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.

For Nissan dealers, Xterra went from inside-the-park homer to in-the-bleachers grand slam, calendar-2000 sales soaring 85.2 percent to near 88,600. But contrary to conventional wisdom, Nissan is messing with success. Indeed, it's already announced a number of changes for the 2002 Xterras, which go on sale this August. Most of the alterations are shared with the updated 2001 versions of the related Frontier pickup--notably a "tougher" front-end look and the option of a supercharged 210-hp version of the regular 3.3-liter V6. Other news for '02 involves a redesigned dashboard and console (also shared with Frontiers), a premium audio system with high-power Rockford Fosgate amplifiers, and an off-road-oriented Enthusiast Package including limited-slip differential and, on 4x4s, manual-lock front hubs.

On deck is a next-generation Xterra that should appear for 2003 or '04 either along with or slightly behind redesigned Frontiers. One informed source says the new model will show marked reductions in noise, vibration and harshness without losing its "real truck" character or high Gen-X appeal. As with Frontier, Nissan is keeping a tight lid on future Xterra information, but keep checking back with us for the latest rumors and facts as they emerge.