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" Land Rover Discovery /// 1993-1998  This once premium SUV has depreciated to the point where it&amp;#039;s downright cheap. First sold stateside in 1994 as a 1995 model, all Discoverys came with aluminum V8 engines, full-time four-wheel drive and fantastic wheel travel, as well as approach and departure angles for off-road activities. The Rovers are known for sure-footed ability and the Discovery cabin is an airy, cavernous space. Most of the body is aluminum, but the underlying structure is steel so rust is still a concern. &amp;quot;Make sure you see the service history before you buy,&amp;quot; warns Arthur Patsouris of Rovers North. &amp;quot;A lot of Discoverys were leased and the owners sometimes didn&amp;#039;t perform all of the required maintenance.&amp;quot; Any evidence of sludge in the engine oil or of fluid in the transmission, transfer case or differentials suggests an ill-maintained rig. Often times owners neglected to lube the U-joints, which over time leads to clunking when the transmission is shifted. If you can find one that&amp;#039;s been well taken care of, don&amp;#039;t fear expensive parts prices for this European vehicle. &amp;quot;There&amp;#039;s a strong aftermarket so it&amp;#039;s a lot less painful to maintain these cars,&amp;quot; Patsouris notes. Also, there are tons of accessories for the Discovery, which will make outfitting a snap. As always, the least optioned vehicle is probably the best choice. Patsouris says that he&amp;#039;d avoid power seats and even sunroofs--after all, a part can&amp;#039;t break if it&amp;#039;s not there. Jeep Grand Wagoneer /// 1985-1991  The Grand Wagoneer was the American version of the Range Rover, a luxury vehicle that could take well-heeled owners anywhere they wanted to go in pampered style. The full-size Wagoneer changed very little since its introduction in 1963, as far as basic hardware goes. One of the coolest versions of this body style is the two-door Cherokee Chief of the mid-to-late 1970s--many packed a beastly 401 cu. in. V8 under the hood. But the 60s and 70s models are spartan compared to the &amp;quot;Grand&amp;quot; ones from the 1980s. Jeep finally halted production in 1991. As a luxury vehicle of the late &amp;#039;80s and early &amp;#039;90s, it was packed with power leather seats, power windows and even an early keyless entry system. Those electronics could prove fussy today and the carbureted V8 likely isn&amp;#039;t the most trouble-free powerplant. So what&amp;#039;s the Grand Wagoneer doing on this list? Well, it&amp;#039;s a sentimental favorite, appealing for its &amp;#039;80s tackiness. Remember fake wood grain? For sure, the Grand Wagoneer is an emotional choice, but it does have a switchable four-wheel drive system, robust running gear, and it can carry six passengers. And shops like Wagonmaster make a good business of fully restoring these trucks to their original &amp;quot;me decade&amp;quot; splendor.  Jeep Grand Cherokee /// 1993-1998  The Grand Cherokee replaced the venerable Wagoneer for the 1993 model year. It followed the revolution set forth by the downsized Cherokee of 1984: Use a unibody structure instead of a ladder frame and separate body. While truck purists howled, the design saved weight--the Grand tipped the scales at less than 2 tons--and provided efficient use of the vehicle&amp;#039;s footprint. These were solid, comfortable vehicles. Early versions came only with the perfectly adequate 4.0-liter 190-hp inline six-cylinder engine mated to either five-speed manual or four-speed automatic. Later, Chrysler&amp;#039;s 5.2-liter and even the monster 5.9-liter V8s were offered. Either engine made the Grand Cherokee quite quick, but V8s in this small package are overkill. We dig that Jeep Six. Full-time four-wheel drive was standard as were antilock brakes. Front and rear solid axles that were well located provided excellent articulation and a progressive throttle meant the Grand Cherokee was one of the most off-road capable SUVs in its day. Like the Suburban, the Grand Cherokees were very popular and parts are easy to find. They&amp;#039;re also relatively easy to fix. Some might complain that the Cherokee is too much of a soccer-mom errand runner, but the reality is that they&amp;#039;re capable trucks with a huge aftermarket and rock-bottom prices. Toyota Land Cruiser /// 1995-1997  Before you pick a Land Cruiser, some soul-searching is in order. Which factors are more important: that old-school, classic look or refinement and comfort? These legendary four-wheelers come in both varieties. In the vintage category sit the FJ60 and FJ62 produced between 1980 and 1990. Both are durable and have the same body (there are some trim and interior differences, but the big stuff is the same) and both employ a leaf-spring suspension. The major difference lies under the hood. The earlier FJ60s used a carbureted inline six-cylinder engine