Ah, something I know a bit about. smile

First, I owned a Mazda Tribute, same as the normal Ford Escape. It was a good truck (pretty quick with the V6), but it had its short comings. First, interior storage was limited and those batteries for the hybrid take up a good bit of storage. It also wasn't that great off-road. With no low range and open differentials I got it stuck a few times. Also, having an IRS/IFS it will have problems with certain obstacles and the chance of something breaking is high. The Rav-4 and Honda CR-V would have similar problems. They simply aren't made for any real off-road use.

At bare minimum you want an SUV or truck with a low-range transfer case, locking or limited slip differentials (rear only is what you usually find nowadays), a solid rear axel, skid plates, and off-road tires if you plan on taking the road less followed.

Here are some suggestions as far as new vehicles go:

Hummer H3
GMC Envoy/ Chevrolet Trailblazer
Jeep Wrangler (Extended Wheelbase version is nice)
Jeep Liberty
Nissan Xterra

Personally I would check out the diesel version of the Jeep Liberty. I believe they stopped making them in diesel form for 2007 (or they would have had to redesign the engine to meet new emissions standards), but they are still out there as leftovers. A friend of mine just picked one up and I was real impressed with it. It gets over 20mpg no matter how you drive it (and you can run it on bio-diesel), it's small but has plenty of interior room, it had a solid rear, good low range transfer case, tows 5,000lbs, all-terrain tires, ect. If you get it with the off-road package it adds a locking rear, skid plates, tow hooks, heavy duty cooling, and a few other features. It really is worth it to at least give it a look.

As to myself, I drive a 2007 GMC Envoy V8 every day. I get 22mpg highway, tow 6,000lbs, have a locking rear, plenty of power from the V8 (from an engine that any gearhead knows how to work on), and have plenty of interior room and storage. I also have a 1995 diesel Suburban 2500 and two 1970's K5 Blazers that I use for plowing and off-roading.