Ford is currently the off-road truck king with its F-150 Raptor. Toyota has an entire family of TRD Pro trucks (and an SUV) at the ready, and for 2019 they get fancy new Fox shocks. Chevy has its Colorado ZR2 and Ram lets loose with a Rebel yell. I’m incredibly curious to sample a new Ranger Raptor, and the Jeep Wrangler truck will undoubtedly be quite awesome.
Of all the options out there in this space, which one is your favorite? I love the Raptor… it’s a truck I absolutely do not need, yet I would be very happy to have one waiting in my driveway.
Which one would you call your own if you had the funds and were shopping for such a beast?
Truck Thursday Hooniverse Asks: What's your favorite factory off-road pickup?
By Jeff Glucker
Aug 9, 2018
By Jeff Glucker
Jeff Glucker is the co-founder and Executive Editor of Hooniverse.com. He’s often seen getting passed as he hustles a 1991 Mitsubishi Montero up the 405 Freeway. IG: @HooniverseJeff
Raptor wins, hands down, but I’m also a sucker for the faux-runner “Baja” package available on the first-gen S10.
http://consumerguide.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/91124161990416.jpg
For a second I was thinking “was there anything that truck couldn’t do”, but then realised I was actually thinking of the Dodge Dakota with its Shelby and convertible versions – the photo looks pretty similar
The second generation ZR2 was pretty cool as well and actually had some capability.
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5b/2001_Chevrolet_S-10_ZR2.JPG
Technically it has a bed.
https://blogmedia.dealerfire.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/673/2016/12/Lamborghini-LM002-red-on-rocks-side-view_o.jpg
So does my choice..
http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2013/04/mercedes-unimog-38.jpg
Rod Hall Ram
http://image.fourwheeler.com/f/125772236+w660+h440+q80+re0+cr1+ar0/dodge-rod-hall-edition-w150.jpg
Oh hell yes
Slight tangent. Saw a Wrangler Pickup in factory camo on the road near the base of Pike’s Peak the other day. It was heading the opposite direction, so it was just a brief glance, but I got excited because we don’t get factory testers out here all that much, as least that I notice.
Actually you do, haha… lots of altitude and tow testing in Colorado.
DPW 6×6
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/86fb775d771af550e6b6dd7a76a5570374903b90f918355f1709e255472147b7.jpg
Jeans suit earns a respect upvote either way.
Assuming you mean current, showroom-available trucks, then this is a rhetorical question, right?
No I’m down with anything
Don’t get me wrong, I like the Raptor. But consider how you ‘off-road’ in different parts of the world. Me, I’d have one of these… Very capable out of the box, and heaps of after market dress up options so mine wouldn’t look just like my neighbours. http://www.carmag.co.za/news/new-models/sa-tuner-pushes-toyota-land-cruiser-79-to-913-n-m/ https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/8f06786034728aac8f35d7ccc2b79e1eaec4116fda9fd4b18aa89326640a40e7.jpg https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/a89ec81b98455fa1886e6f0ff0e1215ac74ff8ef547f5cc1a8e172de7eb318e0.jpg
Agreed, these things have an anvil-tough feel to them which is real. Assuming the theoretical funds cover a Raptor in Australia, you could even put a set of portal axles on one for the ultimate setup!
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/a8335aadf7145371ac38da770cc75d00d174c90df829979808a8e059768e7b66.jpg
That silver truck is awesome! I had no idea that a modern Land Cruiser pickup even existed.
A modern one doesn’t exist, but they are still building them anyway! (Which is why people still buy them)
If I can’t get there in an Ox, I probably should just walk. https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/38e54d5853b25b972b5dcd3739f8139e2399f5d0f190383c3001d27e24dcde8d.jpg
Ikea should sell these, they come flatpack.
Slightly up-size it, and you get the Oka (from Australia): https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a4/SESWA_OKA_4WD.jpg
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/db58fb7d29859eea95ec8150c7bbdb39d7e2b7473e9710c19b62a185bb9cbd75.jpg In 1979, I was driving a red company Toyota 4×4 pickup just like the pictured one, except ours had a matching red and white aluminum topper. Quite attractive for a work truck. It was one of the very early imports (the 4×4 was a new model for ’79), and I got a lot of attention and questions when I was driving it. I was able to take it seriously off-road around Florida, as well as going on some long trips. A very capable and tough truck – the one big downside was a stiff ride that would bounce you around in tough going.
My choice, too, if I could locate a good one.
Yeah, the absolutely rotten ride, coupled with the knee in your back seats, was the big reason I got rid of my ’86 4runner years ago. It was a rather good little truck otherwise.
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/f8d164036e6a7c2673988a80c288d8604add87299b32567f39a1c0a6a4b5be98.jpg
Bending the rules a lot, but it’s probably no sillier than a Ford 350 or any of those other super duty trucks.
https://pds.exblog.jp/pds/1/201208/30/26/f0214026_8145090.jpg
Reagan’s Brat.
https://s1.cdn.autoevolution.com/images/news/gallery/subaru-restores-former-president-reagan-s-1978-brat_1.jpg
I like the Rebel but you can’t get it with the 40/20/40 front seat or with the transfer case that has a 4WD auto mode. (At least they fixed the crew cab-only thing for the new model.)
Or a person can get a Power Wagon if they need the 3/4-ton capacity underpinned with link-coil live axles front and rear.
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/d5aa2e3227d18d8a90ee45218b42d3a57a5087ff7ca1cf3d667d3b76f786498f.jpg
Over a day later, and no mention of the Defender pickup?
https://www.closeassetfinance.co.uk/sites/default/files/styles/asset_main_image/public/side%20front_20.jpg
The answer is always DAF: https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/sBwAAOSwwpdW9VHY/s-l1600.jpg