The 4x4 is a model of car that is vastly popular among countless people around the globe. The idea of a vehicle that can conquer almost any terrain is quite a desirable one, an idea that a lot of people have wished could become a reality in their lives. And many have done just that, found a spectacular machine that can handle the toughest of terrain. The ability to go to places almost unheard of, all within grasp because of one capable and incredibly engineered machine.
There's a relatively simple formula that makes for a good performing 4x4. Four-wheel drive, obviously is one of the biggest keys, allowing for grip and power to be sent to every single wheel of the 4x4. This is important in uneven terrain. The next key involves drivetrain and gearing ratios. Low gearing is absolutely essential for a 4x4 to handle intense terrain, because often it just doesn't work to go fast, and you need all kinds of power and extremely low and controlled speeds, with a lot of torque. Other things include high clearance, big suspension flex, and locking differentials. All these play a part in a great 4x4.
Of course, some people just like the idea of having a car that looks like a 4x4, and many people think that it, for whatever reason, would be a good idea to turn a normal sedan or car into a 4x4. Here's a list of 25 cars that people "tried" turning into 4x4s. Judge their success for yourself.
23 Something Tells Me It's Not A V8
There's something about this build that just rubs me the wrong way. It's supposed to be some kind of apocalyptic Mad Max build of some kind, but the way these kinds of builds almost always end up is appallingly bad, and proving that the people responsible for the build would never last a minute in a post apocalyptic world, or in Mad Max.
This particular build is a case in point, with a bunch of unnecessary modifications. Especially the eight short pipes coming out of the hood. It's supposed to be some kind of cool modification of the engine, but it is not actually that is it? So what's the point?
22 Sweet Flex Bro
This person thinks that their build is all that, don't they? Showing off all of their four inches of flex, and their mad ability to be able to drive over stumps less than a foot tall. He must think he's pretty cool, driving his old junky Subaru like it was a Jeep. But, it's not, and they don't have all that much to be proud of either, considering their car likely only has a tiny bit of lift and some knobby aftermarket tires.
All I'm wondering is what exactly his plan is now. If he drives straight over it, he'll be beached, high centered. If he backs up, isn't that like admitting defeat?
21 Terrain Visibility Must Be Bad
Topping the list as one of the worst cars you can use as a 4x4 conversion is this: the vintage Chevrolet Corvette. For whatever reason, there's quite a number of these in the world, and they definitely should all be sent to the junkyard. There's just something about the end result that is so utterly bad.
Besides, with a massive hood like that, it must be absolutely impossible to see the terrain your tires are heading towards, and have no frame of reference as to what they're actually on.
20 Bad Without The Conversion
This is similar to our other bright yellow Mercedes off-road conversion, though this one is much worse. The tiny body of this coupe from some of the darkest times of Mercedes is already bad looking, and it's only greatly increased with every inch that it has been lifted, which looks in the neighborhood of six inches.
Talk about a waste of a sporty Mercedes engine, and talk about one of the worst looking cars that anyone has laid eyes upon. Especially that massive plastic bumper addition on the front of this off-road ride makes it the worst kind.
19 Don't Turn Too Fast
It's surprising and somewhat impressive to see a tiny little smart car modified in this kind of extreme way, where it's almost three times as tall as it was before, all due to the fact that it has four virtual tractor tires as a means of getting around.
This is apparently "for fun" squared, which, who knows what fun squared is, I don't think it is describing this strange creation. It must be nerve-wracking to drive, being so high in the air and knowing just how preposterously short your wheelbase is.
18 Not Really A Beetle At All
This off-road 4x4 conversion is a bit too much, really, with a massively wide stance, no headlights where they should be, no bumper or really anything besides a hollow husk of what was once a Beetle. Not just any Beetle, mind you, but rather an off-road Beetle that has just been taken a little bit too far.
I'd have to judge it based on how it does off-road, but sometimes a little slack is okay, as long as it allows for a more cohesive and stylish build. But, maybe that's just taste.
17 Not That Practical
There's wide stance, and then there's too wide stance, and this Mini Cooper turned off-roader is just an example of too wide a stance. With wheels not only sent outwards from the body but also spread out forwards and backwards, it looks like a baby giraffe has its legs wide, unable to stand up properly.
The slick business-man like the styling of the newer Minis doesn't help anything, either, because the bottom just doesn't match the top. This person tried their best, and it's awesome they love keeping their build clean, but it just falls a little short.
16 Overland Taxi Service
When it comes to outrageous Mercedes off-road builds, this one sure finds itself high up on that list. This is a diesel luxury sedan from the 80s at a gas station, next to a Jeep, and it's taller than the Jeep. Something about that doesn't seem right, especially when it's neon yellow just like a taxi.
The giant bumper just makes it look even worse than before, like some kind of massive chin or something. I also can't imagine that it gets very good gas mileage or fuel economy. At the end of the day, a nice vintage ride should never be turned into a 4x4.
15 Perhaps A Bit Overloaded
This person clearly has a passion for off-roading of all sorts, from off-roading with a 4x4 to off-roading with their dirt bike. While they may have a passion, their amount of seriousness seems to be a bit lacking, because this 4x4 build seems a bit lacking in the quality department. It's also, like the caption says, a bit overloaded. Well, a lot.
It is just a Miata, after all, and on top of the mods, there are two extra car tires in the trunk, along with an extra bike tire right behind the passenger seat. Oh yeah, and there's an entire motorcycle.
