Moderate off-roading is when you leave paved roads and drive on rough dirt or uneven trails. It’s harder than normal driving, but it’s not the most extreme type of off-roading.
“Adventure vehicles” are cars and SUVs marketed for outdoor trips. They’re made to look and act more ready for dirt roads and camping, even if they’re not extreme off-road machines.
Off-road trims are versions of a vehicle that come with extra gear meant for rougher driving. Sometimes it’s real capability upgrades, and sometimes it’s mostly rugged-looking styling.
Term
X-pros
“X-Pro” is a name automakers use for a more rugged-looking version of a vehicle. It can include real off-road upgrades, but you should verify what parts are different.
Term
XRTs
“XRT” is a trim name that usually means the vehicle is aimed at rugged or outdoor use. The badge doesn’t always tell you everything—what matters is what upgrades you actually get.
The Jeep Grand Cherokee is a family-sized SUV that can drive on regular roads and also handle some rough off-road paths. It’s the kind of vehicle people choose when they want comfort but still want the option to go off the pavement.
Ground clearance is how much space there is between the bottom of the vehicle and the ground. If it’s higher, you’re less likely to hit the underside on rocks or bumps. The host is saying clearance matters for real off-roading.
All-terrain tires are made to handle both normal roads and rougher surfaces like dirt or gravel. They usually grip better off pavement than regular highway tires. The host’s point is that tires help a lot, but you still need the right vehicle clearance and protection.
Underbody protection is extra shielding under the car to keep it from getting damaged by rocks and obstacles. It’s especially important when you drive off-road where you might hit the ground. The host says you need this if you’re going beyond casual dirt roads.
The Land Rover Defender is a rugged SUV built for off-road trails. The big deal is that it comes in several different sizes and versions, and many of them are set up for off-roading right from the factory.
The Range Rover is a luxury SUV that can go off-road, but it still needs the right tires to do it well. If you don’t have tires meant for rough surfaces, it won’t perform as confidently off the pavement.
The Subaru Forester Hybrid is a Forester that uses a hybrid powertrain. The host really likes it for this type of camping/off-road lifestyle, and they also mention a more rugged Wilderness Hybrid version on the way.
The Toyota RAV4 is a small SUV that can handle dirt roads better when it has the right tires and more clearance. Here, the point is that all-terrain tires and extra ground clearance make it noticeably more capable off-road.
The Jeep Wrangler is famous for being a very capable off-road SUV without needing upgrades. The host’s point is that it’s the best choice if you want maximum trail capability right away.
The Subaru Forester Wilderness is a tougher version of the Forester meant for camping and rougher roads. In this segment, the key idea is that the Wilderness setup (like tires and clearance) is what improves its off-road ability.
The Subaru Outback is a car-like wagon/crossover that’s meant for everyday driving and road trips. It’s known for being able to handle different conditions better than a typical car, especially with all-wheel drive.
The Subaru Crosstrek is a small crossover SUV. The podcast is saying it’s a good match for what the host wants—small enough to be easy to live with, but capable enough for everyday and light adventure driving.
Bend, Oregon is a Central Oregon city known for outdoor recreation, which makes it a fitting location for test drives and discussions about camping-oriented vehicles. The host uses it as a personal travel reference while describing the Wilderness launch experience.
Body-on-frame means the car’s body sits on a separate heavy frame underneath. That design is often used for serious off-roading because it can take more abuse on rough roads.
The Nissan Xterra is a tough, off-road SUV. The host is saying Nissan is bringing it back, which suggests more people want factory-ready trail capability again.
The Ford Bronco is an off-road SUV that’s also comfortable for normal driving. The host likes it because it can handle trails, but it’s not as hardcore and rough as some other off-road-focused models.
The Toyota Land Cruiser is a large SUV made for tough driving, including off-road trips. People talk about it a lot because it’s designed to last and handle rough terrain.
The Toyota 4Runner is an SUV made for off-road driving and rougher roads. People often choose it when they want something that can handle trails and still work as a normal vehicle for daily life.
