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Step 1
Determine how many passengers your vehicle realistically needs to carry most of the time. Some people buy larger vehicles than they really need for those rare times when additional people will ride along, such as during annual vacations.
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Step 2
Examine special needs. Do you need to tow a boat or trailer? Do you carry heavy or bulky loads? Have a family with four or more children? Sometimes downsizing isn’t easy if you really do need a workhorse vehicle.
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Step 3
Stick with the base engine unless there’s an overriding reason to do otherwise. While optioning up to a larger V-6 or V-8 may bring more power, they cost more to buy and almost always consume more fuel than the standard engine that comes with any model vehicle.
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Step 4
If you’re sold on a particular model like an SUV, think about downsizing to a smaller class of that vehicle. A compact SUV may be just as functional for you as a larger, less fuel efficient full-size SUV.
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Step 5
If you need greater carrying capacity for skiing, snowboarding, bicycling, or just carrying along an abundance of gear during outings, consider a rack or carrier. Specialty carriers and racks allow hauling along lots of gear outside that you really don’t have to stuff inside a vehicle.
