SUVs that never leave the pavement!

hso

hso

Joined
Dec 16, 1998
Messages
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This is a pet peeve of mine so I'll admit I may not be completely rational about it.

Since I don't think that everyone that has an SUV that never leaves pavement would fess up I'll simply ask which of you have a 4wd that spends at least 2 days a month off of pavement?

I'll start.

A little first year RAV 4 that spends every day climbing a rutted gravel drive on a 40 degree slope and another couple of days a month off of anything that looks like gravel. 30 mpg, HA!
 
2001 Land Cruiser...never been off pavement

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It's not technically an SUV, but my '93 Toyota Paseo (180k miles!) goes offroad a lot during hunting season and some during the summer as well (when I go camping). I'm not talking about unpaved driveway, but neglected Nat Forest roads and quasi legal paths to campsites (with ruts and stumps).

Funny how I never see any of the "high end" suvs out there...

Chris
 
Beltfed's Land Cruiser is the only off road vehicle I know of to have gone from it's rough and tough mustang lineage to the luxury SUV market, and done a good job at it.

A professor of mine 20 years ago decided to use a 4 door Land Cruiser instead of a Land Rover to drive from Tennessee to Terra del Fuego because of parts availability and potentially fewer breakdowns. He made it there and back with 2 oil changes and 3 tire replacements!

Hey mtnbkr, I used to use a '77 Ford Maverick the same way for getting to whitwater put-ins. Amazing what a gutty little 2wd can do.

Thanks guys, now let's hear from some others.
 
I also think it is important to understand that even if you never take your SUV "off road," you still may be getting a lot of use out of the 4WD if you use it in snow. Here in Michigan there are a lot days when the ground is snow covered and 4WD comes in quite handy. Most people here buy SUVs because for how well they handle snowy roads, not so much for how they handle "off road" endeavors. I really don't think you could tell someone in Buffalo with a Jeep that had never been off road that they were not using their 4WD. Snow is as good, and probably a better reason than any other to have a 4WD vehicle. The number of times 4WD can be used in the winter in a midwestern state is probably much more significant than the number of times even an avid off roader may take their 4WD vehicle into the woods.

Driving on snow-covered roads may not officially be deemed as an "off road" activity, but to say someone using their SUV only on snow covered roads is not getting their money's worth out of their 4WD, would just not be true.

Bucky
 
Interesting question. Not all 4x4 need to go off-road to justify their existance. I used to have a Jeep 4x4 and drove the heck out of it off road. But that was back in the day when I was single and had the time for that stuff.

When I started my family, I've had a Range Rover becuse it was a big car that I felt comfortable transporting my newborn in. Sure it went to the snow, but mostly it was for my wife to drive around town. Since then we sold it for a minivan :mad:

But I still have my Chevy Silverado 4x4. It doesn't see much off-road, but it does go to the snow and hauls tons of stuff, not to mention help friends move. Where I live, we have extream hills so having the power and traction comes in handy.

So, yeah I don't feel bad about owning/driving a big 4x4. Then again I also have an electric scooter that I use in and around town (go figure).

S.
 
All my vehicles go off-pavement every day.

In the winter, when there's snow, the only way I can get to/from the house is with a serious 4x4. When I go into town, I pick up the UPS/FedEx packages for my neighbors, because they're usually stuck.

The local tow service has asked me to stop rescuing people on my way in, because it's cutting into their business :-)

And, if there's a forest fire here, my escape plan requires a 4x4 to use the old logging trail to get out.
 
I have a BMW X5 and it's not going off road unless I have a real good reason to do so. OK, it's been on a few ranch roads to a friend's guest house, but that's it. Off road is NOT the X5's forte.

But then, I didn't buy it to go off road--4WD has several advantages for driving on road, as well as off. What I wanted was high driving position (for visibility), space enough for two Giant Schnauzers, and decent performance and handling. The X5 was the only truck/SUV sized thing that felt right to me...
 
sas - I quite understand. I got my non-serious 4x4 because it was one of the few vehicles that my upright bass fit into nicely.

It' too bad there are so few decent, huge station wagons made anymore.
 
