The CR-V is good, solid transportation. The only reason it suffers in highway MPG is because it's only a five-speed, but that's not a big deal unless your sister cruises at 80 mph. If she's not a car person, she won't.

The Escape should give her the big-car feel she's looking for... and unlike our local one, it gets the modern 6-speed auto and Duratec 2.5.