A what mini rock crawler thread for new SUVs

So, my father's been thinking of consolidating cars a bit, and replacing a somewhat tired XJ and a Honda Accord with a small SUV. He's retired and does a lot of outdoor stuff, which in Georgia means that a smaller vehicle is better to slip between trees (but he doesn't want to go with an ATV or dirt bike and tow vehicle). And he wants something with somewhat better on road manners than a Wrangler. This would be bought brand new.

Main requirements are four wheel drive with a low range, folding mirrors, and a small size. Right now he's looking at a Cherokee Trailhawk. Any other options he should be looking at? It appears that right now there's a ton of small SUVs on the market, but almost none that are actually built for serious off road use.

If nee, jeep might be the only player in this game. Others have gottrn too huge or too soft. Wrangler rubicon comes to mind as well, though i doubt theyre comfy enough.

That's pretty much the design requirements of a BU (Jeep Renegade).

Has he driven one of the 4 door Wranglers? The longer wheelbase gives them significantly better road manners than the older ones or the newer 2dr ones.

chaparral wrote: That's pretty much the design requirements of a BU (Jeep Renegade).

came here to say this, they seem like they would be a blast off road, small and nimble

Some better tires, or perhaps a modest lift and a little larger diameter, better tires, and Renegade is the answer.

https://www.youtube.com/embed/gthrdNtQuJQ

Check out the X-Terra from Nissan. It is a little long in the tooth, but that may help drive prices down. It is narrow relative to other behemoths out there, and it has real offroad chops.

Don't forget that the Suzuki Sidekick is very narrow, and has a real transfer case with low range. It can do amazing things with only some tires, and with a mild lift from Calmini, it can go just about anywhere in the forest and still be acceptable on the highway. Still miss mine.

Look at a used suzuki.. Or a Side by Side ATV.

A Samurai is a perfect fit except for "better road manners than a Wrangler." In fact they're probably worse on road than a modern side-by-side/UTV.

Left field. http://www.subaru.com/vehicles/crosstrek/index.html

it's a lifted small subaru wagon. should do most fire roads etc... with no problem and some eaiser trails.

Just get a Miata and that 3" Paco lift kit that Flyin'Miata sells.Some small BFG A/T tires and he's good to go.

Grand Vitara's were made up until 2011? Up through 2003 they had a real stick 2-spd transfer case.

pinchvalve wrote: Don't forget that the Suzuki Sidekick is very narrow, and has a real transfer case with low range. It can do amazing things with only some tires, and with a mild lift from Calmini, it can go just about anywhere in the forest and still be acceptable on the highway. Still miss mine.

I never understood why the sidekick/tracker never seem to get the love the other small SUVs get. They seem better than the much loved samurai in almost every way

^They're not as good as the Samurai as an offroad toy (bigger, inferior obstacle clearance ability, not quite as sturdy, much smaller aftermarket) and if you don't want an offroad toy, there are a lot of better choices out there.

I'd say freshen up the xj. They are fairly small, great off road and good on the highway although a bit thirsty. He would not have to worry about scratches and the sky is the limit with after market support.

Jeep is the only player short of the expensive euros.

Xterra is dead and sold the last new one a few weeks ago I think.

You can get into the 4Runner but that has gotten to be pretty big and almost 38K for a trail edition with the 4X4 and other off road goodies.

Other than that, all of the other offerings are more in the cute-ute range with no low range.

The Jeep Patriot is surprisingly good off-road.

http://expeditionportal.com/equipment/equipment/reviews/patriot/

Seeing that Patriot with tires that far in the air on that terrain tells me it's anything but good off-road. It appears to have the approximate suspension travel and flex of a Camry...

I had the misfortune of spending 3 or so weeks renting a Patriot two years back when my E36 was totaled. Wheezy, underpowered, bargain basement materials and build quality, gas mileage was unimpressive... really couldn't find much to like about it. My room mate's girlfriend also has one, a 2012 I think, that is rusting worse than any car that new has a right to. Rockers, bottom of doors, and the front QPs are almost rusted through and the front subframe was replaced last year as well when it mostly ceased to exist (apparently due to a recall for rust.)

The new Grand Cherokees are very nice and have a bunch of whiz bang doodads that allegedly make them work pretty well off road.

FJ Cruiser, although out of production a couple years, seems to have some legit hardware underpinning it. Factory locker(s?) are available, if not standard equipment. Killer resale value, too.

Honestly, JK Wrangler is the easy button here, but that's already been discounted. Why not keep the XJ as the "offroad beater rig" and get something nicer to drive around on the street?

Furious_E wrote: Honestly, JK Wrangler is the easy button here, but that's already been discounted. Why not keep the XJ as the "offroad beater rig" and get something nicer to drive around on the street?

Realistically, that's probably the best option. And I do find it funny that he's ok with an old XJ, but a JK Wrangler is a no-go. A JK (especially a 4dr) is definitely more comfy and no worse mannered on the road than an XJ.

Your title says rock crawling, but you're not talking about serious rockcrawling I hope. I can't fathom taking a new vehicle rock crawling.

I think a Cherokee Trailhawk is probably one of the best options as far as new/newish. I also like the Xterra idea. There actually isnt much out there that's as capable and not wider/larger than those.

Also, if he really cares about road manners, tell him to resist the off-roader urge to double the weight of the wheel/tire combo.

Has he driven a new wrangler? The upper trim levels are very nice. My wife loves her JK arctic edition and I wouldn't call her easy to please when it comes to vehicles.

rslifkin wrote:

Furious_E wrote: Honestly, JK Wrangler is the easy button here, but that's already been discounted. Why not keep the XJ as the "offroad beater rig" and get something nicer to drive around on the street?

Realistically, that's probably the best option. And I do find it funny that he's ok with an old XJ, but a JK Wrangler is a no-go. A JK (especially a 4dr) is definitely more comfy and no worse mannered on the road than an XJ.

Yea, I was gonna point that out as well, but figured my last post was wordy enough as is. I think I've only been in a JK like once, which had probably a 3-4" lift and ~35" tires, but from what I recall the ride was light years better than my (admittedly pretty clapped out) XJ.

To the OP: Has your dad actually driven the JK, or are his feelings on the Wrangler based off of previous generations?