have.

The great-looking Kia Sorento just arrived and it’s got an optional third row of seats that will be great for the occasional carpool or visit from Uncle Josh.  It’s also easy on the wallet and it gets great fuel economy (up to 29 mpg on the highway).

2010 Toyota RAV4

In addition to two adults and two kids, this family also has two canines – Rio and Bella – to cart around.  The Toyota RAV4 scored well with people who own pets and I discovered that there’s a wide range of aftermarket pet accessories (cages, harnesses, etc) built especially for the RAV4.

2010 Mitsubishi Outlander

Matt and Natalie live in snowy Pennsylvania and they’re going to need all-wheel drive and plenty of ground clearance to handle the next Snowpocalypse.  The Mitsubishi Outlander has the most ground clearance of all the vehicles on this list and it can be had with the all-important third row.  Winter, you’ve met your match.

How now brown cow?

So what car should you drive if you’ve got two kids, two dogs, and a cow?  My vote goes to the Toyota Highlander Hybrid but we’ll have to see what Matt and Natalie pick for their family… Rumor has it that my 3-year old niece is in love with the sock monkey from the Kia Sorento TV commercial.

Even if that coveted car was from Ford, GM, Volkswagen or another brand that sells in the US – the likelihood of of being able to buy that car stateside is slim.

I was reminded of this frustrating situation by the introduction of the 2012 Ford Focus Wagon.  Long story short: this new wagon is aesthetically appealing, environmentally friendly and has some great features and options.  But…it will NOT be made available in North America.

Ford cites poor historical sales of wagons as the reason why this Focus variant will avoid our shores but I think that they’re missing a big shift in the way that Americans think about utility.  As with the stock market, past performance is no guarantee of the future and I hope that Ford will reconsider bringing this sleek, utility-laden wagon to the US.  Until then, we’ll have to (ahem) focus our attention on the few wagon choices currently available.

For those of you who are interested in thrifty vehicles with utility, check out these other smart choices at Honk.

Nissan and Renault have announced a partnership in which electric vehicles, like the soon-to-launch Nissan Leaf, will be available for rent at Hertz agencies in the United Sates and Europe.  This partnership is an interesting move for the two automakers because it takes the EV out of the laboratory and allows the public to experience – and judge – these zero emission vehicles in the real world.

On the one hand, the public will now be exposed to the many joys of owning an electric vehicle, like buttery-smooth acceleration and complete lack of emissions from driving.  On the other, Nissan and Renault risk exposing customers to unpleasant “range anxiety” and fear over not being able to find a public charging station.

It’s a double-edged sword for Hertz, too.  The media attention and boost to their green image will be weighed against scary new logistical challenges.  Notably: what happens if a customer runs out of juice and is unable to find a place to charge?

I welcome this move because of its transparency.  Nissan and Renault are, in effect, expressing their confidence in EV technology by making these cars as widely available as possible.  Rather than rely on a handful of early adopters to get the word out, now anyone can take an extended spin and see for themselves.  It’s a bold move, for sure, but I think that it will do far more good than harm.

The Nissan Leaf goes on sale in select markets in late-2010 with wider availability in 2012.  So for all of you EV curious folks planning travel in the coming months, be sure to reserve a Leaf.  Try it out for yourself and let us know what you think.

And even if you’re not an early adopter; you can at least pretend to be one for a few days.