Get a 4 Cylinder Accord or Camry. 

A Ford Taurus would be a big mistake.

Agree with everyone else; get either a Camry or Accord. Or if you would still prefer a suv but smaller size get a FWD Rav4 LE which has both hybrid and gasoline only depending on how much you drive.

Crown Vic or Avalon. 

No do not get a Taurus. If you want something along that line a accord or  camry.

Hi all, thanks for talking me off the Ford ledge.  I just saw I could hook up a tow hitch to it to put a bike rack on and it had space.  

Last related question.  I did find a 10 year old Sequoia for under 20k BUT it has 170k miles.  I know what you're probably thinking, but that's worse on fuel than your car.  It is, BUT I have 20k positive equity in my Highlander.  (I'll post about how that happened). 

Is that the better option? I hear Sequoias can last a lifetime and that 170k is not a lot for them.

Sequoias are great trucks but as you mentioned, they are gas hogs. They can last a really long time if well taken care of. Before making the purchase, make sure your mechanic check it. 

I thought you were concerned about the cost of driving the Highlander and that something smaller would work for you. If this is the case then the Sequoia in no way would fulfill what you were initially hoping for. I've had a Sequoia I bought brand new in 2004 and it's still driving great without any problems, but it's basically a big truck and uses a lot of gas, so unless you live somewhere that gas isn't as expensive as for example WA State where I live then you would end up paying a lot for gasoline especially since you said you drive a lot. If you still want to have a suv take a look at the rav4; test drive it and see how you like it. It's a smooth driving car, definitely uses a lot less gasoline than the Sequoia, and you can buy a much newer one at that price (or even a brand new one if you can pay like $6k ish in the difference).

Thank you all.  I had mentioned the Sequoia because they're selling it for cheap which would eliminate my payment but then I saw a photo they sent of the average mpg of 10mpg.  That seems morally wrong lol.  

I will check out the Rav4, though I do like the Rav4 Prime.  I'm in the spot where I want to save money on a gas car BUT I wouldn't mind spending more money for say, Rav4 Prime since it gets you farther and the all electric range is plenty for my daily needs.  However the dealer markup down here (MD) is about 15k over the MSRP which seems like they're trying to scam, or at the very least capitilize on the market.