Carefully plotting every tire placement through a rock-strewn trail at tortoise-like speeds can be just as exhilarating as perfectly connecting apex after apex to shave a tenth of a second off your lap time. And as it happens, today, June 2, is National Rocky Road Day. While the calendar authorities probably meant the ice cream flavor, it still got us thinking about what a good starter off-roader would be — something that’s affordable, plentiful (for parts scavenging), easy to operate and fix, and guilt-free when banging against rocks.
The affordability criterion likely eliminates any Land Cruiser and anything with the Toyota tax. The parts availability requirement will limit the JDM options. We almost think something like a beat-up Subaru or Honda CR-V might work better than an actual 4×4 if we’re just talking practice vehicles.
What’s the best rig for a novice off-roader?
The most entertaining comment by next week will receive a prize. Scroll down to see the winner of last week’s QotW, “What’s your most memorable road trip?“.
When you stop to think about it, we’re pretty blessed to live in such a large country. Some nations can be crossed in a day, but whether you go longitudinally like Nigel or coast-to-coast like Taylor C., traversing America always seems like an adventure.
That adventure is particularly palpable when you, like Fred Langille, who dared cross it in a Renault Fuego. Taylor C.‘s west-to-east journey was a great read and really captured what it feels like to navigate the US. Even shorter drives can feel like an adventure when you have the right driving partner, as VTEC Kicked In Yo illustrated.
However, the winner this week was returning champion TheJWT, whose epic road trip around Japan in Suzuki Alto Works is something that we still have unchecked on our bucket list.
Back when I lived in Japan, I had all August off since I worked in the public schools, so I decided to go on a road trip with another teacher friend. We piled into my 1995 Suzuki Alto Works RS-Z, and made the long drive from Okayama up to Fukushima prefecture- about 14 hours total and god knows how many hundreds of dollard in tolls.
The next day we went to Summer Drift Matsuri at Ebisu circuit- that was my first time there and my first time seeing drifting in person. We didn’t stay for both days though, because the following day we headed down the coast to Chiba, where we caught a D1 divisional event at Mobara Circuit, and stayed at a cool guesthouse on the beach.
After that we drove through the Aqualine tunnel and made a stop at Daikoku, before going along the Shonan coast to Hakone. Our final day was spent driving back home, with a mid-afternoon stop in Hamamatsu for the Suzuki museum, which was coincidentally the birthplace of the Alto Works we were driving.
Speaking of the Alto Works, I had just bought it the month before and I hadn’t driven it further than Okayama prefecture until then. It made the trip flawlessly though, carrying two 6′ Americans half the length of Japan in actually pretty decent comfort. I knocked out quite a few things on my bucket list on that trip, and even though I had to sell the car before I left the country, a friend of mine bought it and it lives only a few hours away now.
Omedetou, your comment has earned you a set of decals from the JNC Shop!
I’ve got a Grand Cherokee ZJ as my current workhorse for the StreetSpiritWorks shop, the 5.2 v8 makes for a great torquey mill and i’d recommend it to anyone out there, thing is, it’s too much of a station wagon/softroader in stock form, the size and longer wheelbase make it too awkward for serious offroading but it’s not much of a gravel drifting monster either, it’s just perfect for hauling trailers and dragging barnfinds out of the weeds.
i’d recommend the Suzuki Vitara/Geo Tracker or if you’re really stylish an X-90 if you plan on hitting trails, dunes and looking the raddest while having the most fun out there!
if gravel roads and channeling your inner McRae is more your jam you don’t need four wheel drive for fun, what you need is soft suspension a bulletproof car and a little size to throw around, enter the lexus LS with a lift kit and as much weight shed as humanely possible!
If you’re outside the USA, the Suzuki Jimny/ Toyota Hilux might be a cheap and practical choice. In the US, maybe domestic?
My go to rig? I’m afraid I’m a little projecting here … my rig, as I am an amateur … would be one of the vehicles I drove in the Army and, was licensed for (as well as being a certified instructor in their operation). That would be an M11-AI Armored Personnel Carrier. Not for a novice, you say? Sir, I beg to differ as they car not only a road goer but, a boonie basher as well! Any difficulty was in learning to operate a tracked vehicle and in its maintenance. The only other one, which is definitely both obtainable and affordable is a good old Deuce-and-a-Half. This truck will get you there and into the boonies, without much difficulty. It’s pretty basic and, can be had with a canvas top on the back or a box. They are decently priced thru surplus dealers and are a blank slate for build ups.
When it comes to offroad, it is hard to argue with a few vehicles.
Now its all dependent on the “type” of off-roading, but we will sum up the generalization that some kind of ground clearance, reliability, and toughness are the attributes you want.
1. Toyota Pickup/Hilux/4runner – 80’s and or 90′ flavor. Its hard to beat that the offering of the 22r/e is notably one the best engines ever produced. Down to the gear driven transfercase found in the models up to the 89. Robust, small, get you anywhere type of rig that you can rely on, day in and day out. Box frame, solid front axle up to 85. Simple and rigid.