14 2002 Turned Scrappy Off-Roader
The BMW 2002 Tii is one of the coolest old retro BMW's you can buy, and a classic that many love to collect, restore and own. Although it's hard to say that this little off-roader conversion is what most people would imagine doing if they got their hands on one.
It is a rather unfortunate thing, considering how fun these little old cars are to drive when they're properly restored. This isn't exactly properly restored, though. Considering they've destroyed the quaint old bodywork to make room for some seriously outrageous off-roader wheels and mods. Shame, really.
13 Glitz & Glam Off-Roader On The Road
Someone must really like Lexus, having built their entire conversion around this massive steel cutout that reads "Lexus" in big bold letters. They've really stripped back this once Luxury vehicle to some kind of bare-bones off-roader, removing doors (I don't think they can go back on), most of the roof, whilst leaving intact the luxury seats and leather interior.
The end result, paired with the glitzy chrome rims, leave this build looking confused and sad, a mangled and mutilated version of what it once was. This person did everything they could to "try" and make an off-roader, and it didn't work too well.
12 It's Basically A Wrangler, Right?
Find an old body from a sports car, stick it on a massive, outdated, heavy as lead aftermarket lift kit, put some massive tires on it and what do you get? This person likely thinks they've got the next best thing to a Wrangler, but the reality is that they have nothing near that, all their efforts have done hardly anything to make this strange Frankenstein actually off-road capable.
Yeah, it has good clearance, but does it have good suspension flex? How's the power output? Gearing ratios? Does it have an aftermarket transmission? The general answer is that this thing likely falls way short of the mark.
11 Just A Little Bit Junky
This old Subaru wagon has most assuredly seen better days, though it is debatable as to whether or not the old days were near as fun as driving around on a four-wheel drive track in the mud.
In any case, this off-roader conversion is slightly suspect, considering the general state of this poor old-school wagon from Subaru. With a missing tail light, handcrafted roof rack and bumper, this build was never designed to impress, it was designed to function. While it does look like it seems to be doing fine at that, sometimes life is about more than just function.
10 Mud Doesn't Make It Work
Just because someone drives their 4x4 conversion into some mud does not validate the state of the build. And the state of this particular build that someone "tried" to do is quite sad. The beefy wheels and lift kit do not make the junky two door coupe suddenly an off-road vehicle.
Rather, those big off-road wheels accomplish nothing beyond hindering suspension, handling, turning radius, and even power output. The end result is a chunky looking sports car that can no longer perform well, and cannot handle its own off the road.
9 Neon Orange Fail
Everything about this 4x4 conversion screams "low budget." While that isn't always a bad thing, if you're legitimately planning on converting your entire sedan into a 4x4 off-roading machine, you'll have to bite the bullet and save up to do it right.
Otherwise, you'll end up with something like this: a Dodge Neon with a useless snorkel, roof-rack, bad paint job, useless orange color, a winch that will never see use, and a brush guard that would still do nothing if in an accident with, well anything bigger than a Dodge Neon.
8 Prius Jeep Troller
Someone, somewhere decided they wanted to take their hybrid off-roading. What a grand idea. So, after making the necessary preparations (or not) they set off to the trail. The light bar on their roof and the decals really inspired a lot of confidence, along with a set of used all-terrain tires.
Of course, they could handle the same trails as all those lousy, unsustainable Jeeps that run on fossil fuel. Right? Wrong, actually, as this photo clearly makes evident. Off-roaders need clearance, flex, and most importantly, four-wheel drive to be able to handle this kind of terrain. None of which this barely modified Prius has.
7 Failing To Focus
There's just something about finding these builds in parking lots that are just endlessly amusing, due to the rather great amounts of irony.
The body of these cars look perfectly normal, as if it should be parked in a parking lot, but then they've been modified to look like a 4x4, and it's just ironic to see that after all their "trying" and working on these conversion builds, they still mostly use their cars for the same thing: getting around town, going to the store, all of which involve being and staying on paved roads.
6 Must Be A Pretty Wet Drive
If there ever was a worse build on this list, this would probably have to be the one. This person evidently has no respect for their car, themselves, or the quality of work they do. Either that or this is the look that they were going for. But, even if it was, they're regretting on this day, because there's a makeshift roof made of some tarp and a string, and the trunk is covered with some sort of other "waterproofing" device.
But, they look a bit leaky, honestly, and this guy must be having a pretty miserable drive.
5 Not Exactly Off-Road
This guy decided to convert his full-blown van into some kind of off-road vehicle. Alas, the end result is clearly a car that isn't cut out for the challenge, as it fails to pull itself very far up this little hill.
There's just not enough power in the old engine, not enough get up and go from the torque, and the transmission is just not cut out for the job, especially because it's not four-wheel drive. Sometimes there's a lot more to a 4x4 conversion than just slapping a lift kit on it and beefing up the tires.
4 Right At Home In The City Streets Of NYC
This is one bad looking Camaro, there is no doubt about that. It's also quite clear that this build, at least objectively, has been done in a way that is surprisingly professional. Though there really isn't much professional about owning, creating, or driving a car like this around.
Especially considering it is in the city streets of New York, parked against a sidewalk, proving entirely useless to have ever converted the car in the first place, considering almost all of the action it sees involves pavement and concrete. The irony isn't lost on us. At least there are decals, right?