I used to have an element. The utility was great. But man were those suicide rear doors a PITA!
Plus they were a moving brick... not the most aerodynamic/fuel efficient.
And boring to drive like almost any japanese car other than an infinity g37 or something like that.

Sounds like the OP wants a fun to drive, great handling, utilitarian vehicle with decent power and gas mileage. Sounds like a german car to me. Bmw wagon, passat wagon (although we did not have good luck with our passat), Audi A3 or A4 Avant or A4 Allroad.... This is our 4th Audi and we've had countless new cars. There's a reason we keep coming back to them.

If I couldn't afford the A3, I'd probably have the Mazda Speed 3. I keep hearing awesome things about that car. My sister-in-laws mazda is pretty junky but it's about 6 years old and I hear they've gotten pretty good.