I just bought (2 weeks ago) a Honda CRV and just went through all the research on some of the ones you listed. The Santa Fe has the worst gas mileage out of the ones you mentioned since it comes standard with a 6 cylinder engine so I ruled that out initially and can't really say much there. The Escape, Tuscon and CRV are all close (excluding the Escape Hybrid and 6 cylinder escape) at 23 city: 29 hwy. I don't know your price range but I can tell you of the group the tuscon is the least expensive at base price and has the best warrenty (hyndai is 10 yr/100,000 miles standard). Add on's change pricing on all of them and depending on what you want may make the 3 of them comparable price wise. When I checked consumer guide on all 3, the escape and CRV both get 10 out of 10, Tuscon gets a 6. The Honda CRV EX version comes standard w/a 4 wheel drive, automatic, moonroof, 6 disk changer, cruise, power everything, reclining back passenger seats, and privacy glass in the back.. They have another version, the LX that is less expensive but you'd have to add the 4 wheel drive. For me after adding everthing on it was just cheaper to go with the EX where its standard. The CRV and Escape get the better safety rating, but the tuscon isn't bad and has the better warrenty, so I think between them it just comes down to preference. I haven't had the chance to test out the 4 wheel drive so unfortunately can't really say if it's good or bad on the CRV. I spent about 3 months researching this before I actually bought my SUV so let me know if there's anything else that might help.