The Jeep Wrangler is an SUV designed for off-road driving. The Rubicon 392 is a special version meant to be especially capable on trails, and the podcast is talking about using one for their off-road plans.
“Limited tires” here means the vehicle is using tires that aren’t optimized for off-road traction (for example, less aggressive tread or less sidewall protection). Tire choice strongly affects how well an SUV can climb, brake, and stay stable on dirt and rocks.
The host is making a practical point: even people who love off-roading usually don’t spend all day on trails. So the best choice is a vehicle that can handle off-road trips but still works well for normal everyday driving.
A “rig” is a vehicle that’s been modified for off-roading. The host says many serious off-roaders start with a used vehicle, then upgrade it, instead of buying a brand-new one and taking the risk of damage.
Towing a dedicated off-road rig means transporting it behind another vehicle to reach the trailhead. This is a common strategy when someone wants a comfortable daily driver (like a full-size SUV) but still wants a specialized off-road setup for the actual trail time.
The Mercedes-Benz G-Class is a luxury SUV that can go off-road, but it’s also very expensive. The host’s point is that people usually don’t want to scratch a brand-new one, so they wheel older ones instead.
The Toyota 4Runner is a rugged SUV that’s popular for off-road driving. The host is saying that because it’s usually cheaper than a luxury SUV, people are more willing to drive it on trails.
The Land Rover Defender 130 is a long version of Land Rover’s tough off-road SUV. It’s the kind of vehicle people bring to trail events because it’s designed to handle rough roads and challenging terrain.
The Chevrolet Sonic is a small, compact car. The podcast is mentioning it because it was used for a camping trip, showing that you don’t always need a large SUV to go on an outdoor outing.
The Ford F-150 is a big pickup truck. The key point here is that it can provide electricity from the truck itself, which is useful for camping when you want to run lights, chargers, or other gear without bringing a separate generator.
An onboard power supply means the truck can make electricity by itself. That’s handy for camping because you can run lights, charge devices, and power trailer equipment without bringing extra power equipment.
The GMC Sierra EV is an electric truck that can provide electricity for camping. The host is saying you can run your camper stuff for days using the truck, instead of bringing a loud gas generator.
The host mentions a recurring list they do for family cars. They’re using the same kind of checklist—space, seats, and cargo—to decide what works best for camping too.
Roof rails are the bars/tracks on top of a vehicle. They’re useful for camping because you can strap on or mount things like a tent setup or extra gear on the roof.
The Ford Bronco Sport is a small SUV that’s meant to handle dirt roads and rougher places. The host likes it for camping because it’s easy to keep clean, has lots of storage, and can still get you to more remote campsites.
A wilderness trim is a version of a car that’s set up for rougher outdoor use. The host is saying the Crosstrek Hybrid doesn’t have that rugged version yet, but they hope it will be added later.
The Subaru Crosstrek Hybrid is a small SUV that uses a hybrid system to help you spend less on fuel. In this segment, the host likes it for camping because it’s efficient and still practical for outdoor trips.
A 12 volt outlet is a power plug inside the vehicle. For camping, it’s important because you can power things like a portable fridge without constantly buying ice or hunting for other power sources.
A plug-in fridge is a portable cooler that can run using the car’s power. Instead of relying on ice every day, you can keep food cold more easily during your trip.
An easy-to-clean interior means the inside of the vehicle is made to handle dirt and mud better. That’s useful when you bring a lot of grime back from trails or campsites.
Term
crown clearance
They mean ground clearance: how high the car sits off the ground. More clearance helps you avoid hitting the bottom when the road is bumpy or uneven.
A super firm suspension means the car’s shocks and springs are set up to be stiff. That can make the ride jarring on bumpy roads, even if it feels “sporty” on pavement.
The A-pillar is the structural support between the windshield and the side window area. In a rough off-road ride, excessive bouncing can make occupants hit or get too close to it, which is why suspension compliance matters for comfort and safety.
Term
ultrain tires
This sounds like a transcription glitch, but the point is about tire choice. Softer, more forgiving tires help the ride feel less jarring on rough dirt or forest roads.
