As Paul pointed out, these really aren't intended to go very far off the pavement. Most of them are built on car-weight frames, not truck weight. Particularly the hybrid Escape- it's a lot heavier than the normal escape. I like hybrids, because when the highway turns into a parking lot, you aren't burning gas, but with the exception of a couple of prototype armoured vehicles, I wouldn't take any of them cross country.

I suppose the first piece would be to ask where in NJ you are, and where are you planning on bugging towards, so that we can get a feel for the terrain. If by off road you mean hopping into the median, that's one thing. If you mean taking the four-wheeler trails through the Barrens, thats another. And if your bugging destination is say, up in the Pensylvanian mountains, then that might be another.

The other thing I'll say is, unless you know how to drive off road, you can get stuck real fast, real easy. And knowing on a four-wheeler or something like a Wrangler or a full sized truck is going to be different with the little guys you've mentioned.

If what you are looking for is something that will handle just about any road made by man, or go across open and fairly hang up free land (like fields), look at the Outback. They are practically the state car of Vermont becuase they can get traction in almost anything that they don't get hung up in, and they have a lower center of gravity than things like the RAV, so they are more stable.