Swank Force One wrote: The XJ only has 33 cubic, 69 if the rear seat is folded down.
Missed this earlier. Unless I specified otherwise, all the numbers in this thread are with the seats down. XJ has a ton more space than the Patriot, despite being smaller.
Watching the commercials during the Patriots-Ravens game, Kia had a minivan commercial over and over. Nice interior, but when they had a shot of a guy throwing two duffle bags in, the 3rd row seat was folded down. Next shot showed all three rows, but it looked like very minimal space. Seems like many vehicles give you the option of people or cargo, but not both at the same time. I rented a Kia Soul and it had a tiny trunk with the rear seats up.
All of this makes me miss my Volvo 245 even more. 76 ft^3 with the seats folded, 6+' of flat load floor, and plenty of room in the 5-seater configuration behind the seats.
Won't someone make a modern 245??
Too bad they don't make a newer 1990 Dodge Caravan Turbo/5spd because that is basically what you're looking for. It is amazing. Just old. 
How about Vibe GT/Matrix XRS? Smallish inside, probably no worse than a Patriot but MUCH more dynamically capable out of the box and have ~8k redline and 6spd manual.
I actually like the Honda Element suggestion earlier. It's not going to kick ass on MPG or handling as-delivered but it can be modded up in both senses and it does have a big cargo area and can be fun to drive in certain ways.
Mazda5 stick?
This is tough one. 
A 1990 Turbo Caravan isn't that out of the question.... but they are far from common, and unique enough beasts that I probably wouldn't want to deal with one.
Vibe fails hard when it comes to space. Again, significantly less than the Fit. Weird.
The fallback is still another Saturn Wagon. Dirt cheap, easy to work on, and no different than what I drive now, except the Wagon part. Only issue is finding a 1st gen.
I do like the Element. Not exactly what I was looking for - they are TALL, but they are interesting do-it all utility boxes. They pop up from time to time on CL. I should keep my eyes open for a cheap one.
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