CTS Driver, That is the single most important aspect in off roading, very good point. The best equipment in the world will not help if they don’t have the talent.

Blitzkrieg, I’m not going to beat this discussion to death, this is my last comment. The Tahoe is not a bad off roader and as I stated, it’s decent but certainly not the best. I put the Land Cruiser in there with it, even with all of it’s 18 locking differentials in the front center rear and glove compartment. The Land Cruiser is decent too. But it’s not what it use to be. Any vehicle that comes standard with running boards is simply not ’serious’. The Land Cruiser today, in the USA, is a luxury SUV. The XTerra, the Rubicon, The H1, The FJ Cruiser… those are serious. And so I don’t have to hear you mention the damn Pajero again, the Pajero is serious too. You compare the Land Cruiser to those vehicles, and it has a lot less in common with them than it does with the Tahoe, or more closely the Denali or Escalade. I’ll even give you that the Land Cruiser is better equipped than the Tahoe, but I don’t agree it’s a serious off roader anymore. And certainly not to be considered even close to the top 10.

I have also seen a 4 cyl sedan car pulling out a Tacoma truck out of a ditch.

Again, we are talking about top extreme off-roading acts on this planet, not only some bumps or little of snow on a paved road. All of your mentioned cars (except I think Frontier which if I am not mistaking does offer center lock diff package) are not top off-road performers. And yeah, I agree with you that a decent driver can get anywhere, if I would be stubborn enough I would take my EVO off-roading and I bet I wouldn’t get stuck on the first uphill, but then again I know the limitations of my car and some people don’t.

To make it all short, good off-roading machines has to have an approach angle of at least 30 degrees, can submerge in water at 25 inches or more, has center lock differential where when needed the engine sends all its power to one wheel when the other 3 wheels are stuck in the air. Hmmmm, come to think of it, I should have started this discussion with a question of what is the definition of a good off-roader in your mind? Maybe we have different expectations.

And those Lexus cars you are laughing at are derivatives of Toyota Land Cruiser (also come with center lock diff, and low range trans case as well as far better approach angles than Tahoe), so it just shows you know nothing about REAL off-road performance. Look at Pajero and its very short front overhang, do you think this was done just for the hell of it? It was designed with real off-roading in mind as it drastically improves approach angles.

I am not here to completely down Tahoe, just to prove that Tahoe is just not a capable off-road machine. However soccer moms should take advantage of it’s gas guzzling ability, and no, the V8 Tahoe doesn’t get 20 MPG, more like 12 MPG, I know because my friend has one and is already complaining that he should have taken QX56 over this as QX56 is a larer and more comfortable vehicle than Tahoe and gets better real world MPG.

I’ll bet both my nuts it’s a fraction of 1.

I don’t like repeating myself but again, please show me where does it say that Tahoe has a on-demand locking front/center/rear differential? It say it has an automatic (bad) rear locking differential (basically not as advanced nor as capable as center locking differential which all of my mentioned cars have). And whats worse, where is the low-range transfer case with skid plates? I know you are a fan of Chevy but come on, Tahoe is a nice car, it’s just that it is not a capable off-road machine like the above mentioned cars.

http://www.forbesautos.com/advice/toptens/off-road/suvs.html?partner=aol

By the way, by your standards most of the Jeeps do NOT qualify. If you think a Compass, Liberty, or Commander are real off roading vehicles, and that is “most” of them, then I would say you are no more enlightened in this recreational sport than those you accuse. I’m sure that was a slip of tongue, so maybe next time you won’t be so judgmental.

The ‘everything domestic sucks’ mantra is just so tiring.

anyways the double standard is only for gm vehicles, and if i wanted a toyota 4 x 4 it would be the fj, this is no more useful in the u.s. than an h2.
but if you need to go get groceries or pick up the soccer kids this is a good choice you never know when you need to use your air suspension to go over potholes.

personally im not too fond of toyota products, or any other japanese manufacturer. Although I must say that when i rode in one of the Land Cruisers it drover like a dream. Same goes for the Camry with its pig-face, although sedans should be more performance orientated and shouldn’t be as sterile and isolated.

Anyhow, i hope the Land Cruiser keeps its great off road skills, and i’ll leave the discussion as to which car is best off road to the experts.

You have no idea what you’re talking about. You don’t even off road – your “cousin” does supposedly. Evidence of your ignorance is you mentioned a Suburban the same as a Tahoe for off roading. I own a Suburban 4×4, and while it does very well off road (it’ll run over the new LandCruiser), it is not the best off roader due to its very long wheelbase, nearly 2 feet longer than a Tahoe. The Tahoe is much better off road than a Suburban. Any off roader will tell you that, and you lumping the Suburban in the same class as the Tahoe in terms of off roading prowess shows your ignorance.

“Othernot-so-known vehicles that are just as capable is the Mitsu Montero and Isuzu Trooper. ”

Yeah, when they actually run. Sorry, but the Montero and Trooper are total pieces of junk in terms of durability and reliability. Good ground clearance and maneuverability doesn’t do you much good when you’ve got a broken transfer case, driveshaft, tie rod, etc.

Uhh, to set the record straight, the H1 Humvee is the #1 4×4 in the world. It’s just too bad they don’t make a civilian model anymore.

In terms of off-roading, I’d take my XTerra over a Land Cruiser any day. If I want to make a trip in leather bound heated seats, I’ll consider it, but will probably go with the Tahoe or H2. Nice truck though