The Mazda CX-50 is a crossover aimed at people who want to drive to outdoor spots. The host is talking about how changing the suspension makes it ride smoother on rough roads, while still keeping it fun to drive.
The Chevrolet Colorado ZR2 is a tougher version of the Colorado meant for off-road use. The host’s point is that it doesn’t have to feel harsh or awkward on regular roads.
Dampers are the shock absorbers that control how your suspension moves. “Multi-matic” usually means the shocks can manage different kinds of bumps so the ride stays comfortable without feeling out of control.
The Subaru Outback Wilderness is a more trail-capable version of the Outback wagon. It has extra clearance for rough roads, but the host says it still rides smoothly instead of feeling bouncy or harsh.
The Citroën 2CV is an older, simple car with a very soft, relaxed ride. The podcast is saying it’s normal for it to move around a lot while driving, so you kind of have to expect that feel.
Car
Citroen 2CV
The Citroën 2CV is famous for riding very softly, with lots of movement over bumps. The host is saying the Outback Wilderness doesn’t feel like that—it stays controlled even with big clearance.
The Honda Passport TrailSport is a version of the Passport made for people who want more off-road ability. The host says it manages to be capable on trails without sacrificing too much comfort.
Off-roaders are cars made to drive on rough ground, like dirt trails or uneven paths. The idea here is that you should test them where they’re actually meant to go, not only on regular roads.
John Vincent is mentioned as a colleague (a deputy editor) who helped take part in the vehicle testing. He’s part of the team doing the off-road evaluation.
An off-road obstacle course is a controlled test layout that forces vehicles to demonstrate traction and control over challenging terrain elements. It’s used to compare off-road performance more realistically than a simple paved-road drive.
Nuapa Mudfest sounds like an event where people test off-road vehicles on muddy or rough terrain. The host is saying it’s a good setup for comparing cars in the real conditions they’re built for.
LIVE
Welcome to the Auto Guide Show, this week we have a special show where we are really
going to dig down and talk about the best vehicles for off-roading for consumers, not
hardcore off-roading but moderate off-roading as well as some of the best choices for camping
and we have a special guest who this is what he does, he off-roads every new vehicle and
has the best recommendations so we'll be back after a very quick pause and have an
in-depth conversation with him on this special episode.
All right welcome back we have a special guest with us Alex if you can just introduce yourself
and explain what you do to our listeners. Sure hi Mike I'm Alex Quanton the managing editor
for autos at US News and World Report and we evaluate vehicles for consumers and we hope
to give consumers a good window in what they should buy and the best choices they can make.
Yeah so that's a great segue sort of into what we're going to talk about because one of probably
if not the hottest segments in the last I don't know five years has been adventure vehicles it seems
every SUV and even some cars need a ruggedized something or other out there but they're not
all the same right? Oh not at all and it's funny the last five years I've brought all these like
various off-road trims trail sports and wildernesses and you know X-pros and XRTs and all kinds of
things and you know some of them are really genuinely capable and they can do a lot of stuff
others not so much they're mostly about the appearance of ruggedness but what we wanted to
do here is give awards for sort of four really good choices of things that people commonly do
and we do all these things too so off-road SUVs off-road trucks best cars for camping best vehicles
for road trips you know we have done all those things we have our data guy regularly camps in
Colorado one of our road test editors does super long road trips in his Jeep you know I'm off-roading
all the time in fact later today I will be driving the Jeep Grand Wagon here and I will probably
taking that off road as well so this is stuff we really do and we really live and we wanted to
sort of recognize the vehicles that we thought were the best and that also had sort of the best
scores in our data analysis yeah it's not just some people sitting around saying oh yeah that's a
good camp car and you know they could off-road all right yeah and it's interesting you brought up
about how those different trims like some are very capable and we've done some comparisons
reviews too and some of them you're like this is great like it's such a great bridge between
real hardcore sort of body on frame off-roader and it's just something that's meant for pavement
and then other ones you get in the off-road trim and it's got lower ground clearance and you're like
how did that happen yeah or it just doesn't have enough you know I mean I think like it's great to
have a more rugged appearance and the addition of all terrain tires really makes a huge difference I
think you can throw a really good set of all terrain tires on a lot of different things
