: Doug,
: The span is my biggest concern, the lifting is mostly hard on my
: ego. It is actually less than your Elantra, about 21". I
: wonder if Subaru is feeling some liability from marketing their
: cars as kayak carriers so they made an intentional design change
: to get out of the kayak transport business. On a practical note
: they made a rack that has only one fixed position and the
: position span they selected works well for skiis and bikes which
: is probably their bigger customer base compared to boats. It
: also allowed them to do the nifty integration with the side rail
: that reduces overhead noise which would cater to their biggest
: customer base which are the people that don't have outdoor
: hobbies but like to pretend like they do.
: Scott

I'll admit - sight-unseen (based solely on the negativity on that other site), I've discounted the Outback as a good kayak carrier. (Not that I'm actually in the market for a new vehicle - I'd definitely look at it, but I'd be looking FOR it's flaws.)

Other vehicles that I've liked are the long roof vehicles - the little station-wagon types of cars. However, even those - you need to check the rack systems. I saw something (I'm not 100% which - it was a boxy little thing, I'm thinking the Scion or the Honda Element) - no matter, it had an extremely short roof rack span. I was actually kind of shocked - with all of that wonderful roof, it wasn't completely under utilized.

Good luck! Again, this is all 2nd-hand and not my own research.

-Doug