We Took 4 Compact SUVs Off the Grid. The Winner Wasn’t the Fastest.
Key takeaways
- The quickest SUV impressed on pavement, but a desert camping trip revealed what mattered most.
- And enough pluck to pick through 8 a.m. traffic, too?
- Actually, there's a corner of the sprawling population of SUVs that might be, well, just right after all.
Why this matters: an automotive development that could shape industry direction or buying decisions.
The quickest SUV impressed on pavement, but a desert camping trip revealed what mattered most.
[This story originally appeared in the August 2004 issue of Motor Trend with the headline "Gather ‘Round the Campfire."] Looking for a sport/utility small enough to thread through parking lots without nasty scraping sounds, yet big enough to haul everybody off for a camping trip without pressing them into sardines? And enough pluck to pick through 8 a.m. traffic, too? Who do you think you are? Goldilocks?
Actually, there's a corner of the sprawling population of SUVs that might be, well, just right after all. It includes the facelifted 2005 Ford Escape XLT Sport 4WD with a V-6, a steady player that's just what its exterior design purports it to be—a steel and glass incarnation of a sprightly mountain goat; the aging but value-intense Hyundai Santa Fe 4WD GLS, rejuvenated by a new 3.5-liter V-6; and Saturn's VUE AWD Red Line, itself renewed via a new-for-2004 trim and suspension package, plus a serious-business 250-horsepower, 3.5-liter Honda-built V-6.