and that will instantly make them more capable in the dirt however it's not enough to just throw
the tires on there and you know you really do need the ground clearance and you do need to
to think about some degree of underbody protection if you're really doing serious off-roading
so yeah you know some of them are awesome and others you're like well it looks nice
yeah yeah so I mean and it's funny because that is part of the appeal right like people
want to look like they're ready to go hiking or off-roading and they're never gonna do it but
it's that it's the same reason a lot of us that aren't that in shape where I thought it closed it's
just uh oh yeah it's a lifestyle well you know how can you really pretend that you're part of
Tony Sopranos family if you're not wearing a tracksuit come on yeah so um let's go through
those four categories quickly I mean that probably makes the most sense so uh which one do you want
to start with you know we can start with uh just the off-road SUVs you know like we basically
you know wanted to pick a represented a sort of wide representation of categories
and in this is the only one where we actually chose a luxury vehicle also because I will say
that the luxury off-roader is absolutely a trope where people buy these very aggressive looking
rugged looking off-roaders the the g-class stands out but then they don't really use them in any kind
of way you can get all-terrain tires on the g-class from the factory it is true I don't know how many
people actually ever do that I'd be very interested to know the take rate on on that package but it's
you know it's like a 10 grand addition to a very expensive vehicle already that people are maybe
already trepidatious about taking it off-road you could uh I've done it but uh you probably won't
so I actually think maybe the Land Rover Defender is a good place to start because the Defender is like
the it has the widest lineup of body styles and trims of basically any SUV you can buy I think
in America it has a two-door model it has a four-door model and it has a stretch three-row
four-door model each one of them has an off-road trim some of them have v8s I was really interested
in the sort of the 130s off-road trim which actually is only a two-row and it sort of almost
resembles a van in the back that's a really interesting vehicle and we you know we score the
whole lineup and we score the whole class so it's not just like our opinions of what we drove we
actually look at what features does it come with how well do we think it performs you know what are
the features that we think people are going to really want out of an off-roader and basically
no matter how you configure the Defender you can get a good off-roader out of it it's pretty good
off-roader as a baseline but the fact that there's so many different varieties of it and you know
there are posture off-roading SUVs I was in a Range Rover not long ago but you can't get
all terrain tires on a Range Rover but you can on a Defender and you know I'd be willing to as a
person who actually goes on trails I would be much more willing to spend uh money on a luxury
SUV that could do those things that I actually would use them for than I would for one I couldn't
although I understand the appeal so yeah we we thought the Defender really as a whole
deserved that award but there are also categories where we thought there's maybe one specific trim
that really stands out and I want to single out the RAV4 Woodland the Toyota RAV4 Woodland there
this is a brand new design the RAV4 is new for 2026 and it's hybrid only
and I'm a really huge fan of the Subaru Forester Hybrid I absolutely love the Subaru Forester Hybrid
and I feel like for me that's my personal favorite in that class there is a Forester Wilderness Hybrid
that is coming for 2027 but we haven't driven or scored that one yet it's not out yet the RAV4 Woodland
which we have driven I drove it in May you know I took it on an off-road obstacle course we had a
great time with it you know it comes with all terrain tires it comes with plenty of ground
clearance it was quite capable off-road and I feel like just those all terrain tires really
make a difference there and that's a great off-road package for the RAV4 but we didn't want to give
the whole RAV4 line up that award because without the extra ground clearance and the tires it wasn't
quite as capable as the Forester so we had like a very narrow second place Forester finish there
you know a lot of the other ones I think it's pretty clear that the Jeep Wrangler is probably the
most capable off-road vehicle you can buy out of the box no surprise that that dominated that
that class the Forester was the regular Forester was again second because of the Forester Wilderness
and when people look at that you know we do want to recognize that the Wrangler is so much more
capable and off-roader than the Forester that it really deserves that award if you don't need
all of that capability the Forester does offer you something that's a lot more practical day to
day it you know it gets better gas mileage has more room you know that's more safety features
so it is up to people we do delineate that in our stories so yeah off-road SUVs do you want
you want to know about any more of them I know there's so many of them so I know and and like
