Five Hot SUVs

Are you ready to get behind the wheel of a new SUV? If you would like to know more about what's in store for you before you take a trip to the local dealership, check out Beth Stein's reports. She gets right to the point, giving you an honest review on the newest models available. Here are five hot SUVs for 2003.

2003 Honda Pilot
The word that pops into mind when I think of the new Pilot, Honda’s first ground-up design of a mid-sized sport utility, is ‘wholesome.’ When it comes to crafting sensible, reliable, respectable transportation, Honda’s family values are as solid as they come. This new Pilot epitomizes those values, and therein lies the good news, and the bad. Read more

2003 Hummer H2
Some weeks, you drive little non-descript sedans that defy inspiration. And some weeks, you drive a bright yellow Hummer H2 that elicits a veritable treasure trove of pithy remarks from everyone who encounters it: “This thing is bigger than my first house,” “I honestly thought you were one of those mini-school buses coming in here,” and my personal favorite from songwriter Marcus Hummon (whose wife, Rev. Becca Stevens, begged a ride around the block), “Gosh, you know you could invade Kentucky in this…” That was only the beginning. Read more

2003 Mistubishi Outlander
It was one of those weeks when I could never remember what I was driving. ’It’s an uh, um … Outback…no, wait, that’s Subaru. It’s a Mitsubishi, I know that … oh um, it’s an Out…Out…Outlander! Yes, that’s it. Blame it partly on middle age, mostly on having to remember one more compact sport utility vehicle with a big, outdoorsy name. No offense to Mitsubishi, who can hardly be blamed for wanting a piece of this hot compact class. It’s just that the party is getting awfully crowded and latecomers are at a distinct disadvantage against those who have already staked out the best seats. Read more

2003 Pontiac Aztek
“Why is everyone staring at us?” my 12-year-old son asked as we made our way home through afternoon traffic. Understand that stares in traffic are nothing new to us. Driving as many fresh and flashy vehicles as we do, it’s a fairly common occurrence. But here we sat in what, from the inside at least, seemed like just another run-of-the-mill sport utility/minivan thingy, not the kind of ride to draw huge attention. Yet people were gawking like we were piloting the alien mothership. Which, come to think of it, is not altogether inaccurate. “It’s this Pontiac Aztek,” I replied. “Remember. It’s very odd on the outside.” “Oh, yeah” he said undisturbed, “but inside it’s loaded with cool stuff.” And that, in a nutshell, is the 2003 Aztek: Odd looking outside, cool stuff inside. Read more

2003 Subaru Forester
I just love how carmakers define ‘completely redesigned.’ It ranges anywhere from a total, ground up renaissance to a new grille. The 2003 Subaru Forester’s ‘complete redesign’ lands somewhere in the middle. Crafted a few years back to give Subaru a 'sport utility' (as if Subaru wasn’t already a lineup of all-wheel-drive compacts), the first-generation Forester was hugely successful. Even so, Subaru couldn’t afford to hang around while the Honda, Toyota and others trotted out fresh competition. The Forester needed news sooner than later. Read more

Beth Stein is a life-long car buff and free-lance journalist living in Nashville. She has reviewed new vehicles in print for 12 years as a weekly columnist for Nashville’s daily newspapers and on television for Road Test Magazine and Motor Trend Television. Currently, her reviews appear nationally on Car And Driver Television.