Most standard-issue passenger cars are pretty decent at keeping their composure when the blacktop gives way to the great outdoors, as long as we’re talking firmish surfaces, not-too-steep grades, and no obstacles so deep or tall that your grocery-getter gets high-centered and prevents you from getting groceries.
However, there are some completely regular, not at all off-roady, strictly-street cars that are oddly competent and perhaps even downright good at off-roading. Maybe not great on the scale of legit 4X4’s capability, but on the spectrum of “holy shit, I can’t believe I made it through there” – heck yeah, there are some very unassuming rides that will surprise you with their surefootedness when adventure calls, and that’s what we’re talking about for this edition of Autopian Asks.
For Shitbox Showdown scribe Mark Tucker, it’s the Volkswagen Golf that comes to mind, as he explains: “I did lots of ill-advised things in a VW Golf on dirt roads in college. I actually wrote a post about it on Opposite Lock ages ago. Give me a second and I’ll grab the link … Things I Learned On Mocassin Mike Road.”
Torch and I both have a different Volkswagen in mind as a secretly-great off-roader – you might say it’s the Volkswagen, the good ol’ Beetle. You can watch Jason wheel a Class 11 Beetle below, and as he notes, this race-prepped Beetle is still very much a regular Beetle in the most important Beetle-defining ways (as opposed to a mere shell with virtually every component replaced), and that Beetlness is what makes it great in the dirt.
Now, I’ve never driven a Class 11 Beetle, but I did own a 1974 Super Beetle, and I can confirm it was a hearty machine even if its Mac struts had all the damping of pogo sticks. I can’t say it turned very well, as on anything less sticky than dry pavement it understeered with a level of under that could be classified as “Marianas Trench.” But with the engine over the rear driveshafts and its smooth-ish pan chassis, that Beetle was hard to stop in sand and snow. It was also hard to stop, period, because the brakes – but that’s another story.
But if there’s a GOAT for the automobile with the biggest delta between how off-road ready you expect it to be versus how off-roadable it actually is, it’s gotta be the Ford Model T. The T is the antithesis of rugged-looking, all quivering fenders and skinny tires, and yet it seems to defy physics with its terrain-conquering capability. Just watch:
How does it do it? We asked a bonafide suspension engineer just that! Click the graphic (or right here) and our pal Huibert Mees will explain all:
Now it’s your turn:
What Cars Are Way Better Off-Roaders Than They Have Any Right To Be?
Top graphic image: Jalopnik/YouTube
I’ve come to the conclusion, after significant testing, that my Buick Roadmaster Estate is about as capable off-road as a Subaru Outback, given the proper tires. It has 7.5 in of ground clearance, a highly articulate solid rear axle, high sidewall tires on 15in wheels, no electronic nannies whatsoever, and a frame that places the rails right at the edge of the car, allowing me to treat the edge of the car like I have rock rails. It’s greatest weakness isn’t 2WD, it’s the approach & departure angles.
As befits its reputation for indestructibility, an old girlfriend of mine managed to off-road her 1983 300D in a few situations that no two wheel drive sedan should ever be able to get into and out of, but it did.
Another vote here for the Renault 4. Every summer I’ve been to ride some trails in the Alps I’ve come across the 4Alps rally – A bunch of Renault 4s that cross the Alps on and off road, and it never fails to impress us how capable they are on those trails.
Really one of the items that makes a car good off-road is not following what is perceived as “offroadiness.” Turns out, one of the best cars off road and in the snow was the old VW Squareback. It had essentially a flat pan for the entire length of the car. It could slide over virtually anything without damage, float on water and glide over deep snow. The rear engine put the weight right over the rear axel. It was also narrow. Most offrodie perceived cars are far too wide to be of any value. That whole big tire extra wide thing is for Hot Wheel cars, not off roading. Narrow tires are also best in rocky areas and desert armor. Higher PSI loading keeps the tire from stripping it off. If it is sand, then and only then, lower the tire pressure. If it is mud, let some other idiot drive down it. I would take that VW everywhere, much to the amazement of old Toyota FJ drivers and CJ drivers. I am a geologist and I do have to go off-road for work all the time. I’ve done it on 6 continents. The next best is a Peugeot 505 or a Series III Land Rover.
In high school some friends and I acquired a VW Beetle. No body at all, just the floor pan. Was a ton of fun on the state forest roads. Could go everywhere we needed off road.
That would be my Plymouth Arrow. Back when I drove in the snow with winter tires, it did a lot better than expected. Front engine, rear drive, open diff, and light weight. These cars, equipped with the 2.6 and 5 speed, did pretty well in their class of rally racing. Even would get fairly high in standings for a winter rally called snowdrift.
Old 70s-90s Mercedes. I’ve seen them conquer the impossible in impoverished African countries (at least through documentaries.)
As usual, Miata is always the answer.
Can’t believe no one has reference British Sporting Trials. And one of the more popular cars is the MG Ts and Js.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Gc5wxrnqMY
It might not rise up to notability but I can personally attest the third gen Sorento punches above its weight between everything being tucked up and solid AWD plus traction control.
I put a 30 mm spacer lift on mine and it was somewhere between stock and Wilderness Outback in off-road angles, but without a CVT to stall.
Limitations to note are the four cylinders being trash, transmission cooling, stock ground clearance, non-serviceable AWD unit, approach angle and whole no-immobilizer thing but it’ll take on more than folks might think. But nobody will be surprised at what it can’t do.
