Though this segment has cooled somewhat with the rise in fuel prices, it's still one of the hottest. Our Best Buys include the Chevrolet Tahoe, Ford Expedition, and GMC Yukon. We love the size, comfort, and power of these big SUVs. The GM models get the nod in overall ratings, but shop and compare both before you buy.

For a few more bucks you can get the Recommended Toyota Land Cruiser. Its high price is the only thing holding back this refined and drivable SUV.

Demand for top-tier SUVs remains fairly strong despite the current economic downturn, but Range Rover lost steam in calendar 2000 as sales sagged 15.5 percent to just under 6300 for the entire U.S. Likely factors are increased class competition and a basic design that's seen little change since inaugural 1995.

Ford Motor Company bought Land Rover in March 2000 and, with it, a new-generation Range Rover designed by former owner BMW to share key components with the German company's American-made X5 SUV. Under terms of the sale, the new-design RR passes to Ford pretty much as BMW had finished it, and is thus still scheduled for a U.S. launch in early to mid-2002 as an '03 entry.

According to informants and spy photos on both sides of the Atlantic, the new Range Rovers will look much like the outgoing "Mark II" models, but "retro" elements like round headlights provide visual links to the original RRs sold here in 1987-94. Dimensions are said to be little changed. Unlike the unibody X5, the next Range Rover reportedly stays with an aluminum-panelled body and separate ladder-type steel frame. However, solid axles give way to an all-independent suspension borrowed from X5, including standard self-levelling rear air springs.

Powertrains are also BMW, with a few twists. For example, the standard permanent 4-wheel drive switches to a modified X5 system with shift-on-the-fly low-range gearing and automatic locking differentials, features not offered for the BMW but which should improve the RR's legendary off-road prowess. Engines will comprise X5's 4.4-liter V8 and the new 5.6-liter V12 being introduced with BMW's redesigned 2002 7-Series sedans. X5's 3.0-liter six may also be available if it doesn't prove too weak for the Range Rover's heft, which should remain considerable. The only transmission will be a BMW-sourced 5-speed automatic. In time, Ford will substitute engines from its own high-end brands. The most likely candidates are said to be Jaguar's regular and supercharged V8s and a 450-hp 6.0-liter V12 from Aston Martin, another of Ford's British subsidiaries.

Range Rover is already one of the priciest SUVs, and the new one may well be the costliest SUV ever, as BMW apparently intended it to be the Rolls-Royce of the field. Ford may have different ideas, of course, but we'd expect prices well above current levels, with the V8 model starting around $70,000 and the V12 version at around $80,000. Obviously, Land Rover's new flagship won't be for everyone, but the few who can afford it will reportedly be offered a slew of semi-custom interior trim options, enough for a buyer to create a virtually one-of-a-kind vehicle.