the ones you brought up are all ones that I fully agree with I mean the it's surprising how good the
wilderness sub brand is with the Subaru's and they don't even have that aggressive of all-terrain
tires I mean a few aftermarket put on even more aggressive I couldn't imagine they could do like
the Outback is so good at what it does for how long that thing still is and like you said the Forester
hybrid wilderness is one I too personally I'm looking forward to and I'm hoping it goes in
the cross track because that's sort of my sweet spot one oh yes even lighter and smaller and I'm
sure it's coming it's just the Forester gets I'm sure it's common it's it's just probably a ways
off and you know I would love to see a hybrid cross track wilderness that would be amazing
and I remember when they were first launching wilderness brand I went to the drive for the
original Forester wilderness in 2021 and I remember on my way down the drive was in Bend, Oregon
and on my way down I kept passing you know modified Subaru after
modified Subaru on the trails out there and even on the highway just getting to and from
and it wasn't surprising to me that Subaru and other automakers recognized like how
how many people were interested in these off-road optimizations and these off-road modifications
and decided hey you know what why don't we just build one from the factory and I feel like that's
been a really big success for Subaru obviously there's a little bit of a difference between that
and building a dedicated body on frame off-roader there is a lot of manufacturer interest in that
too and as we know the Nissan XTERRA is coming back in a couple years and there are a whole
bunch of new body on frame things coming but um yeah it's it's really interesting to see how that
evolved from something where it was kind of niche to now it's kind of very mainstream and people are
just buying from the factory yeah and the Ford Bronco has been pretty successful since it's come
back for Ford and it seems like there's six new additions every year and how to spawn off the
forerunner and the Land Cruiser like it's yeah it's it's a big segment right now it is and the
Bronco is such a good vehicle uh I mean it's it's a lot more refined than you would expect from a
vehicle like that uh and it you know like it looks good it drives well it off-roads really well
I can understand why people are so taken with it yeah two years ago we actually had a
it was a weird mix of vehicles because it was what was available but we had a Rubicon 392 Wrangler
a heritage Bronco and the first addition Land Cruiser because it had just come out
and we did off-roading with them and road tests but we had to drive two hours to get there and I
came away out of the three I said the Bronco is the one for me because I don't do the hardcore or
need the all-time hardcoreness of the Wrangler and the Bronco was so much more civilized on the
highway and the the Land Cruiser was surprisingly good off-road for its limited tires and and
ground clearance but it was limited so it's just like yeah this Bronco I get its appeal it's sort
of the right in between of of the the wilderness Land Cruisers up to the Wrangler I mean that's
that's how it is I mean I don't know how far you have to go in Ontario but out here in the
Pacific Northwest I'm based in Seattle but like I'll go two hours each way to get to my favorite
trails and you know like in in a really very optimized off-road vehicle those two hours can
be really a chore they're not the Bronco and one of the things we wanted to focus on here was also
picks that give people something where they can live with it every day because even people who
are into hardcore off-roading probably aren't spending more than like a quarter of their time
in the vehicle at a high estimate doing that they're usually using it day to day and if you
you know right now these days everybody feels stretched and I feel like most people can only
afford one vehicle so we wanted to give people recommendations I think we always try to give
people recommendations that are it's good for the purpose you want it for this niche purpose but
it's also good to live with so we really strive to hit that mark yeah I think something that's
lost sometimes on people is they see like the the Sasquatch Broncos or the Rubicon Wranglers and
they're like oh well you get those but the people who really live off-road and do it all the time
they're not buying these new and taking them off-road they're building rigs out of used ones
but they probably have something like maybe a Tahoe with the ZR or not yeah ZR2 package or
something to tow that rig to their trail so it still needs something but like with your G-class
like I'd be shocked if more than a low single percentage of people have ever taken a first
owner taking a G-class off-road because you're not spending that money and then
risking scratching it whereas a forestry wilderness or a forerunner like yeah people are
definitely going to take those off-road because they're not you know $200,000 deep in this vehicle
I mean I feel like if you're going to take a G-class off-road you're probably going to invest in
an old G-class I mean like give me like a 230 GE or or a 300 GD or something like a like an 80s
