Consumer Guide® Automotive places each vehicle into one of 17 classes based on size, price, and market position. Among utility vehicles, Compact SUVs are the least costly and offer the best fuel economy. Most utilize a car-type chassis and are not designed for heavy-duty, off-road use. Nearly all are five-passenger vehicles.

Our Best Buys include the Ford Escape, Honda CR-V, Mazda Tribute, and the Mercury Mariner. Our Recommended picks are the Honda Element, Hyundai Tucson, Jeep Liberty, and Subaru Forester.

British reports have a redesigned Freelander arriving in late 2006 for local consumption. The U.S. should see it early in calendar '07. The 2-dr semi-convertible will be dropped. The 4-dr wagon is said to wear chunkier, modernized styling over a new unibody platform shared with Volvo's upcoming XC50 "soft-roader." Land Rover and Volvo are part of Ford Motor Company's Premier Automotive Group, and both new models were developed for Ford Europe's "EU CD" family. Word is that Freelander will keep standard all-wheel drive without low-range gearing, but may add an optional limited-slip rear differential. Also for off-road traction is a special version of Land Rover's new Terrain Response system to integrate operation of center differential, traction control and Hill Descent Control. The redesign allows using a variety of engines from within the Ford empire, but a new Ford-sourced 3.5-liter V6 will likely be the sole choice for America. A mandatory 6-speed automatic transmission is highly probable too. Look for interiors to be slightly roomier and trimmed in higher-quality materials. The latter, plus a few more standard features, should help justify prices that should be quite a bit higher due to the dollar's weakness against the pound.