From off-road trim to purpose-built trail machines, a lot of OEMs have a lot of cars targeting this burgeoning trend to head off-piste. But not every off-roader that rolls out of the factory has the performance prowess of a Land Cruiser.
To find out what cars don’t quite live up to the hype when you take them out to the trails, we asked you for the most overrated off-roaders of all time. These are some of the top answers we got.
“They’re good, sure, but they’re also overrated. The engine runs forever, but for a do all, go everywhere truck it will turn into Swiss cheese with frame rust if you actually use it like it’s meant to be used. And they still sell for stupid money even without today’s markups.”
This Japanese pickup truck has spawned an army of fans across its many iterations, including several high-performance variations. But a rust-prone frame can be the kiss of death for any budding off-roader.
Suggested by: savethemanualsbmw335ix
“I happen to drive off road in places like Colorado and Wyoming for a living and by far the Hummer H2 and especially the H3 were some of the worst performing off road vehicles I have ever driven in pretty much every off road situation I encountered! Even the platform mate Suburban and Yukon were way better both on and off road.
“Another big disappointment was the mid 2000s Dodge Durango, somewhat better than a Hummer off road but not by much. The Durango was really disappointing off road especially when compared to the 02 Explorer it replaced, which in its stock form was excellent off road, and could almost give my current TRD Tacoma a run for its money in off road driving.”
This mid-size SUV has been on sale in the US since 1998. Across three model years, the Durango has transitioned from a sturdy, truck-based vehicle to an SUV made on the same platform as Jeep’s Grand Cherokee. The latest model also comes with a 6.4-liter Hemi V8.
Suggested by: Jason Gorodetzer (Facebook)
“Does the Subaru Brat count as an off-road vehicle?
“One of my former co-workers tried driving one on the beach in Delaware, it got stuck in some soft sand almost immediately and nearly got washed out to sea when the tide came in.”
Slightly rugged styling and a truck bed in the back, we think that counts as an attempted off-roader. The Brat, which stood for “Bi-drive Recreational All-terrain Transporter,” was sold between 1978 and 1994.
Suggested by: earthbound-misfit-i
“The Mercedes G-Wagon – just hear me out on this. Everyone says it’s a great off-roader, right? Good ground clearance, locking diffs, all that good stuff is there. But how can we know how good it is off-road ACTUALLY, if no one is ever buying it to go off-road? Instead, you can mostly find them parked badly on the pavement outside expensive private pre-schools.”
That’s fair, I’ve only ever seen G-Wagons prowling the streets of London or NYC, at least 50 miles from the nearest trail.
Suggested by: Artur Grochowski (Facebook)
“IMO, that title belongs to the HMMWV (Humvee). Sure, it can go pretty much anywhere and with the fording kit it can cross water deep enough to need scuba gear but the unarmored versions are gutless as hell, and the up-armored versions have the mass of a neutron star that cannot be overcome by the stronger motor. Both versions can go from perfectly functional to dead-lined between drills just sitting in the motor pool because of a class-III leak, failed headlight, torn CV boot, or some other stuff.
“‘Military-grade’ is the biggest crock of shit.”
Sure, we’ve already bashed the Hummer H2 a bit, but why not go for the Humvee as well? The High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle first saw combat in 1983 and is still used by the US military to this day.
Suggested by: weeks151
“Not sure if these were ever marketed as serious off-roaders, but the old S-Blazer comes to mind.
“Anemic, torque-less V6, leaf spring suspension, incredibly vague steering- just an all around garbage vehicle.
“They were cheap, and easy to wrench on, that’s about it.”
The Chevrolet S-10 Blazer shared the majority of its parts and production with the GMC Jimmy. Both were marketed until 2003, and neither were ever able to prove its worth off-road.
Suggested by: Patrick O’Donnell (Facebook)
“I totally get doing some off-roading in a small to mid-size pickup truck, but I can’t stand when they put off-road packages on F-150s, Expeditions, Tundras, Sequoias, Silverados, Suburbans, etc.”
Bigger isn’t always better, especially when it comes to navigating twisting and turning trails. If you’re heading anywhere undulating, these full-size trucks from Ford and GM are best avoided.
Suggested by: ninety-9
“From a ruined nameplate perspective, I would offer the Blazer and the Pathfinder. The current Blazer is straight up disrespectful to the off-road chops of its predecessor (or at least the collective imagined memory of those capabilities)
“The current Pathfinder (5th gen) is a smidge better than the 4th gen, which was a minivan that didn’t have sliding doors, AWD be damned. Being a little better isn’t saying much. The 1st-, 2nd-, and 3rd-gen Pathfinders can get you in and out of trouble.
“To continue my rant, the Patrol that we get (Q56/QX80) here isn’t necessarily bad, as it is hard to remove those bones, but it is a far cry from its predecessors and how they get used in the rest of the world.”
A lot of good suggestions from this poster, but let’s focus on that Pathfinder. Since 1985, the Pathfinder has gone through many guises, but its fourth incarnation as a damp SUV struggled to outperform the Nissan Quest minivan on which it was based.
Suggested by: krymdog
“Screw it, I’ll say it. Jeep Wrangler JK.
“And this is mostly because the vast majority of the lifted, big tired, Rough Country ones are purely for looks. Bunch of expensive-ass tall grocery getters.
“I do get there are some real hardcore off-roaders in JKs, tho! Kudos to you guys!”
There’s always one poster that comes in here and chooses carnage. Kudos, my friend.
Suggested by: @MolsStar (Twitter)
“The Lunar Roving Vehicle (aka Moon Buggy). Just because you can drive on another celestial body does not mean you’re the best off roader!”
Technically this is the best car at driving the most off-road, as the nearest highway was 238,900 miles from its stomping ground. But, how would it fair on a muddy trail upstate? Probably about as well as a Hummer.
Suggested by: mikemc127