version nothing nothing fancy just something simple and effective I would love a vehicle like that
and that's that's really probably better I'm sure that Mercedes-Benz would like to
emphasize that they would like to sell some off-roading but but yeah I mean I definitely
think most people who are the hardest core people are building their own rigs and we didn't intend
this for them we intended it for people who are into off-roading or maybe want to explore more
off-roading maybe they rented something or they went out with a friend and now they want to do some
of their own something that's going to not get them in trouble be reliable as a daily
be usable in the real world and the same is true for the trucks I mean I can move on to the trucks
if you want yeah I think we'll actually move to camping in a second but the the class you're
talking about like the the customer you're talking about is I saw it firsthand was actually on a
Land Rover event we were off-roading Defender 130s in one of those there's a lot of off-road
almost like country clubs opening up where it's a whole park and there's trails everywhere and you
pay a fee to be in there and it was full of side-by-sides but lots of Wranglers and Broncos that were
somewhat new and those are the people who drive these all week but then they come here to play
on the weekend and they're not there's different levels of trails they're not going to get themselves
in too much trouble they're not the ones who are you know trying to climb a mountain no one's ever
been on and they have a whole kit to repair axles on the go and whatnot so yeah no I fully get it
yeah let's just I don't want to take up two inch of time let's shift gears to camping because I
think that's something probably even more people are involved in and um some will say well any car
is a good camping car I mean any car yes you can camp in but some really excel and it's little
things that people maybe don't think about right you know uh any car can be a good camping car
and in fact when we were discussing this I remember talking we talked among ourselves as editors and
I said I remember seeing somebody on a trail out here in Washington camping in a Chevy Sonic
which is like you know a really really tiny vehicle uh but you know if you have like if you if you
don't want to camp directly inside the vehicle or you don't mind sleeping in the driver's seat
that's fine but most of the time I think the priority are the priorities are sort of space
amenities getting to and from the actual camping spot uh I will say that the the vehicles that are
the most appropriate and the best camping vehicles that we we ranked in this list were two big trucks
because those two trucks have onboard power supplies that can power your whole campsite and
your trailer so the Ford F-150 has a as an onboard power supply and the Ford F-150 Hybrid has such
a robust onboard power supply that it can really actually power a campsite for several days including
a whole trailer and you don't have to have like a noisy generator or anything uh so even if you
don't have the trailer it's super useful for running your appliances and whatever uh the GMC
Sierra EV also has that capability uh and you know if you're if you're really into the deluxe
hardcore camping uh with all your uh your all your pieces and your trailer uh that's really the
like real luxury to be able to have that that power on demand um but most of the other ones were
things where we thought okay it's a it's a reasonably large vehicle uh it has pretty good
some of the things that make some of these vehicles a good family vehicle we also do
a best cars for families every winter that usually comes out in February uh mostly around
size amenities like oh does it have you know how can you fold the seats what kind of cargo room
does it have to bring your gear can you lie things flat in it so does it make a good camper
on its own uh you know does it have good roof rails for supporting a tent you know all all kinds of
factors like that we're like what things would we want to do at the campsite and how would
we best be served with this and in fact you know you can camp in a pretty small vehicle as we were
just saying and the two smallest ones that we chose were the Ford Bronco Sport uh not really
much of a surprise there because it is very optimized with lots of it's easy to clean interior
it has a lot of uh holding a lot of little storage cubbies and a pretty good cargo area
and it can actually get you to the campsite even if it's a relatively remote place because
it is fairly off-road capable even in the base form you can still take it off-road
and the Subaru Crosstrek Hybrid which doesn't have a wilderness trim yet but it hopefully one
day will but I love the Subaru Crosstrek Hybrid because I feel like I can pretty much go to
most campsites that I would want to camp at uh it's not big inside but it has enough room for
gear for maybe two or three people to to take to a campsite and if you're only one or two you
could sleep inside it it's it's small but you could do it uh and it has nice chunky roof rails
there's there's all kinds of things there and uh we wanted to give people options beyond just like
the the best specific camper we wanted to give people things as I said that are useful in the
