A question what is the best all round 4x4 ever made but not just off road but also on normal roads,load carrying,towing,comfort,spares availability
ease of maintanance and reliability.
This can be any vehicle any make any decade you decide.

 

i would have to say either an 86 dodge ram 4door or a toyota tundra the newest one or posibly an old chevy scottsdale. but i hate myself for saying this but the 70's fords are great trucks. speacially the old highboys.

 

I know a lot of members will tear this thread apart wanting more specifics about a particular vehicle for each application. But sticking with the original question. I would have to vote for the XJ. Good Power, Can haul your buddies, very reliable, good clearance, great axles for being stock.... There are tons of great 4x4's but over-all the XJ wins.

 

The XJ is the ultimate all the way around sits 5, goes up almost any hill (depending on the driver)

 

xj hands down the best stock offroad capability ever made! thnk about it...solid axles, a **** ton of power from a 4.0, very light in weight with unibody, 5 people and a bunch of cargo capacity, decent stock height, and the bext 4wd options ever made only one thing they could have done that would be nice is a factory posi lock front and rear set up, like the old scouts had the overriding clutch setup, that would truley make the xj perfect

 

IH SCOUT! or FORD BRONCO

 

X2

 

you gotta be kidding me.

I can see a Scout being great...but it needs TONS of work to be great. there aren't many out there and the ones that are are not cheap and are generally rusty.

the Bronco (at least the 90's version) is nothing but a piece of ****, just like the bronco 2. it's IFS, incapable, low power to weight ratio, and when you get stuck...it doesn't spin ANYTHING.


the jeep cherokee is the best all around 4x4. there are many out there, both on the road and in the junk yard. they can be had pretty cheap. parts are EVERWHERE. the 4.0 is pretty much indestructible. the AW4 and AX15 are GREAT transmissions, and as long as you don't have a dana 35 in back you're fine.

lifts can be cheap, or expensive. BUT you get more for your money when you buy a cherokee lift than you do when you buy...oh, say a BRONCO lift (simple drop mounts for bronco's).

a set of good shocks on a cherokee will give it the ride of a cadillac.

there are many parts from other vehicles that will bolt right on (ex: ford 8.8 with discs).

you can get them with a dana 44 installed.

decent trimming means fitting 33x10.50 with NO LIFT and no rub.

seats 5 (tentatively...that center seat is tiny)

a variety of comfort options were available (leather, heated seats, power windows, locks, mirrors, air conditioner, sun roof, moon roof) as well as functional options (class 3 hitch, tow hooks front and rear, brush guard, fog lights, front skid, t-case skid, gas tank skid).

The cherokee or comanche are hands down the top 4wd vehicle of all time. you can build them cheap, wheel them cheap, and drive them getting between 17 and 23 mpg on a 4.0 that's tuned right. plus with the comanche you have common parts from the seats forward with the cherokee, and you have the utility purpose on top of that

 

i agree with the newer broncos.. i like the late 70s broncos like 78 and such..

 

and yet, it's still a ford, and still a full size.

this is the issue with people and 4x4's. EVERYONE seems to think bigger means better. I read that as bigger means less capable.

my little comanche can out-perform most large trucks/SUV's that have been modified, and pretty much everything that hasn't.

 

Dude a Scout is the by far best 4X4. Any of them, II, 80, 800, or the truck. They will do more stock than a XJ or MJ with 3inch lift. We had a several when I has younger and they would do anything my xj will do and more.
They are rare and expensive but are great.

And for the bronco I'm talking about the 86 or older ones with a straight axle. Great trucks but again expenice to lift but you don't need much lift to be sitting on 36's.

 

Littler is better when it comes to most things about 4x4 that is why yodas are so good in mud they are lite.

 

i would just like to say that the bronco two did have a solid axle much like the 80's ranger. but what you are saying is true light and small vehicles do good in all terrain but a lifted 1500 dodge chevy or a f150 will do good. without the ifs is what i mean.

the earlier broncos and blazers do amazing offroad and you need little to no lift for big tires. the 302, 350 and the 318 get decent gas milage for a v8 and also will spin the tires very well.

yes we all know that the xj's are very capable 4x4's but you are speakin from a biased opinion. i dont mean any offense from this but all of these other vehicles are very capable four wheel drives stock. and most fullsizes from the early 80's and late 70's will fit 33's stock and with triming 35's. so before you go off saying that the xj is the greatest fourwheel drive you should really look at all of the other options for mid and fullsize vehicles ya never know what yer gonna get.

 

UMMM NO!!!!!!

rangers and bronco II's had IFS. it was the twin I beam/twin traction beam front suspension throughout production as did the full size 1/2 ton trucks and bronco after a certain year I just am not sure what year it was. I wanna say 81.

 

A post like this borders on trolling on a Jeep board....

If you went to a Ford board... expect a Ford answer(and to ignore their faults)

If you go to a Chevy board...expect a Chevy answer(and to ignore their faults)

etc., etc., etc.