We own two Ford cars- I have a Mustang that I bought used and my wife drives a Ford Escape. The mustang is a V6 that is very underpowered, but still a lot of fun to drive. I got a great deal on it (<$10,000 w/ <20,000 miles) and have loved owning it, even if I would have preferred the V8 model. I haven't regretted the purchase.

Now the Escape has been a wonderful car. I'm not sure it's a "proper" SUV- it is built like a car more than a typical SUV. It's fun to drive- definitely with enough power, and the utility is great. We have hauled people and music equipment everywhere in the thing. I can't image anything that would have provided as fun a driving experience and still offered the utility that the Escape does. After having owned one, I'm a huge fan.

We bought ours before they started making the hybrids, but I'm definitely intersted in checking those out . . .