Consumer Guide® Automotive places each vehicle into one of 18 classes based on size, price, and market position. Larger than Compact SUVs, Midsize SUVs offer a mix of car- and truck-type construction, V6 and V8 power, and up to eight-passenger seating. This class also includes crossover vehicles.

Our Best Buy choice is the Honda Pilot. Our Recommended picks are the Ford Explorer, Ford Freestyle, Mazda CX-7, Nissan Murano, and Toyota Highlander.

New or significantly redesigned models include the Dodge Nitro, Ford Edge, GMC Acadia, Hyundai Santa Fe, Mazda CX-7, Mazda CX-9, Saturn Outlook, Suzuki XL-7, and Toyota FJ Cruiser.

With many buyers still jittery about gas prices and moving away from large SUVs, the baby Hummer now far outsells the bigger, thirstier H2s. The '07 H3 had been rumored for an optional 5.3 V8 or turbocharged 5-cyl engine, but neither has shown up yet. Maybe next year? A more-definite 2008 prospect is the addition of a crew-cab pickup a la the H2 SUT. Spy photos of test prototypes suggest it will be much longer than the H3 wagon, with an extended wheelbase and a bed length of maybe 6 ft or so. The bed is likely to have a side access door to ease cargo shifting. The spare tire reportedly shifts from the tailgate to beneath the bed, where Hummer might find room for a storage compartment too. Keep checking back with us for further details.

A smaller, Jeep Wrangler-size "H4" is still being rumored as a 2009 possibility. Trouble is, GM has no suitable foundation for such a vehicle, and accountants would surely overrule a one-model platform. So unless engineers can work out a cost-effective solution, the H4 hasn't much chance.