real world so if I were choosing between the Bronco Sport and the Crosstrek Hybrid I think
the fuel economy of the Crosstrek Hybrid would be very attractive so
that's why we kind of wanted to give people those choices yeah and you get the good ground
clearance there too and then oh yeah people who um camp a little more um I guess almost
urbanly where they're going to set up um state parks or national parks there's other little
things too in vehicles that I always look for like if I get in a cargo area and there's not
even a 12 volt outlet then it's like how am I going to power my fridge because I want to have some
sort of plug-in fridge that I can use when I'm sleeping at night and I don't have to worry about
keep trying to find ice from in power or whatnot every day and and just little things and it's uh
it's surprising how many SUVs you still don't offer that you think it just sort of be a uh
unnecessary in the back or you got to go up a couple trims then you're getting into the
trims where well am I taking this trim camping with a snap a lot there like I'm going to use the
one with the platter that I can wipe off later right it's it's I feel like the easy to clean
interior is uh a real uh advantage for for camping it's just you know you're going to get dirt in
there and you know all of these vehicle categories are designed for people who want to do things
outdoors so you know if I'm going off-roading or I'm going to a trail or I'm going to go camping
like uh you know generally speaking I'm going to be going out doing things outside the vehicle
during the day I'm going to be filthy and the vehicle is going to get filthy so that uh that
like easy to clean interior and those little things like power supplies or or little hooks to hang
things uh little storage features they're just super useful when you're like I just want to
relax at the end of the day I don't want to have to think too much about how I'm going to have to prep
yeah especially asked that I have to get back right after the trip's over so you need something
like yes that's true that's definitely true um yeah if it's your own vehicle you can keep it as
filthy as you want but yeah I my son and I went camping last year and we had the CX-15 Meridian
which isn't the the most affordable or the easiest the like low rent interior but it was still such
a good choice to okay because some of the roads we take weren't great and it went with its salt
train tires and slight increase in um crown clearance did the job for what we needed and
then it was fully capable to hold everything we needed to get there and it had to plug in the
back so yeah it worked really well yeah and it's it's funny the uh the performance aspect too of
some of these vehicles is factored in in like the ride quality so like you know if you have a vehicle
that does have the ground clearance but it has a super firm suspension and you're going to go on a
you know 25 mile forest road going somewhere in the now you know you're really going to get beat
up I mean I can remember uh going off road uh with a with a friend and like you know we're
getting bounced around if you're not careful you're gonna whack your head on the A-pillar or
whatever I mean like it is important to have something that is capable of getting to in from
any relative comfort yeah and kind of going full circle back to how we started that's kind of why
I love these ruggedized vehicles because they're always the best riding because they got the squishy
ultrain tires usually a softer suspension and the CX-50 for example on the first time I drove
the Meridian I was like this is how it should have been like it was way too stiff in standard form
for what they're trying to do I know they want to be performance and then low and behold they
update it and basically give that suspension to all trims because it sacrificed so little
performance for how much nicer the ride quality was yeah I mean just because it's firm doesn't mean
it's great I mean it's nice to have firm responsive suspension but it should have some travel and I
think for most people like most people are not enthusiasts most people want a car that's comfortable
and you know most of the time now you can actually get suspensions that are
really quite gentle but still offer pretty great on-road performance and off-road performance
it's funny when we were looking at the mid-sized off-road trucks I was thinking of the Colorado
ZR2 that did not win our award but I really like that vehicle because it's a perfectly good desert
runner that is very gentle to drive on the road and really has pretty good handling for a vehicle
like that you know they they can do a lot now especially with those multi-matic dampers and
things so I mean there's no reason why it should be harsh we don't want to record I think it's going
to be harsh on while you're trying to have fun so yeah yeah and there's some vehicles that you
look at the specs and then you drive and you're like oh I mean the Outback Wilderness is one recently
where that ground clearance is ridiculous but I mean it's still a car underneath despite it's a
new boxy body it's the same Outback from last gen more or less and it's it drives so well
