One peek at our rankings tell you that this was close - and that your own test drives might very well produce different preferences.We also can say that if off - road capabilities were the prime
criteria, the results would be much different.But for most of us, sport - utility vehicles are essentially cars with extra ground clearance, four - wheel drive, extra cargo capacity, an added sense of security and an extra measure of rugged panache.So our judgments are based
largely on the same standards we apply to automobiles, with
safety features right up at the top of the list.