This is by far the hottest market segment right now. Crowded with more than 20 vehicles, midsize SUVs vary in size and type but nearly all seat five adults and offer V6 or V8 engines. Our Best Buys include the Ford Explorer, the Lexus RX 300, and Mercedes-Benz M-Class. Explorer and M-Class are more traditional SUVs with full off-road capability and V6 and V8 engines. RX 300 is a car-based SUV that lacks a low range in 4WD mode, but is the most carlike to drive.
Our Recommended choices are all traditional SUVs: the Dodge Durango, which offers optional third-row seating; the slightly more expensive Explorer clone Mercury Mountaineer; the utilitarian Nissan Xterra; and the refined but expensive Toyota 4Runner.
If you are on a Budget take a look at the old standby Jeep Cherokee. It is cruder than the rest but offers go-anywhere ability, utility, and a low price.

The Discovery was updated to its current "Series II" form just two years ago. A fully redesigned replacement, including a longer-wheelbase version, had been confirmed for calendar-year 2002, but might well be delayed by Ford's purchase of Land Rover last March.
BMW bought Rover Group in 1994 for $1.3 billion, mainly to gain access to Land Rover's well regarded 4-wheel drive technology. But the British company's car business remained a consistent money-loser, and sales continued dwindling despite BMW's pumping in at least $5 billion more. That's why BMW decided to sell Land Rover to Ford (for $2.8 billion) and Rover Cars to London-based venture capitalists Alchemy Partners, which has formed the MG Car Company in hopes of salvaging something from that operation. Ironically, Land Rover has been profitable in recent years.
Ford has promised the same hands-off approach to Land Rover that it has shown with its other British possessions, Aston Martin and Jaguar. Ford has also stated its intention to "leverage" the Land Rover brand just as much as Jaguar. What this will mean for Discovery is unclear, especially as the next model was being planned around a unibody structure and many components of BMW's X5 "sport activity vehicle". One thing sure: Ford will find ways to reduce production costs in its now-broad stable of SUVs, Discovery included.
In the U.S., Ford is expected to preserve Land Rover's small dealer network, but sales, marketing and distribution will move to Southern California as part of the Premier Automotive Group, the recently formed umbrella division for Ford's upscale makes, which also include Lincoln and Volvo. Eventually, Ford says, some Land Rover dealers could be combined with Jaguar stores, though the two brands would not be sold side-by-side. Land Rover will definitely play the role of in-house 4-wheel-drive expert at Ford.
Meantime, Ford apparently intends to proceed with U.S. sale of Land Rover's compact Freelander SUV, introduced to Europe and the UK about three years ago. Under BMW, Freelander had been set for a 2001 model debut, but it's now unlikely to appear here before 2003, judging by recent Ford statements. Numerous quality problems at home and reengineering for U.S. safety and emissions standards caused BMW to postpone the original 2000-model launch date. As equipped for the U.S., Freelander is a 4-door wagon (a 2-door semi-convertible is also sold overseas) with on-demand 4-wheel drive, separate low-range gearing, a 2.8-liter Rover-designed V6 engine, and the Hill Descent Control now used in Discovery and BMW's X5. Some sources indicate a standard 5-speed automatic transmission as well.
Though Ford has its own compact SUV in the new Escape, it apparently views Freelander as necessary to achieve the aforementioned "leverage"--i.e., higher profits--for Land Rover. A "Mark 2" Freelander is reportedly now on the drawing boards for introduction around 2005, but that project could well be scrapped in favor of a new design based on Ford components.