It is no secret that only a very small percentage of people who buy SUVs and CUVs ever take them off paved roads, but for those who’ve ever taken part in some mild or more advanced off-roading, I can personally attest that it’s an exhilarating experience.
These days, with more and more car-based CUVs with optional all-wheel drive systems that are very mild, and many luxury SUVs/CUVs masquerading as sports cars with 22-inch rims and stiff sport suspensions, the likelihood of off-roading is even less. But more off-road focused brands like Jeep and Land Rover still are very dedicated to making their vehicles highly capable for all terrain. Even Land Rover’s smallest Range Rover Evoque features a standard advanced all-wheel drive system with settings for specific types of off-road conditions, making it a very capable little off-roader.
Recently, while at training for the all-new 2020 Evoque, my friend and co-worker, Adam, convinced me to go for a little off-road adventure in our 2018 Evoque, filming me as part of his “amateur commercial”. We had a lot of fun, especially on some steeper and muddier trails no seen in this video, and I’m looking forward to going off-roading again soon. Bringing me to my question: Have you ever gone or do you ever go off-roading?
I’ve taken my 2015 Subaru XV Crosstrek off-road through Schnebly Hill in Arizona. It was surprisingly capable, even on the stair step formations.
All summer. Of course, I use an ATV and Side x Side for that duty. My F150 has seen its share of muddy trails though. Mostly to get to the various ATV trailheads.
Pick the correct tool for the job!
Several years ago I owned a right hand drive Toyota Hilux that I took off road a few times. It was a lot of fun but I I really needed a winch to be more comfortable with recovery.
I’ve taken my trucks off-road, not for sport but to get places. Relatively tame, though our roads around here can be rougher than that video this time of year. 😉
I get my off-road fix on my mountain bike. Vehicles are too expensive and too easily damaged for me to have much interest tackling anything challenging with a daily driver. That’s relative I suppose, I go through stuff all the time with my pickup that I wouldn’t be able to in our minivan. But still not really challenging the pickup, if that makes sense. I think it would be fun to have a Wrangler or something dedicated to doing that kind of stuff. Maybe someday.
All the time!!! Got some goodies on the Liberty for it! Taken my LR3 wheeling too.
It’s so much fun. Get to see scenery others can’t. I get a kick out of wheeling something I DD – anyone can build an off road only rig. It’s more fun to push a “street” vehicle to its limits. Much like it’s more fun to drive a Miata all out than to drive a Ferrari to 1/4 it’s potential.
Does driving my Mustang around the back of the house count? ;o)
Since I don’t have a truck, I was loading it up to take stuff to the dump.
I had to go down a pretty steep grade along the side of the house and then go back up that hill with it loaded down.
Otherwise, no… it’s not really my thing.
Again, this thing seems to be stripping my pictures. And it wasn’t that big having been taken by an iPhone 4!
My avatar “Molly” eagerly awaiting her off-road adventure to the dump in HER car!
Is this off road enough?
Did once with my grand Cherokee. Absolutely buried it.
I suck at off roading.
I’ve driven off road many times, but it’s interesting as part of work – either getting to machinery working, or as an escort for over-dimensional loads when we’re hauling Nodwells for the power line maintenance crews. Gets interesting miles up wood roads with a couple of 4-axle lowboys.
…not on purpose! 🙂
Our Mazda CX-5 sees regular dirt road use going to trailheads and driving around the local rifle range. I haven’t tried serious 4 wheeling or bought a green sticker because it’s not that kind of vehicle. If I do buy a 4×4 truck or XJ Cherokee it will get a green sticker and see use on BLM or Forest Service land.
Silver lake sand dunes
Logging roads count as off road? The side spurs can be bumpy.
Screwed up the pic posting…
Absolutely! Now that I’m older, not so much anymore. Here in north Florida/South Georgia, a/k/a The Deep South, going to the mud hole and taking turns dropping your truck in “The Pit” is a rite of passage. If you were like me, or some of my friends, you “run what you brung”, be it a stock 2wd truck, or in my case, a Buick. I recall my friend Donald getting his ‘69 Newport sedan buried one night. Don’t get me wrong, no one takes a sedan in “The Pit”, but it’s a load of fun to sling it around and bounce around in the shallows. Ol’ Homer got his mom’s ‘71 Fury wagon stuck, too; cleaned it up pretty good, but his dad busted him because he forgot to rinse the mud out of the radiator, “roostered” in it by the truck that pulled him out. Good times.
These days, I get my off-roading fix by plying the poorly maintained alleys on rainy days in our historic district neighborhoods., in many cases only traversed by garbage and line clearance trucks.
I read once where Land Rover acknowledged very few customers off-road their vehicles. To be more precise, not until the third owner, or about seven years, on average.
ALL the unpaved back roads throughout Saluda & Lexington County in South Carolina. You can get A LOT of dust & dirt on your rear window! Still trying to find the right all-terrain tires for my Ranger and also the Astro, hopefully before I go back to Edisto Beach for vacation. I realize my limits with only 2WD but adding all-terrain tires should no doubt help with off-road performance.
In the past 20 years we have owned several AWD vehicles that could, at least in theory, go off road, at least somewhat. Of course all of these have been my wife’s daily driver so the only time they were off road was if she got off the pavement while backing out of the driveway. The irony is that when I was much younger my friends and I would tackle dirt roads, trails or anything else in whatever vehicles were available. We used to take my brother’s Econoline van deep into the woods in order to reach the area where we rode our trail bikes. The old Ford never let us down even loaded with several motorcycles and the gear necessary to keep us alive and reasonably comfortable over the weekend. One time a friend was following us down a steep dirt track in his boss’s station wagon and managed to break the motor mounts. I’m not really sure how he explained this, or the other damage, but he didn’t lose his job over it.