An unmodified Gen2 Prius is very much an onroad machine, with enough ground clearance to get over speed bumps and that’s all. With a cheap lift of a couple of inches and another inch of tire, a Prius is surprisingly far-ranging. It won’t chase the Wranglers all the way into the hinterlands, but it’ll capably go so far afield that it’ll take a Wrangler to drag it back after it gets stuck.
My old 4×2 Truck is so determinedly a creature of the streets it’s almost embarrassing. You could be excused for thinking, “Truck = more flexible,” but it just isn’t. Open diff, no weight over the drive wheels and street tires, present the Truck with anything slicker than a wet road and it becomes a tail wagging mess. The Prius is my go-to in snow, not the Truck.
Surprisingly in my experience triumph spitfires can be excellent off roading machines hampered only by low ground clearance. having such a low weight and nearly 50-50 weight distribution with a fully independent suspension makes them shine where traction is limited. At my dad’s old house there was a very steep hill covered in long wet grass. No other vehicles we ever had could get up this hill if it was the slightest bit damp – not jeeps, trucks, etc. Spitfires didn’t care at all. Miatas are surprisingly good for similar reasons – a fellow took a stock Nb on our Latest Gambler 500 run in NY and did really well and drove it home.
2nd gen Prius. Have taken it everywhere and it never stranded me. Beach, sure…rocks and mud, no problem….its right up there with my 4Runner, i just cant kill it and it wont let me down
On PriusChat I’ve seen testimony and videos of happy offroad Prius owners, usually just after tires and a small lift. Then they usually camp out of the back because it is a hatchback.
Fiat Uno. Much like the Beetle, these are light weight cars with high ground clearance and thin tires. I’ve driven these off road in Africa with no issues at all. If it gets stuck, a few people can push, pull, or even lift it out pretty easily. A small but torquey diesel engine didn’t hurt either.
We took our 1st gen Scion xB everywhere we wanted in the nature reserves in central Quebec, logging roads in Maine, etc.
Not much ground clearance but the wheelbase was so short and narrow that we’d just drive around obstacles.
We also had a foldable canoe in a storage bin on the roof.
People would be be getting stuck with lifted trucks pulling fishing boats, and we’d just scoot up and unfold our canoe.
The Renault 4. I’m not even joking. Granted, some stuff it can only tackle in reverse – not enough power in that engine to drag a car behind it up a steep grade, but turn it around and have it push the car up while putting down extra weight on the front wheels and baby, that thing will take some impressive inclines and rough terrains. I have tested this myself after it struggled to go up a narrow path up a hill full of twists and turns, and with lots of roots and loose rocks on the gound, as well as patches of soft dirt that caused wheelspin. I remembered an anecdote my dad used to tell about how he had to reverse out of a ditch once, turned the car around, and after an excruciating 15 minutes I’d made it back to the road. Probably halved the lifespan of that clutch right there, but that’s fine – it still held up for another three years before it failed.
My sister is a forest engineer, and they had an in-joke in portuguese forest services back in the day: they had UMM off-roaders to reach the really hard spots, and Quatrelles to reach anything beyond the UMM’s capabilities.
Renault and Dacia should get more love here. It’s well deserved.
’03 – ’08 Corolla. Specifically with the 5 speed, which you will never overheat off-road like an automatic could. They have pretty good stock ground clearance for a sedan, too. I took my ’06 all over rough mining roads in the CA and NV desert when I was in college and it is amazing what you can get up with some momentum and good wheel placement. Dirt road too steep? I’ve reversed up some stuff intentionally to have better traction on the drive wheels.
There’s also a YouTuber who explores abandoned mines with a 2006 Corolla that has seen horribly rough desert truck trails and the guy now has like 450,000 miles on it. Wild stuff.
Any VW bus. I took my ’64 Deluxe everywhere offroad. Then we took our ’76 VW ASI camper offroad for our honeymoon. We rolled the ’76, got the tire back on the rim and drove it 1000 miles back home. We took our ’80 VW Vanagon Westfalia all over back roads of Arizona and California. We went down roads that no way we would be able to go back up, just hoping the road lead out somewhere. A VW bus is a fine offroad vehicle.
Yep, I have taken both my T2 and T3 offroad and both did well despite being 2wd. Great ground clearance and apparently good articulation help them.
I have seen the Synchros tackle some pretty serious offroad too, but they are made for it.
There where some prototype 4wd T2’s at one time, But they never got made, Which is a shame. I would imagine they would be astronomical in value now if they had been.
Why is Torch wearing pants that are six inches too long?
I’d like to imagine that he ripped his pants very badly and the only person with an extra pair was very tall. In reality, I bet he got them on clearance.
Does a mini moke Californian count? Not sure it does.
Anything with a competent driver with a f$&@ it attitude tends to do well.
I had a beater ’98 Chevy (Geo) Metro on snow tires that I rallycrossed, and also participated in the inaugural Gambler 500-Illinois with. That thing absolutely ruled off-road! It was like a tiny little billygoat.
One of the first necessities in successfully tackling any offroad path in a vehicle is a willingness to give it a go. If you’re not concerned about the car’s physical wellbeing, all of them become offroaders and then the limiting factor is the skill of the driver.
I once drove a 1993 Subaru Legacy GT all over New Zealand’s famous unimproved roads, through real snow/ice and deep into some forest service roads off any map that it was not designed to be on. Sure, Subaru is known for it’s AWD, but I learned that (like David always says) the most important aspects of off road are approach/departure angle and ground clearance – which the Legacy has none. Doubly true for a GT wagon with street tites. Still – she held her own well past what the specs would suggest.
My dad’s friend had two Legacys in the 90s, both did great in the New England snow from what I heard.