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

Suzuki Grand Vitara and Toyota Rav4 are new or significantly redesigned.

A redesigned 2007 CR-V debuts this fall. As expected, it's based on Honda's latest Civic compact-car platform. So is Acura division's new RDX crossover. Judging by that upscale sister, CR-V grows a little in wheelbase and width, but stands a bit lower and may lose a bit in overall body length. Spy photos show it looking bolder than the present CR-V, less aggressive than RDX. Taillights again flank the rear window, but the rear cargo door with outside spare tire gives way to a conventional liftgate and interior tire storage. The existing 2.4-liter 4-cyl engine should return with about 10 more horsepower. Full-time all-wheel drive may be an option on some models to "as you need it" AWD. A front-drive price-leader will continue. By 2009, CR-V may offer a "clean diesel" engine option, likely a 4-cyl, in line with Honda's recently announced plans to sell diesel vehicles in the U.S. by decade's end. We'll have full details soon, so keep checking back with us for more on the new CR-V.