As much as people bash the Range Rover Evoque, it’s really quite a capable off-roader, compared to everything else in its segment. The short front and rear overhangs really help.
Also, what’s your impression of the 2020 Evoque? Or is that an upcoming article?
I wrote a spec article about it for CarGurus (https://bit.ly/2PsL8tt), but obviously haven’t sampled it.
As for the 2020 Evoque, let me put it this way, Adam and I drove this 2018 fairly loaded top-spec HSE down to JLR Headquarters in Mahwah, NJ, roughly a 250-mile trip one way, giving us a very solid overall impression of the outgoing model. Despite being released in 2011, both of us were big fans of the first generation model before and after this long trip. It still feels really solid and smooth, is quiet and comfortable, handles well, and has up-to-date tech.
We then got in the new 2020 models and were blown away. All of a sudden that 2018 seemed vastly outdated and flawed, with things that didn’t seem like they needed improving all greatly improved.
The seats are much more comfortable while also offering greater support. The ride quality is significantly better with greater dampening over road imperfections and less NVH. Handling and performance is also improved, feeling much more direct and precise with less jerkiness. It is worth noting that the “mild-hybrid” P300 engine yields no fuel savings in the traditional “hybrid” way. Its advantages of the electric motor are in the efficiency of its power delivery and performance – less turbo lag, enhanced acceleration, better braking, etc.
Interior materials have also been greatly upgraded, especially in higher-spec trims. The look, while not drastically different, is sleeker and more contemporary. Designers basically fitted the Velar’s exterior and interior styling to the Evoque proportions, very effectively I might add.
Overall, “refinement” is the key impression I’m left with regarding the 2020 Evoque. There was really nothing wrong with the old one, which is why Land Rover’s approach with the 2020 has been so evolutionary. They simply took the old Evoque and made it better.
Beautiful. They knew better than to mess with a good thing. I’m sure it will continue to sell well.
I once drove my 66 Fury III through about a quarter mile of cornfield stubble to get to a fenceline that was part of a boundary dispute, does that count? 🙂
Yes, specifically purchased a vehicle in order to do so:
https://www.curbsideclassic.com/cars-of-a-lifetime/coal-2016-4runner-sr5-a-car-for-the-1/
In my opinion there are three problems with Land Rovers, particularly the Evoque, regarding offroading. First, with the Evoque, the hardware just isn’t there. No low range gearing, skinny rubber band tires that will fail to protect those fashionable wheels, and the geometry is poor. Second, I simply don’t trust the reliability of this brand and that is essential for me when going far off pavement. Third, the Disco and off-road version of America’s Land Rover, the Grand Cherokee, are fully dependent on an airbag suspension to provide adequate ground clearance and when those fail (and they will, someday, somewhere), you’ve got a low-rider practically riding on its bump-stops. If that fails on the trail and you now no long have the ground clearance to get back to pavement…
The technology is impressive and capable, but in the short term. When off road, simple is generally preferable. There’s a reason the Defender 90s go for such high prices now.
Another problem with off roading with a Land Rover is that they are largely a metropolitan status symbol. To really go off roading you head for the boondocks, and once you arrive there you realize that no one else is driving a Land Rover. That means if it breaks you are screwed! The nearest dealer to me is 100 miles away and it’s the only one in the state.
I once went off roading with a friend who figured that his wife’s 2WD Ranger would be a capable off roader when shod with aggressive tires.
He was utterly wrong, and after several hours of flailing about in the rain trying to extract the Ranger from a mud hole he paid a farmer $100 cash to yank the truck back to the road with his tractor.
That experience left a bad taste of mud in my mouth, but I could see that in a scenic place like Moab Utah it would be quite fun when equipped with the correct skills and equipment.
Sadly where I sit there is not the skills, equipment, or terrain so my answer is no.
I’ve seen a classic late ’60s Land Rover pick-up locally a few times. Generally well kept, but usually muddy round the arches. I suspect it’s still used as a farm vehicle, more or less their original purpose, which is nice.
No disrespect Brendan but driving from the airport to your hotel here in Houston would be a worse journey than that…..
I used to run the dirt roads with my old VW’s. Then, the 4×4 Toyota pickup was used for more serious offloading. Now, the K2500’s capability is mostly for highway snow and ice, with some mild dirt road driving to find campsites.
Looks like a typical alley here in Eugen after a good rain.
To answer your question, yes. Many times. And often documented here over the years. And often in vehicles not designed for that specifically.
Funny you should ask this this week, Brendan. I hadn’t been off-roading (or as we say in Australia, 4WD-ing) until today.
One of my friends recently bought a Wrangler and so his partner suggested our group of friends go off-roading in theirs + a friend’s. I was already having a blast riding shotgun on some off-road tracks in the Glass House Mountains but then my friend’s partner suggested I drive for a bit. Wow, I can see why people do it. A lot of fun! And the tracks were full of 4WD-ers, mostly old Nissan Patrols and newer Toyota Prados and crew-cab Ford Rangers and such.
Would I ever buy a Wrangler? No. Great engine, terrific off-road ability but just too compromised for me. But would I be tempted to get something like a Grand Cherokee Trailhawk? Surprisingly, yes. I may just have been bitten by the off-roading bug…
You anin’t seen off road until you work in the oilfield for 30+ years like I have. Everything there is 3/4 ton up and 4 wheel drive. And those get stuck too.
Aside from the time I took it to Gilgo and was refused admission, I backed my old Legacy wagon over a bunch of high-relief log corduroy once, and have driven both the old Legacy and the current Outback across working, plowed farmer’s fields. I have too many memories of slagging lawnmowers on invisible rocks to *ever* take a $30K car where it can get its oil pan cracked.