Durable, reliable grown-up car

The most efficient AWD CUV we owned is the Buick Encore 1.4T. We were able to see almost 40 mpg at 60 mph. This .idea has only been available since 2013 and already have seen ed used ones with 200,000+ miles. Ours was a lease and was returned, but recently my mother in law bought a 2915 Encore and likes it allot. It has a longer 4 year warranty or 50,000 miles which gets extended if you buy CPO.

Your diesel wish is here also in the 2018 Equinox diesel which also sees almost 40 mpg for $26,000.

https://www.cars.com/vehicledetail/detail/713419687/overview/

The 2018 GMC Terrain will also offer a diesel option.

It looks like you have a good list of cars. The Subaru Crosstrek is a good car, but I don't think it reads "grown up." The interior is not as nice as most compact SUVs and road noise will be a problem. The interior is utilitarian and has a lot of plastic. It should be dog friendly though.

The Honda CR-V is the most practical on your list and is my favorite. Very nice grown up interior especially in the higher trims. It would be a top choice for shuttling clients along with the CX-5.

It might be smart to wait for the diesel CX-5. Mazda has great engine technology and they have never really made a bad engine, so the diesel engine is exciting and should bring much improved MPGs. CX-5 has a beautiful interior, but it isn't as practical as a CR-V and most compact CUVs. Check rear seat room in all these cars before buying.

Consider a Prius. The interior is massive for the exterior size, love it or hate it styling, reliable, fantastic MPGs, decent handling, standard active safety features, and it's comfortable. I own a fully loaded 2016 Prius Four and 2005 Prius, which has almost 250k miles. I see around 58 MPG in my 2016 mostly freeway. You get better in the city. The Prius Prime can get 23 miles of EV range on a charge and switches to regular gas/EV Prius mode after that depletes. The synthetic leather in the Prius is more durable than regular leather. My black and white seats look new without stains after 35k miles. The interior I'd say is professional, albeit a little over the top. I don't have dogs, but people and kids are comfortable in the backseats. Backseats can fold flat for more space for things or dogs. I'd strongly suggest a 2017 with the standard safety features.

The Kia Niro should be on the test drive list. Highway MPGs are anywhere from 52 to 46 MPG. It's an unconventional hybrid with a dual clutch tranny. Looks nice inside and out without the hybrid badging everywhere. I think Kia has a special stain resistant fabric on the lower trims.

Buick Encore would be comfortable for your clients. It is probably not a good car for dogs being so small. Journalists say it doesn't have good driving dynamics. The Encore favors comfort over sporty. The interior was recently updated, but I wouldn't call it luxury. The base engine is gutless. IMO, the CR-V and CX-5 have nicer interiors in the higher trims.

All of the cars I mentioned are reliable, but there isn't much info on the Niro's reliability.

Look, based on what you SAY you want, you want a Camry. And it may be entirely appropriate.

But you need to be more specific about what your profession is. It matters. Who are you trying to impress? Your peers? Your clients? Or yourself?

A Camry may be great for an accountant, but if you are an architect, it simply isn't designy enough. A Civil engineer might need a Jeep Cherokee if he or she does off-roading. But you aren't specific enough about what profession you are in.

He or she actually gave a better decription than most people but they said they wanted a hatch or SUV. No enclosed trunk I guess. The description still is not very detailed though.

Here is a picture of one of two dogs packed in our Buick Encore from a few years ago. You can see they, 70 & 40 lbs, have plenty of space with their dog beds, luggage packed near the back and gifts on the cargo shelf.

https://pasteboard.co/GOETq4q.jpg