Hills, curves, straightaways

Three test tracks sort out a variety of off-road rides

By Royal Ford  |  September 30, 2006

LONG POND, Pa. -- We gather here every September to flog.

No, it is not a gathering of ships' captains and miscreant deckhands. It's the annual gathering of the International Motor Press Assn., and we come to flog cars, trucks, minivans, crossovers, and SUVs up and down treacherous mountain courses or on the twisting curves and long back straightaway of Pocono Raceway.

On the slopes of a defunct ski area, we pushed various forms of all-wheel-drive vehicles through three courses -- red, yellow, and green. In descending order, that meant wicked hard, kinda hard, and a flatlander's cruise over sand and gravel.

Here's how 10 all-wheel-drive and off-roading favorites fared.

(Yellow): We start here because this four-door crew cab surprised me the most. I know I could have done the red trail in this pickup truck. I know that its five-cylinder engine, 242 horsepower, and 242 lb.-ft. of torque would have climbed the worst the red course had to throw at us. I know this because at a steep, slippery incline where red and yellow courses shared a challenge, it out-performed the Range Rover HSE. You can own and drive this one for around $25,000.

(Red): Yes, it's the big kid on the block. Yes, it will go virtually anywhere that most vehicles on the planet can travel. And yes, it does it with more elegance and luxury than anything else that will go anywhere. In this case, it does it with 400 supercharged horsepower and a price tag that approaches $90,000.

(Red): Unlike the Isuzu, no surprise here since I just drove this car on the famed and tortuous Rubicon Trail. It's the best Jeep ever built. Formidable off road, better than ever on road. Love the electronically disengaged front sway bar for extra wheel travel. And still priced in the 20s and low 30s.

(Yellow): Yellow was appropriate for an SUV that can run on corn. Luxurious, and capable of moderate off-road challenges. The price can hit $40,000 pretty quickly .

(Yellow): This is an SUV that I know, in proper form, can conquer the deadly slopes of Moab, Utah's off-road terrain. Held back from the red course only because it lacked air suspension for proper ground clearance. But give me skid pads and this one would waltz through the red course. Give your dealer around $40,000 and it's yours to drive home.

(Red): I love this car, partly for nostalgic reasons (I had an original back in `72), but mostly for its no-pretensions presentation. Toyota flat-out says this is an off-road vehicle. And it's right. The company makes no claims that you'll want to commute in it. You don't. But for style, performance, and funkiness, and a price tag below $30,000, it's one of my favorites of the year.

(Red): It brought Spartan funk back into the SUV market when it was introduced. Now it's a bit more glitzy than I might like, but Nissan's reaching for a broader market. Yet it can roll on rocks with the best off-roaders, and is still a funhouse on wheels. Look to pay low 20s to almost $30,000.

(Green): Kia, sadly, was the wallflower at this event. Guess lots of other auto writers felt Kia was beneath them. They do a disservice to themselves and their readers. Kia is serious, Kia is better than ever, Kia deserves coverage. The Sorento has low range and I know it could have cruised the yellow road just fine. And at about $28,000 fully loaded, it's a steal.

(Yellow): The last version was horrible -- a creaking, jiggling, jangling mass of misfit body parts. This one is tighter, more powerful, more stable -- though the yellow course was the reach of its off-road limits. Look for a price of $30,000 or a bit higher.

(Green): Maybe it was the tires, but the same car I took off-roading in Pennsylvania, where it performed so well, was a bit of a sled on the grassy, slippery slopes of the easiest course here. It's a great long distance car (full review coming soon), and its off-road capabilities are better than what I experienced here. I mention it because it deserves a better shake. But it's expensive -- $60,000 and higher.

Royal Ford can be reached at ford@globe.com.