2. Isuzu Rodeo / Honda Passport – The unsung hero of a go anywhere vehicle. Though i still don’t know much about them, you never hear or see of any significant issues, and have been dependable and practical for generations. Parts may be harder to come by since they have long since been discontinued, however, another reliable unit that has taken people most places.
3. Gen 1 Nissan Pathfinder – May be privy to some rust, however that didn’t necessarily affect the performance they offered. similar to the Rodeo, there is plenty of room for camping gear, narrow, and able to take some abuse.
4. Mitsubishi Montero / Pajero – They really kind of speak for themselves, as they performed well in rally, and you could really throw anything in their way and they will overcome. Whether you had the V6 or Turbo 4cylinder option, again, robust and reliable. While Gen 2 offered an optional locking diff, abs, and ability to shift from 2wd to 4wd on the fly, unlike the gen 1, where you had to be sitting still.
With any of these options, you can’t go wrong.
Any Nissan body-on-frame SUV/truck from 2005-2017. It’s very hard to beat the value they bring. They are very capable from factory with true low range, excellent 4×4 system, and rock solid reliable drive train and a novice off roader will be more than satisfied with the adventures you can take. You’re getting Toyota reliability at the price of domestic sedans. You can easily pick these up between 7k – 15k for a good vehicle that may not need a whole lot to take you off the beaten path. These aren’t so old that you can’t get parts for them or are close to end of life (due to rust and other factors) or don’t have modern creature comfort and electronics such as navigation, dvd players, etc. and aren’t so new that you have unnecessary driving aids that are constantly beeping in off road situations. Speaking of parts, Nissan body-on-frame SUVs/trucks from this period share a LARGE number of parts making them serviceable for at least another decade. They are very easy to work on as well. Aside from capability, most people forget that you use regular roads and highways to get to off road areas and older SUVs (pre 2005) that may be affordable just can’t get out of their own way with the underpowered engines they have, not to mention the weight of additional gear you carry.
Don’t get me wrong, these SUVs/trucks are also great for experienced off-roaders because you can easily build them up as you get more into the activity.
1995 Corolla!
We got our 87 Suzuki Samurai Tin Top out of necessity. A snowstorm hit our city & it took my partner 4 hours to get work instead of the usual 20 minutes. She could very easily have called in sick but she was determined. Being responsible, she called in saying she was encountering a significant amount of trouble getting there, the manager, in a deadpan voice says “it’s not our problem where you live.” We both have the same job for the same company so I thought of a small capable 4WD. I found a dilapidated hardtop model on Craigslist. It looked so bad, my partner said get that thing out of site until you finish it. I cleaned it & modded it in record time to a beautiful state. After two decades, this little workhorse has gotten us to work without fail, got us to the hospital for my final goodbye to my mother during a storm & served up some the most beautiful views in the mountains.
The sad, last chapter is getting totaled along with 5 other cars when an elderly driver had a medical emergency. It had served us well.
The best rig, bar none, for a novice off-roader is someone else’s. Preferably the person’s that will go with you that actually knows what they are doing, can help you avoid doing something very stupid, will help and show you what you need to consider when off-roading and why, as well as encouraging you, knowing when to say when, and of course someone to remember the experience with after a successful return from the wild.
Why sink a bunch of money into something that you may not even enjoy and then be condemned to a vehicle that will not be as good to drive on-road as off-road?
But almost any vehicle can go off-road to an extent. The two most important things that will separate a good time from frustration are A) Tires and B) Ground clearance. Your tires do not have to be the tire with the most marketing behind it and hence the most expensive, almost any inexpensive All-Terrain tire will be good enough if you are starting out for far longer and further than you’d imagine. And ground clearance matters to help get you over stuff that will otherwise damage your vehicle and/or thwart forward progress.
It ate my comment. 3x.
Sorry, the spam filter can be over-aggressive sometimes. Recovered.
I think the best is to ride a cheap rig that you do not love. Tires are not a must but almost, stock vehicles can go quite far without even being lifted. Not your local jeep trail, but to learn, why spend more?
Once again, something cheap to run and fix so you do not break the bank practicing, and something you do not love so you do not suffer a mental break down hitting and grinding stuff!
Jeeps and Tacomas are the obvious first choice, but not cheap and quite big. The Isuzu everyone rave about is a great choice, but I would suggest a simple Subaru Forester. Parts should be plentyful, foresters should be plentyful in fact, their 4WD is good and it is pretty not liftable. Good visibility, plenty enough to mess around while you figure out the kind of offroading you like to do!
A Jeep. There’s billions of them and who really cares if one gets destroyed by a novice off roader?
I’m thinking of an old Nissan Xterra. They’re pretty common, pretty cheap, pretty solid, and has a great reputation. The 3.3liter V6 is super durable, and it’s body-on-frame design means you get some trail-cred. Nissan sold quite a few of them, and not all of them hit the trails, so I think there’s probably a lot of good examples out there.