Jeep, after the long awaited debut of the new Liberty, is having a quiet 2009 model year.

But that doesn't mean there aren't some pretty worthy products that you need to consider for your next excursion to look for a new sport utility vehicle.

You might want to take a look at the Compass, a compact little car that can be ordered with all-wheel drive, and is priced at $18,100 to $24,000.

Then there's the Patriot, a rugged compact SUV priced from $$17,370 to $23,810 with a 172-horsepower, 2.4-liter four (21/24).

This year, engineers paid attention to the ride, and made adjustments to make it somewhat smoother and softer, and the interiors -- a sore point for this car -- have been thankfully upgraded with soft touch materials.

The Wrangler, a traditional Jeep model dating to World War II, now has a new -- and significant -- option. It's called trailer sway control, and what happens is that if the trailer you're pulling gets too unstable, the stability control system is activated. The Wrangler also has standard rollback control for the first time.

The Wrangler, priced from $20,560 to $29,535, is powered by a 3.8-liter, 202-horsepower V-6 (15/19).

When people think Jeep, they are just as likely to think Grand Cherokee as anything else. This year, its 5.7-liter Hemi V-8 engine gets a bit more power, and the interior, which has been mediocre since the latest generation of Grand Cherokee was introduced, now gets improvement in quality and materials. If you order the SRT8, an interesting new feature is something called a "Performance Pages" readout, which tells you information like eighth- and quarter-mile run times, and measurements of G-forces.

The Jeep Grand Cherokee is priced at $30,200 to $ 42,400. There's a choice of four engines that provide mileage ranging between 13/18 and 15/20, a luxurious midsize SUV that can be had with just about any combination of equipment.

There's also the full-size, three rowed Jeep Commander, a square-shouldered SUV that has unusual maneuverability despite its size. Base prices range between $30.200 to $42,400.

Three engines are available: a 210-horsepower, 3.7-liter V-6 getting 13/18 miles per gallon; a 4.7-liter, 305-horsepower V-8 that gets 14/19 miles per gallon; and a 330 horsepower, 5.7-liter V-8 getting 13/17 miles per gallon.

But the big news this year belongs to the Jeep Liberty, which was all new in 2008 and is now the freshest product Jeep has on the showroom floor.

This year, the rear axle shafts have been stiffened, and the suspension system has been beefed up and parts like roll bars, springs and shocks have been recalibrated. The brakes should also feel less mushy, too since those have been adjusted as well.

Inside, the interior of the Liberty has been dramatically improved. The materials are much better, there are attractive chrome bezels around the gauges and elsewhere, and brushed aluminum accents class up Liberty's act quite a bit.

The Liberty comes in Sport and Limited versions, both powered by a 210-horsepower 3.7-liter V-6 that provides reasonably brisk acceleration for the car. Expect 16/22 miles per gallon with the six-speed manual, and 15/21 with the four-speed automatic.

One of the cooler new features is Sky Slider, a retractable canvas roof that extends the length of the car. Opened up, it makes for fun driving under the stars, or just simply opening up things for a lot of sunshine while en route.

Base prices for the Liberty range from $22,910 to $27,625.