My mom has a diesel Liberty and for what she does with it, it does pretty well. Our outlander still gets better gas mileage than hers does, but it works for her. Does great in snow. Occasionally they pull a low-boy trailer (dual axle, 10ton capability type) and when loaded it gets a bit squirrelly due to the short wheel-base, but I doubt you can hold that against it.

Best thing it is to use your butt. Go drive them. When we looked at the CRV/Highlander/RAV4, once we drove the Outlander, we knew what we were getting. The only setback for the 07-09 outlander is if you are trying to do offroading that requires wheel articulation, the outlander has no limited slip and not much articulation...but I suppose as long as you have 3 wheels on the ground, you'll be find with an AWD.

 

Yep, I spent at least 4 months looking/pondering/researching before I actually bought something. If you are in Canada, the XLS gets the colour LCD and S-AWC system, which is by far the most advanced of all the cars you have listed.
The Patriot you are looking at is not a true Jeep, rather, exactly like every other CUV. The Patriot was rated one of the worst 10 cars of the decade and here is what they said:
Mitsubishi/Chrysler co-developed the platform, but they thankfully don't share anything major except the base body/suspension.

So I would stay away from Jeep unless you are getting a huge discount for buying soon to be phased out models. The Liberty is more of a Jeep though. I did drive the Patriot, and it has an annoying drone of the CVT transmission and the motor is always running at the same rev range...which drove me crazy personally. They only offer an I4 engine only. I also drove the Kia Sportage, which was both slow and had even worse handling than the Jeep.

That is true about the price. However, the RAV4 V6 Limited 4WD is the same price as the XLS, but the XLS gives you way more for the same price. So I don't see it as being pricer higher than similar cars. Keep in mind you can easily get invoice price+$500+tax since Mitsubishi usually wants to sell more to gain a bigger market share.

You can get a base BMW X3 2.8i, which has less horsepower and costs $39k. I have a current generation one parked right beside me and I would say my 08 Outlander looks way better than it does...but that is a personal opinion. Keep in mind BMW does not build the X3, rather, a 3rd party.

 

Btw today I would also take into consideration 2011 Kia Sorento & 2010 Hyundai Tucson

http://www.kia.com/#/sorento

 

Is that a Ford Sorento or a Kia Escape?

 

I considered the Toyota RAV 4-V6, both Sport and non-Sport models. I'll tell you what I didn't like about the Toyota:
1. The salesman couldn't tell me what the difference was between the Sport and non-Sport, other than what was in the brochure.
2. They were so popular, I was told that if I wanted one, I should order without a test drive. This should not reflect on the dealer. They are quite reputable.
3. The non-sport had really serious understeer. The Sport was better but not as good as the Outlander.
4. The steering was stiff until near stopped then it went limp, both with little real feel
5. For all the money I was going to pay, I could not get heated seats unless I bought leather in the top model.
6. For all the money I was going to pay, I could only get a rubber steering wheel unless I bought leather in the top model.
7. I really didn't need a sun-roof.
8. It had the worst seating position of anything I have ever been in. I felt like I was always falling forward, out of the seat and the seat cushions were too short.
9. Only a 5 speed auto-box.
I have owned Toyotas in the past. They are a "vanilla" vehicle. Nothing really bad (well except the above) but nothing really good, either.
What I liked about the Toyota? - The perceived "quality" which results in over inflated resale values and of course the power of the V6.
I bought the 2010 Outlander LS and I'm happy I did.
What I didn't like about the Outlander? The really stupid size, 70 series, 16" tires. Nobody is using these anymore.