Thinking of getting a small SUV- any recommendations? (Page 2)

Another vote for the Rav4.  My partner is 6'4" and he fits just fine.  I opted to go with a base model in my 2010 and I upgraded to heated leather seats.  This is the second one I've owned and I love it.  Back seats fold flat and I can fit 2 bikes plus gear bags between no problem.

I have a standard Jeep Compass (not 4x4). It gets me to where I want to go, it has lots of room in the back if I fold down the seats (I can fit my bike back there with the wheel on), it's rugged on the inside (I don't fret about getting it dirty - it's easy to clean), it's not too tall so I can get by bike on top easliy. BUT, it's not comfortable.  (Not that Jeeps are traditionally comfy, but the cool factor of the wrangler makes up for the uncomfy-ness.  The Compass isn't cool enough to make it worth it, IMO) I will drive it until it wears out, but I wouldn't buy another one.

Happy shopping - fun!

Thank you again everyone!  We test drove a bunch and today I bought a car that was totally not even on my list. 

I ended up getting a VW sportwagen TDI! 

It is fun to drive (a lot of the small SUVs seemed a little underpowered.)

It also gets crazy fuel economy and I can reach the roof to put a bike on.

I am so excited for my heated seats and bluetooth as well!

We'll see how it does in the snow as I have not had anything without AWD or 4WD in over a decade. 

It seems like the perfect road trip car!

Good luck. VW's in my experience are either the most reliable car you can get or a total piece of junk. I've found that everyone I know who had one ether hates it or loves it. My wife's last car was an 01 Jetta. It was a piece of junk. I bought it used and within 4 days, the window roller broke. This happened two more times while we owned it. In addition I had a front spring snap in half (the mechanic said he'd never even heard of that happening), O2 sensors went out several times, coolant hoses broke twice, and shift cable snapped all in my 5 years/50k miles of ownership. A tune up costs $500. Personally I would never buy another VW after that. But then I know someone who had a Jetta that never broke down on him for 200k miles. 

When I get rid of my car that's what I'll be looking at.

Another super cheap option is a smaller car like a Nissan Versa hatchback (of Honda Fit/similar). I got one for les than $14k brand new and my dad who is 6'6 can sit in the backseat relatively comfortably even with a car seat wedged in the middle.

My next door neighbor has a RAV4 and it seems to be a nice car.  If I was in the market for a small SUV I'd certainly consider it.

My brother has a Subaru Outlback which might make a nice tri car if you didn't mind using a roof rack for your bike.

Personally, I've kind of gone the other way in the last year.  I've had a Chevy Blazer for several years that serves as my triathlon car.  My bike and other gear fit in the back with no problems.  Last summer I traded my Corvette in for a Cadillac SRX, partially to appease my wife who didn't like driving the Vette when I was using the Blazer.

Mark