Small SUVs for backcountry travel?

[JL Rockies]

The problem with Jeep is, with few exceptions, the engines suck. I had trouble taking a $30K+ offroad juggernaut seriously when it had a mini van motor in it. As an expedition vehicle, I can't imagine the soul-sucking experience it must be driving hours on graded roads with a solid axle.

 

[JL Rockies]

FWIW, I never broke anything in my KJ either.

 

[Jesser04]

What about a Toyota highlander? I'd take one over the rav4 and crv.

 

[Kevin B.]

I would go older gen runner if it were me.

Love the look of them for one, and as uvrugby said, huge aftermarket support. Ya, they do not get as good as mgp, but as it goes in life, there is always a little give and take.

The older Yotas bring gobs to the table in terms of offroad ability, but one thing a modern compact SUV has over them is comfort. My 4Runner will probably never be the kind of rig that I can relax and enjoy a road trip in. A RAV4 or Escape will be more comfortable with more power, better mileage, less noisy, etc.

I think the Escape is or was available with a low range, at least for a while.

 

[Kevin B.]

What about a Toyota highlander? I'd take one over the rav4 and crv.

They're bigger, about the same size as a 3rd gen 4Runner and with 4wheel independant suspension. That could be a plus or minus, depending..

 

[Kevin B.]

Another thing to consider is how capable the AWD is on some of these. It's not apples to apples, but Dutchman got his 2001 4Runner with a busted center diff lock all the to Radiator Rapids before he had to take a strap. Low range and true 4wd are awesome things, but I don't know that we need them as much as we think we do, at least not for back country hooning around.

 

[Cherokeester]

Steve, Wranglers start at $22,900 msrp and so do Rav4's. How is the cost of ownership "a lot" less? I guess the savings in gas maybe. CRV's start the same price too with the Kia coming in somewhat less.

 

[sixstringsteve]

At the recent Quarterly Training Days I've been more than impressed with a lot of the stock vehicles we've had out there. The new traction control systems out there are pretty cool.

 

[airmanwilliams]

Lets not leave out the wonderful sidekicks and trackers Cheap and reliable small rigs.

 

[skeptic]

Define less off road ability? You taking Area BFE, then ya. I have taken my ifs tacoma on 33's through pritchett canyon.

Never broke a ifs axle in my truck and I have wheeled almost all of Moab.

Just sayin'

Less off road ability = solid axle is generally more capable. Now, if you never disconnect the sway bar (install quick disconnects or whatever) the difference may not be much. That doesn't mean ifa can't be a very capable vehicle. After many years and 5 different SFA Jeeps I switched to the dark side, first an H3 then an H3t. I did the typical lift (and all that goes with it), bigger tires, etc. on the Jeeps but never lockers. I can say with 100% confidence that my ifs H3t w/stock front and rear lockers, stock everything other than 35" tires, better underbody protection and sliders, is generally more capable than any Jeep I have ever owned. Sometimes though, you just need articulation.

I'm not trying to diss anyone here, just trying to be honest and calling it like I see it.

 

[UFAB]

Traveling through many 3rd world countries I noticed that the new Suzuki Grand Vitara is really popular. 2 Speed real transfercase, manual transmissions, etc.

 

[jentzschman]

Less off road ability = solid axle is generally more capable. Now, if you never disconnect the sway bar (install quick disconnects or whatever) the difference may not be much. That doesn't mean ifa can't be a very capable vehicle. After many years and 5 different SFA Jeeps I switched to the dark side, first an H3 then an H3t. I did the typical lift (and all that goes with it), bigger tires, etc. on the Jeeps but never lockers. I can say with 100% confidence that my ifs H3t w/stock front and rear lockers, stock everything other than 35" tires, better underbody protection and sliders, is generally more capable than any Jeep I have ever owned. Sometimes though, you just need articulation.

I'm not trying to diss anyone here, just trying to be honest and calling it like I see it.

No worries mate. I was also just throwing it out there from my experiences.

As I have thought about this more, for me, at least if I were do this this kind of thing now, I would 100% want low range. I would rather sacrifice ground clearance to be able to have 4lo in a tight situation.

 

[mesha]

I said this in tysons thread, but i had a 4 door grand vitara and it was awesome. 1000s of miles off road, rattlesnake, many on road miles, and 50 or so camping trips. All with 2 kids and gear. It was IFS and solid rear. There are options for lift kits and armor. Beefy bumpers and sliders are available. The motor is super reliable and got awesome mileage. As long as you can understand the limitations the suc is a great option.

The whole ifs dominates over solid axle for cushy ride is only sort of true. It depends on the road. The more gnarly the road gets the harder it is for the suspensions on these little toy cars to handle the big bumps. The mini suspension just cant keep up with the bumps. A suspension with a large amount of travel does better over long dirt miles with large-ish rocks. Can you make an ifs suspension long travel? Absolutely. Can it be done in a suc? Not reasonably.

Mild dirt road travel they work well. Heavy duty off road use is over the suc head even if you discount rock crawling.

My wife and i talk often of getting another suc. We loved it. It will replace our car not our "off road" rig.
SUC stands for
S= car
U= that can
C= also go on mild dirt roads
That might be perfect for some people.

 

[Houndoc]

Two friends of mine drove their 84 Subaru (similar size/drivetrain) to Prudhoe Bay and back stoping everywhere in between with little stress.

1984 and similar year Subarus did have low range and adjustable height suspension front and rear- took about 20 minutes of wrenching to gain couple of inches. Unfortunately none of the current "SUCs" are at all comparable.

We had an 84 we used for a number of years- mostly deer hunting etc. For hunts we also put taller tires (only fit with suspension raised) but gave center clearance of about 12". With the clearance and low range did well- would make a great back country exploring rig.

Wish someone still made something similar!

 

[sixstringsteve]

which model was it? Or was there only one model Subaru back then?

 

[Gravy]

that would be the loyale I was talking about earlier

 

[Rot Box]

I had an 84 for many years (actually my family all had the early 80's Subaru's at one time). Mine was the two door model and I took it everywhere--mountains, fire roads, state parks it didn't matter. Nothing breaks.. Oh except for the exhaust Y pipe which is a poor design I always wanted to find a Cyclops "third eye" version--they were awesome.

Anyone who says IFS/IRS is complicated has never owned a CRV (Subaru wanna be ) or an early Subaru. I could change a half shaft on that car in less than 20 minutes Also with the suspension cranked up it sat about 1.5" taller which gave it better ground clearance than my dads stock K1500 LOL.

Only the hardcore need enter: http://hatchpatrol.com

Crawler gears? Why not! http://www.scorpionsubaru.com/product.htm

 

[sixstringsteve]

haha crawler gears! That rocks.

 

[dzeyer]

I've had my little GEO Tracker now for about 2 years (2" spacer lift and BFH clearanced). Even with worn 31s, I'm averaging around 28 MPGs. It's not the quickest out there, but with low range (4:24 t-case gears), it is a blast off road. After everything, I'm only into it about $2300! It's my daily driver and "up in the hills" rig. The only thing it lacks is comfort and a little more pep. Personally, I'd love a v6 4-door Vitara. Those look like the perfect balance of small, capable, comfortable, and affordable (used of course) vehicles.

If the discussion is truly talking about a "smaller" rig for exploring etc...

 

[sixstringsteve]

great looking rig aaron!