startpage.com seems to have a better front end, is faster and the results actually what you're searching for. haven't dug into their security to see if it really is "the world's most private search engine"
StartPage just serves you Google results through a proxy. If you're trying to avoid Google, this is pointless.
Most people are just trying to avoid Google tracking. Startpage claims to not even record your IP address.
And it was hosted outside of the USA, but it seems that isn't the case anymore...