I wont buy the santa fe if I were you. true the price is cheaper but reliability sucks, even worse than the american ford. Maintenance not expensive but parts are hard to get. Theres nothing worse than having to wait almost 3 weeks for suspension replacement.
Ford escape I believe is a much better deal. I used to drive one so I can tell you, avoid the 2.0 models, the engine's prone to lots of problems and its darn noisy. get the 2.3 if you want a 4-cyl model.
3.0 is the best engine for escape imo, but if youre not prepared for the 20-26 mpg I suggest you to avoid it.
Expect to get about 20 mpg in town for the 2.0, yes I know its terrible. Amazingly the 2.3 gets better mileage at about 23 mpg city, 27 highway.
Reliability, apart from the 2.0 is pretty good. Common problems I've experienced (and heard of): substansial wind and road noise, noise from brakes (due to the large amount of brake dust in the pads), rear hatch hard to close, and cd player stopped working for no apparent reason.
the only other compact suv I can think of is Honda cr-v, which has significant advantage in reliability and fuel econ. Downsides include higher price (about 50% more than escape), prominent road noise, overly firm ride for my taste, and uncomfortable seats for long drives.
As for cute compact utes, looks are subjective. I dont think theres anything better than the escape at its price.
Hope it helps.