My Options

I'm looking at buying a new vehicle in the next 2 weeks, and my price range is roughly $20K-$25K.

I would like to pick up an SUV or wagon of some sort, and I'm interested in the following areas (in no particular order):

1.) Traction - Prefferably something with AWD or 4WD.
2.) Stability Control
3.) Fuel Economy - Really can't afford a gas hog, so want something with a decent mpg rating.
4.) Safety - Don't want a death-trap, obviously.
5.) Cargo room - I don't haul a lot of stuff, but it's nice to have some room when I do.

Looks are important, but ultimately, I just want a reliable vehicle for my daily driver which can hack it up in the mountains just as well as it can cruise on the freeway.

Vote in the poll of the options I'm looking at, add a new suggestion, or give me your opinion of the vehicles I've selected...

if you didn't need it for another couple months i would say the dodge cailber srt4 300 hp with 260 ft of torque. and awd.

i say the jeep compass

I say one of the subaru's. Probably the best AWD system of the bunch you have listed, also probably has the best fuel economy and decent cargo room comparable to mid size SUVs. Honda CR-V or the RAV4 comes in second, all the other ones are more SUV like if you ask me and won't give ya everything you want in a vehicle.

If you're going to be going off-road I would go with the Liberty, the Xterra, or the FJ Cruiser. I haven't really read much about them in quite a while so I don't know how they stack up against eachother but all three have a good tradition for off-roading. If you're not going to be off-road I'd go with the Honda or the Toyota just because of the reliability factor, more than likely you'll never have any serious problems with either of them until they get quite old.

Personally, I'd go with the nissan. I bought one 3 weeks ago, love it. Stable on the highway, not too bad on gas (22mpg) and its comfortable, holds all our scuba crap and can pull the boat as well. I also looked at the jeep liberty and compass, didn't like them as they were not as roomy inside. Drove a toyota rav-4, hated it, tried the highlander and it was too much money for what I wanted. Chevy trailblazer was high priced as well, toyota fj40 is also high priced. Good luck.

Even though i like the look of that new nissan, i would go for the fj cruiser. It has 4wd, it is good on the road, can be taken off road, has 5 star safety rating, is good on gas, and looks pretty cool.