Our most frequent driver of the Rodeo, managing editor Grant Whitmore, was thrilled when he relocated to California, leaving the Rodeo far behind in Colorado. The ungainliness of the sport-ute had been bugging him for the last several months, and he couldn't wait to get to the Golden State where convertibles, not trucks, are the rule. What he noticed, however, is that not having a sport-ute in the family means that it is more difficult to travel with pets. The cargo area in the Rodeo, which is partitioned by a pet barrier that we obtained from Performance Products in February of this year, is a great way to transport pets around town and across the state. No other vehicle in our long-term fleet has a cargo area with a pet barrier, so Whitmore has been spending a lot of time and quarters at the car wash vacuuming pet hair from the seats of long-term test cars.

Feature editor Ingrid Palmer spent a good portion of August with the Rodeo. What first impressed Ingrid was the Rodeo's low step-in height. Because of her short stature, Ingrid is used to having to hoist and fling herself into towering sport-utility vehicles. During her first drive of the Rodeo, she grabbed the steering wheel, gave a mighty pull, and heaved herself into the driver's seat. She scraped her head on the doorframe in the process. Relating this story to a coworker later, she claimed that she had never before hit her head when climbing into a sport-utility, and while that experience may not be pleasant, it confirms that the Rodeo may be easier for the vertically challenged to scramble into.

The Rodeo's fuel efficiency has improved for the third straight month, posting 21.8 and 14.7 mpg as the best and worst figures. The long break-in time appears to be over, and the Rodeo is finally starting to get the fuel economy numbers that were posted on the window sticker when we bought it.

Alas, all is not well in Rodeo-land; the driver's door is starting to squeak like a wounded field mouse when opened and closed. We are going to spray some WD40 on the hinges to see if it helps. If it doesn't, we're going to have it looked at by the service department on our next scheduled maintenance visit.

Best Fuel Economy: 21.8 mpg
Worst Fuel Economy: 14.7 mpg
Maintenance Costs: $0
Problems: Driver's door is squeaking when opened and closed.