Criteria

When creating this list, we first started with the EPA’s 2007 Fuel Economy Guide, selected all the EPA-classified SUVs, and then sorted them from best to worst by combined fuel economy. Second, the cutoff was set at 24 mpg so as to expand the choices to cars we’d actually recommend. Third, our editors voted for their top picks in order of preference. Fourth, votes were tallied, with the results discussed on the following pages. Of course, your mileage may vary, but the EPA information allows for true apples-to-apples comparisons. All that changes for the 2008 model year, as the EPA implements a new testing system designed to report more realistic (a.k.a. lower) ratings. Look for hybrids to take the most noticeable hit.