IMO jeeps are the only serious offroad vehicle there is(excluding heavily modded suzukis and toyotas), sure land rovers are cute for african safaris, but would you really wanna take them rock crawling?
i didnt think so
the term 4WD is thrown around a lot nowadays, to be truly 4WD a vehicle must have a dual speed transfer case.
not some kind of traction sensing crap, yeah that stuff its great for onroad driving, because it tends to let the tires slip before it goes into action
but offroad the last thing you want to do is slip.
another thing that pisses me off is plastic ground effects on SUVs, what the hell is that all about, if i went offroading with something like that new chevy avalance, id lose half of the body in about 15 minutes!!

Dont even get me started on IFS(independant front suspension), I wonder if these SUV makers have ever heard of articulation? i bet most of them have never even seen an RTI(Ramp Travel Index) ramp.


actually the whole cute ute thing isnt what really pisses me off, its the fact that manufacturers are claiming that these SUVs can "Go Anywhere" or something like the Ford "No Boundaries" slogan.
yeah sure theres "no boundaries", as long as you dont plan on going farther off road then your back yard.


ok, ill stop now, in conclusion, its really up to the buyer and what they want, I just dont think its necessary for SUV makers to stroke the buyers macho ego or anything like that.

oh yeah, JEEPS RULE!!!!
 
i just reread my post and i thought it was kinda harsh, and could probably be taken the wrong way. let me just say that all of you who actually use your SUVs offroad KICK A$$!!!.
theres nothing cooler then driving offpavement, no matter what its in.(even if it is in your back yard)

and i can definetaly understand why BAE got the X5, that thing is FAST!:eek:

I still think the chevy avalance is UGLY though:)
 
My wife drives a Honda Passport. It is a pavement only unit. Why 4WD then? This is Southwest Washington. Lotsa places and conditions that can demand it at any time. I'd rather my wife have the option. Like the fact that I've never pulled a pistol on anybody. I carry one around though, all the same.

Now, MY rig hates pavement, and only uses it to get from one mud-strewn hell to another. It is a 1978 GMC Jimmy. One big, solid, powerful slab of good ol' American craftsmanship she is. Hunting, fishing, clam digging, mushrooming, berry picking, snow exploring... this thing has done it all and begged for more. I put a for sale sign in it one year, my buddies exploded. It is their favorite vehicle too. Far more miles on logging roads than on maintained thoroughfares. I'd tell you just how many miles, but I lost the speedometer/odometer going over a blowdown.

Payback, you want ramp angle? I got yer ramp angle danglin' brah!
 
I'm sort of a Function-is-Form nut, so the idea of tricking out your ride so that you can compete in the Baja 1000 just because it looks cool sort of eludes me.

All those cute little smiley-face covered lights on the roll bar; I wonder how many times those covers come off?
And those huge, gnarly, NOISY, off-road tires that cost an arm and a leg.....
 
Lot's of giant SUV's clogging up the city streets without a spec of mud on them.

Lot's of expensive knives on peoples shelves that never cut anything.

Lot's of pretty girls that don't dance.

Rotten shame, all of them.
 
Originally posted by stjames
Lot's of giant SUV's clogging up the city streets without a spec of mud on them.

Lot's of expensive knives on peoples shelves that never cut anything.

Lot's of pretty girls that don't dance.

Rotten shame, all of them.
Click to expand...

yes indeed James! :p

wife's SUV has never been off pavement

bounced my old explorer 4wd down a lot of forest service "roads" in the quest for new fishing spots. Mine tends to stay muddy because its too cold to wash it in the winter and too hot in the summer!
 
Yep, I can't say that the Grand Cherokee spends any time off road. Very nice for snow, trailering the boat, hauling dog-wife-kids (oops wrong order!), etc., though.

Other car is a 10 yr. old Mazda, and I must say the mileage is not that different.
 
and i can definetaly understand why BAE got the X5, that thing is FAST!

I don't have an X5 - I think that was SAS.

My BMW is a supercharged Z3, which isn't all that useful off-road, and takes great care to get up the dirt road to the house and down the driveway.
 
I have a Chevy Silverado with well over 5,000 dirt miles. When people ask if I've ever I driven it anywhere off-pavement, I sometimes respond "you mean, like to the Arctic Sea?" Got a picture of it at Deadhorse (Prudhoe Bay).

For the rough stuff, a slightly lifted '75 Bronco with a warmed up motor, an Art Carr built C-4, and Detroit Lockers and winch mounts in both ends.
 
Yes, that's me with the X5. Mine's been to Dinan for vitamins, but no supercharger. Yet.
 
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