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 Buy is the car-based Lexus RX 300. Though it lacks a low range in 4WD mode, it's the most carlike to drive and offers all of the versatility of a truck-based model.

Our Recommended choices are all traditional SUVs: the Dodge Durango, which offers optional third-row seating; the best-selling Ford Explorer clone Mercury Mountaineer; the Teutonic Mercedes-Benz M-Class; the utilitarian Nissan Xterra; and the refined but expensive Toyota 4Runner.

If you want a brand-new Jimmy, better get a move on. Unlike Chevy with its related Blazer, GMC won't continue its older midsize SUV in any form after model-year 2001, preferring to concentrate on the upper end of the class with its new-design 4-dr Envoy. GMC is still striving to establish a premium "professional grade" image with trucks that are clearly upscale from equivalent Chevys, and Jimmy just doesn't fit this plan, though the 2002 Envoy does pick up where the like-named Jimmy-based models leave off. Regardless, good deals should be available on any Jimmy, plain or fancy, as sales have been flat for over a year and dealers will want to clear out old-model inventories as fast as possible.