We are all after a good deal when it comes down to it. If you are looking for a cheap SUV or pickup as an off-road project there are a lot of those good deals out there, there are also a fair few deals out there that are too good to be true.
It is those deals that might be awfully tempting but will leave you out of pocket in the long run, or just frustrated by the fact that the project didn’t turn out the way you thought it might. Some vehicles will let you down out on the trail, others will let you down pretty much all the time, so if you want an off-road rig, rather avoid these bargain basement offerings.
10 Land Rover Defender 110
In truth, there is no such thing as a cheap Land Rover. Some have had a lot done to them and are worth a small fortune, others are basket cases that might seem cheap at first if you're just looking at the price.
By the time you are done diagnosing all the issues, kitting the thing out, falling down several other rabbit holes along the way, you may as well have gone out and put a sizable down payment on something new.
9 VW Amarok
Volkswagen’s first real go at a global pickup never made it to North America, but it sold well in Europe and South America. On paper, it actually looks great with a range of powerful diesel engines to choose from.
Those diesel engines have since been exposed as some serious polluters, but even with that to one side, reliability was nowhere near where it should have been. Once you actually go off-road, that car-like comfort counts for nothing as it struggles with its average ground clearance.
8 Jeep Cherokee XJ
There is no question that these XJ Jeeps are monsters off-road, they also have a long list of aftermarket options that will help you build the rig of your dreams.
Just be careful of one thing, these Jeeps came with infamously weak Chrysler automatic transmissions. If it came with the Aisin 4 speed auto or a manual, you are all good, if it has a 3 speed, just walk away.
7 Nissan Titan
The first generation Titan has gotten a lot cheaper now that the second generation has been around for a few years.
Getting one would be a mistake, though, not only were they too heavy to be truly effective off-road, but they were prone to drive train failures. Not something you would want in an off-roader.
6 Jeep Grand Cherokee
Why on earth would you ever find a cheap late model Grand Cherokee? Well, it seems FCA were determined to repeat the mistakes of the past.
Once again their automatic transmissions failed them, there was also a class action lawsuit regarding the powertrain module which also failed with alarming regularity. If it is too new to be cheap, then it won’t be cheap to run, that much is for sure.
5 Chevrolet Colorado
The latest Colorado has proven to be a hit, both the global Isuzu-based version and the all-American Chevrolet version have sold well.
Don’t think just because the latest is solid the older first generation pickup should be ok, it isn’t. Build quality is sub-par, performance middling, and off-road ability is poor.
4 VW Touareg
When it came out it was billed as one of the most advanced luxury SUVs in the world, and it was, it was also overengineered and unnecessarily complicated.
Off-road capabilities were also limited thanks to an average ground clearance not dissimilar to the Amarok, but the big issue was the wiring that would always go haywire. If it is cheap, don’t even think about it, no matter how tempting a V10 turbo diesel may sound.
3 Ford Explorer Sport Trac
Although it was marketed as a leisure pickup, it actually never did the whole leisure thing very well because even the 4x4 was pretty average off-road.
Reliability was also, to say the least, questionable, with the Explorer range sitting pretty close to the bottom of the rankings throughout this generation.
2 Range Rover Classic
Another brilliant off-roader let down by some fairly average engineering in terms of powertrain, cooling and above all else, wiring.
If you are thinking of one of these you need to stop, accept the only way to go is an engine swap, then recalculate the budget accordingly as that is an expensive endeavor, even if you are going to do all the work yourself.
1 Hummer H2 SUT
After the raw first generation Hummer was so successful, there was a lot of demand for a more refined version of the venerable military vehicle.
It turned out to be a complete dumpster fire of a vehicle, with too many issues to even mention here, coupled with the fact that it lost almost all of its off-road ability.