and then you go onto these trails I'm going over these giant rocks and you're like oh
yeah I was in the Outback Wilderness in January at the the drive they had in California and I was
really impressed at how smooth and gentle it is and how relatively well it handles for something
9.3 inches of ground clearance I think it's 9.3 is going off the top of my head but I mean
considering that you've got a very soft suspension there's so much ground clearance you're kind of
expected to drive like a Citroen 2CV with all the you know lots of body roll it just doesn't you
know it's super nice and controlled and that's another good vehicle I have to say people's
reaction to the styling of that vehicle has been very nice but certainly drives really well yeah
yeah we uh we had a segment of that with that that and the trail sport pilot or not sorry passport
and we actually got a four-runner TDR sport because that kind of is trying to be an off-roader
like a car and it was very interesting seeing them all and the the passport trail sports another
great one where they sort of nailed that balance of capability and ride comfort and it looks nicer
so there's that going forward for sure for sure so yeah so yeah I mean all these are good recommendations
and we we always strive to to kind of make sure that we're giving people the best advice if people
are curious about reading these stories they can find them at cars.usnews.com you just scroll down
on page you can get to all of them or you can just look them up you know best off-road trucks
us news or something like that and you know we have a whole bunch of different awards that we
do throughout the year but I have to say that this is probably my favorite and the most fun
just because like we actually drive all these vehicles and we you know we're kind of here to
talk about them all the time. That's funny I just wanted to ask you where we could find the articles
but you covered that and I fully understand why it was fun to evaluate because like I just did it too
and you're actually using them for what they're meant for and getting to do it back to back whereas
best family car is good too I mean that's great consumer advice but it's kind of subjective
well I think this is what my family would like the most or other families whereas
you can't fake a car that climbs over that obstacle or doesn't.
You cannot you know I'd say my other favorite one is best cars for the money just because I'm
always like trying to give people recommendations on cheap cars of course now everybody's affordability
is always top of mind now but I have always wanted to give people ever since I was a kid you know we
didn't have a lot of money for cars when I was a kid so we're always buying cheap cars so I'm always
looking to give people good advice in that department but these are great just because
they are tons of fun to use and we think also that if you're testing cars especially if you're
testing off-roaders you should describe how they are off-road you should absolutely take them off
road I know there are car reviewers out there who will get an off-roader and never touch dirt and I
don't understand that so we actually try to you know put the put the pedal to the metal both in
the dirt and on the tarmac so and in fact some of these we actually had our one of my deputy
editors John Vincent and I were both part of the Northwest Automotive Press Association and we
actually did a off-road obstacle course and a brief track course with some of these vehicles
last month that one of our precedents for Nuapa Mudfest and it's great to be able to do them
really quickly in succession after you've had them for a week or something you kind of know them
and you can kind of do them back to back in an environment like that where you get the track
time and the off-road time it's always really great all right well that sounds great well thank
you for joining us Alex has been a great talk and like you said that you have many different
awards besides these so we'll have to have you back on when we get to the best cars with the
money and the best family cars because those are like you said the great topics and sometimes
are hotly debated sometimes there's obvious choices so we will definitely have you back on the show
indeed all right thank you all right well thank you Mike
About this episode
Moderate off-roading and camping choices get sorted by real-world capability, not just rugged styling. The hosts and a US News & World Report editor break down what matters—especially all-terrain tires, ground clearance, and underbody protection—and then name standout picks like the Land Rover Defender, Toyota RAV4 Woodland (2026 hybrid-only), and Subaru Forester Hybrid. For camping, onboard power and practical 12V outlets take center stage, with trucks and compact hybrids both earning spots. They also stress testing on dirt, plus ride comfort tradeoffs.
This week we have a special episode dedicated to discussing the best vehicle choices for off-roading and camping. Our guest is Alex Kwanten, Managing Editor, Autos U.S. News & World Report. More than just a list of what he thinks are the best choices, he's actually thoroughly testing them in these conditions. Some are obvious choices, others may surprise you!
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