Is a sedan or small SUV a better first car?

My parents both drive sedans, but my cousin as her first car got a Honda CR-V. It made me wonder, as a first car, is it better to get a small SUV or a sedan? I was thinking about getting a Honda myself (or a Subaru) so I wasn't sure if a CR-V or Forester would be a better first car than an Accord or Legacy. Which one would you get?

CR-V is almost not an SUV.

I mean compared to an Escalade a CR-V is tiny.

Anyway I would go with a sedan.

That's what I have now.

I started out with a wagon, but it was not a station wagon. It was a small Subaru.

I would say a civic or accord would be great

First, it would depend on what type of driving I would be doing most - paved or gravel/off-road. Next, I'd consider if I needed the extra cargo room. Then I'd consider fuel economy. If I needed economy and would be driving mostly city, didn't need the extra cargo - a sedan. If I needed cargo and economy - hatch/wagon. If I needed a small rural vehicle - maybe an SUV.

SUV's don't usually make the best first vehicles due to high maintenance and fuel costs.

There isn't much point in buying a small SUV like a CRV or RAV4 unless you needed the cargo space & utility options. However, they are still easy to drive for a beginner driver so you shouldn't be scared of buying one. My issue is maintenance costs and weak points. Honda does not make the best automatic transmissions, for example, and while you should be okay as long as you take great care of it, I'd rather drive an auto Accord over an auto CRV. Honda with a stick shift and I'd have no worries at all. Buying a Forester usually means dealing with the expensive head gasket repair on the 2.5L non turbo. I'd rather look for a Legacy that has a 2.2L under the hood. Such a car will also rival SUV cargo space with the rear seats down and you still get an AWD system.