Home Forums Gear Hunting Trucks and Four-Wheel Drives The best off road vehicles (packages) according to Fourwheeler

They picked them for their January, 2013 edition.
The winner is the Jeep w/ the Rubicon Package.
No.2 was the Ford w/ the Raptor Package. The best pickup package out there for 4 wheeling.
No.3 was the Dodge w/ the Power Wagon Package. Voted the best 3/4 ton 4WD.
Last place at #7, was the Nissan Xterra Pro-4X. #6 was the Toyota 4Runner Trail. #5 was the 12 Nissan Frontier Pro-4X. And No.4 was the 2012 Toyota Tacoma TRD T/X Baja Series.
Some pretty cool vehicles. Prices running anywhere from about $30,000, for the Xterra Pro, and the Jeep Rubicon to about $42,000 for a Power Wagon or a Raptor.
While I'm sure Consummer Reports won't say much good about some of these choices, the article struck me as pretty good food for thought.
What'ca think ? E

What didn't they like about the Nissan Xterra Pro-4X that was so much better on the pick-up (Frontier) ? I'm assuming they both had the 4.0 V-6.

In notice GM is never in the running.

Its nothing but a handle full of staffed people's biased and prejudiced opinions with a hypothesis that is determined to be the outcome before the testing/research begins.

The Peterson's rag didn't any of these three as their top picks... Like FAIR CHASE said, biased opinions of guys with computers.... Kinda like here...

You guys need to read the article to see what they are driving at.
This is about packages on 4WD's that make them perform better in various off road situations.
The Dodge Power Wagon won because it has features no GM product has. Not Dodge pickups in general, the Dodge Power Wagon pickup.
The Ford Raptor beat it, the Power Wagon, because it matched and exceeded the Power Wagon's performance off road.
And the little Jeep Rubicon beat both of those because it can go places they can't.
Granted not many hunters need the last word in 4WD capability. But it's nice to know who makes what in a potential hunting vehicle for off road use.
Now, if you want to buy a GM product and modify it for better off road use, you'll find that 4Wheeler runs plenty of artiles about doing just that. Not just new stuff but old stuff as well. Usually these articles are about people who own such vehicles and have paid their own money to make'em what they want. Trust me, GMC is well represented. E

There has been no doubt for several years that the Rubicon is the THE most capable factory off road vehicle made. Dual selectable lockers go along way in helping, but the solid axle set up is what makes it king. I love my Suburban, but Jeep is the onlly manufacturer that really listens to what consumers want, and their production can barely keep up with sales. You can't say that about ANY other production 4x4.

They reported that the air bags on the Xterra deployed when they put it through some sort of back and forth testing.. The pickup also climbed their "loose hill" test better. Worked better on their stair climb. Picked it's way over the rocks more easily, etc. They both had the V-6.
For the Xterra, they said it would have rated higher if the side air bags hadn't deployed.
They liked the pickup, saying "It's true the Frontier didn't excite us in any large way, but we really couldn't find fault with it either. Overall it is a great choice as a daily driver that sees weekend use...... "
It was the cheapest vehicle to make the top 7, BTW. E

Thanks Eremicus. I always kinda liked the Xterra package and I owned one of the previous generation models with the smaller V-6 (3.3 L V-6) and thought it was under powered and the limited slip diff sucked. When they came out the generation similar to the tested model that had the 4.0 V-6 and a rear locker, I took one for a street "test" and thought that the improvements were huge. IIRC, the power upgrade was almost 100 hp over what I had and I believe the tranny went to a 4 or 5 speed auto over the previous 3 speed ( with overdrive). Just a nice simple compact SUV without a bunch of BS whistles and bells.

Tacoma ?

They had a Baja package Tacoma at 4th place. They summed it up by saying "Raptor fun w/o Raptor price. Their tested Raptor came in at $42,570. The Tacoma w/ thre Baja Package was $35,255. Fuel mileage is far better with the Baja Tacoma.
They also commented that larger tires and a little more lift would help. But, all in all, it handles typical off road challenges well. That and it "begs to go fast." Or it's "85% of the Raptor." E

Sounds like a pretty interesting article. Thanks for sharing, I think I will go see if I can spot that issue.

My 2006 4Runner has an "RSCA" switch, which allows me to turn off the Rollover Side Curtain Airbags on rough terrain in case the vehicle lists too far to one side or another. It looks like the Xterra could use such a switch, too.

we have an 07 4.0L Auto, makes a great wifemobile and has been a great family car, it does great in the snow and the traction control works great once you get used to how it works, one thing I hate about it is the back doors, it works great for the car seat but me and my screwed up back have a hell of a time getting out

This is #1 with me. My 2012 TRD Off Road. Didn't see any reason for the Baja. I added 265 85 16's and sliders on the side, Bilstien 5100's and a 3 leaf pack on the rear.

Thats a nice truck.

Do these "packages" offer any savings over buying a standard rig and equipping it with quality off-road capable accessories? Seems like a lot of money for a catchy name like power wagon or baja. mtmuley

Yes, if, and that's a big if, they are just what you want and need.
For instance, we have the Toyota TRD, Off Road that you see above that suits well enough for many. No point in buying the Baja package.
But, when it comes to heavy duty pickups, the Dodge Power Wagon has more capability than does the Ford Raptor. Neither has much in the way of good gas mileage. But a Ford pickup with the Eco-Boost V-6 can give one both real power and economy. It, with selected options got some votes by the staff of 4Wheeler over the Power Wagon in this last year's top 4WD truck evaluations.
From such a point, it would be the cost of after market options and their installation charges. But even that assumes you are getting a complete package designed and engineered to work in harmony with what is already there. With a factory package, that is not a problem. E

Yep. You get badazz stickers!

Truck looks great, what did you set your Bilsteins at?