SUV still a worthwhile Endeavor

Even the Family Guy can have too many cars at one time. The benefit comes when one of our own vehicles has to go in for some kind of service.

This time around we had a couple extra on the front street and my wife — a devout SUV freak — was more than willing to help me out with her point of view.

I handed her the keys to the Mitsubishi Endeavor and I could tell she was excited to drive it (even the minivan mom can get bored of the same old family hauler) or maybe she felt she could help me out with a little more input in the review (other than "nice heated seats" and "lots of room for the kids").

Search for a used Mitsubishi Endeavor

The '09 Endeavor is unchanged from the '08 model. The tester came in all black with wind deflectors on the hood and side windows, plus running boards and roof rails. The entire look is pretty sharp, but then what doesn't all in black?

Packed under the hood is a 3.8-litre V6 that puts out decent horsepower at 225 and a gutsy 255 lb.-ft. of torque. The acceleration is quick and responsive (a real surprise considering the size of the Endeavor) - I never heard a complaint from my wife who likes to go when she steps on the gas.

The all-wheel-drive combined with stability control and traction control does the trick in slippery conditions, letting Endeavor find its way through snow with ease. I could only imagine how much better it would have been, had it been equipped with winter rubber.

The interior layout and design is straight forward and while the looks aren't trend setting by any means, there are lots of cubbies to stash items and nice creature comforts like heated front seats.

The dash is curvy and chunky with large buttons and dials on the centre stack, with the navigation screen sitting atop everything. I really liked the large leather-wrapped shifter on the centre console, because it reminded me of a baseball (I'm longing for spring training already …).

There is plenty of room in the cabin for the entire family. The seats are comfy and trimmed in leather they're not too bad at all.

The glass is large and provides a good view of the surroundings, but both my wife and I agreed the small glass in the A-pillar made for an awkward view toward the front corners. The kids had no problems looking out the second-row windows and the seats gave them a nice high perch to the outside world.

The cargo space is huge, thanks in part to no third-row seating (60/40 split rear seats are available in the Limited trim level), and it came equipped with a rubber mat that will save the carpet from wet or muddy gear..

My wife got a kick out of driving around in this SUV and even though it's not a cutting edge vehicle, she enjoyed the ride, the power, the room and felt right at home in the driver's seat.

Even if the world is looking toward smaller vehicles there are still wives out there that would take an SUV any day. Mine happens to be one of them.