2005 Jeep Liberty CRD 4WD Diesel Vs. 2005 Toyota RAV4 L Internal Combustion Vs. 2005 Ford Escape Hybrid AWD Hybrid Performance, Interior

Off the line, the Liberty offers wheelspin launches, even with four-wheel drive engaged. From there on, the power and torque diminish, with the wind going out of the turbodiesel's sails by 60 mph.

The RAV4 trumped its competitors by at least 2.1 seconds to 60 mph and by about 1.5 in the quarter. Compared with the Liberty and Escape, the RAV4 is in the hunt for passenger and cargo space, despite being about eight inches shorter in overall length and four inches shorter in height than the Liberty or Escape.

As everyday drivers, there's nothing new about the Escape or Liberty, let alone the RAV4. While its overall quality is good, the Toyota interior suffers from hard, cheap plastics. It's a somewhat buzzy, but maneuverable trucklet. The Liberty has the most upright stance, and you sit tall in the chassis at the expense of headroom. The dashboard is shallow and close to the cowl for interior space, so there's not much room for the cubbies and drawers necessary for a modern life full of cell-phones, parking cards, and fast food. The Escape has lived with a low-rent interior upgrade of 2005. It's still not an Escape high-point, even when equipped with leather-faced seats (the Liberty and RAV4 have cloth). The Escape is the compromise SUV, feeling tall like the Liberty, but nearly as carlike in ride and handling as the RAV4.

Which one's best? Each stands out, though not exceptionally, with special qualities and for different reasons. The Liberty feels at home off-road, and, if you're part of the group who does serious 4x4 driving or needs to carry some heavier boxes or family members, the CRD is about the best engine you can have (at a reasonable sticker price). The RAV4 offers better-than-good fuel mileage and is the most fun to drive--a quality that diminishes with the optional automatic trans or with two passengers. For its fuel-economy numbers, it's second place, but for cost-effectiveness, it's number one.

Ultimately, the numbers tell the story, and for good fuel economy, the Hybrid Escape comes out on top. The Escape isn't the most stellar vessel for such a sophisticated powerplant, and, for its price, there are plenty of other choices, but the city fuel economy is impressive. If you want to be socially responsible and still have good visibility, versatility, and a decent amount of foul-weather confidence, the Ford Hybrid Escape is as good as current technology gets.