that made an inadequate 135 hp and ran through a four-speed manual transmission. While quite rugged, the FJ60 barely maintains highway speed. The FJ62 provided improved thrust thanks to the addition of fuel injection and a four-speed automatic tranny. Still, these vehicles feel just as vintage as they look. The FJ80 lost some Cruiser charm with its rounder, smoother body, but the on-road performance was markedly improved thanks in part to a coil-spring suspension at both ends. Many FJ80s were outfitted like luxury cars with heated seats, sunroof, and power everything. It&amp;#039;s worth spending a bit more to find a &amp;#039;95 or newer example FJ80 with the optional front-and rear locking differentials. &amp;quot;Those diffs alone are worth the slight price increase,&amp;quot; says Jonathan Ward, founder of TLC 4x4 and designer of the ICON 4x4. Regardless of the model, the Cruiser is a tough cookie. Ward remarks, &amp;quot;The Cruiser platform is built to a higher, more durable standard than 95 percent of the SUVs out there.&amp;quot;  Toyota 4Runner /// 1984-1989  The 4Runner launched in 1984, as a closed-roof version of Toyota&amp;#039;s mini pickup. And for just 1984 and 1985, they came with a solid axle front suspension--a trait valued by hardcore four-wheelers. It was a neat truck with two doors, a unique rear roll bar and a removable fiberglass rear roof section. While that feature would be terrific on summer nights, the early 4Runners were a little tight inside. Until the six-cylinder engine arrived in 1988, these trucks were woefully underpowered. Few remember the 1986 turbo version that lasted only one year. There&amp;#039;s a bit of a cult following for the early 4Runner, which has kept prices higher than expected. For our purposes, the later generations are far more suitable because they&amp;#039;re roomier, most have four doors (a two-door was sold until 1993), and they&amp;#039;re much better on the road. While not as industrial or ultimately as durable as its big brother, the Land Cruiser, the 4Runner is still a Toyota and ultimately very reliable--not a trivial consideration when you&amp;#039;re in the backwoods. Rust is, of course, the enemy, as is any sign of abuse. Also make sure you take one for a test drive because the 4Runner&amp;#039;s seating position is a bit strange. Rather than sit high in the cabin, the 4Runner&amp;#039;s seats are mounted close to the floor and you&amp;#039;ll want to make sure that&amp;#039;s acceptable before handing over any checks.  Chevrolet Suburban /// 1985-1992  If you have a McMansion&amp;#039;s worth of gear to carry, the Suburban is the obvious choice. Running at over 18 ft. in length, if you can&amp;#039;t fit it in a Suburban, it&amp;#039;s probably not worth taking. Most Suburbans came outfitted with three rows of seats and room for nine occupants. Clearly, we&amp;#039;re just short of RV-class here. These trucks are simple, durable, surprisingly well-mannered, and a terrific canvas for an adventure rig. The Suburban&amp;#039;s size requires a whole lot of liquid energy to keep moving down the highway, especially optioned as a 3/4-ton with the big-block 7.4-liter V8. But at least auxiliary fuel tanks were available and for a while, a 6.2-liter (and later a 6.5-liter) diesel engine increased efficiency. The Suburban is based on one of the world&amp;#039;s top-selling vehicles, the full-size GM pickup. So if something should break, parts are as far away as the nearest Pep Boys. Watch for rust, which was particularly fond of eating Suburbans. And if the transmission doesn&amp;#039;t shift crisply, a rebuild is likely in order. We&amp;#039;d also get the vertical &amp;quot;ambulance&amp;quot; double doors in the rear opening rather than the flip-down tailgate because the power-rear window is failure prone. We&amp;#039;re partial to the pre-1992 editions. They look better, have less electronics, are every bit as big and have a cool metal dash. Plus, off-road enthusiasts will appreciate these pre-&amp;#039;92 Suburbans for their durable solid front axle suspension and gear-driven 4wd transfer case. If you need a big bus, the Suburban is the one. Ford Bronco /// 1979-1995  Don&amp;#039;t confuse the macho full-size Bronco with its ill-fated, lightweight, downsized sibling, the Bronco II. And we&amp;#039;ll keep the classic early Bronco off this list as well, because it&amp;#039;s a bit too small and, well, too classic for our purposes. You want the big Bronco, which was based on the F-150 pickup and had a rugged Dana 44 independent front suspension dubbed the Twin-Traction Beam. All Broncos have four-wheel drive, removable rear roofs and tight turning circles. In 1986, Ford added fuel injection to the three-engine lineup (a 4.9-liter in-line 6 and two V8s: a 5.0-liter and a 5.8-liter) and in 1992, rear shoulder belts became standard. The Bronco went bye-bye in 1996, which means most of them have packed on lots of miles. According to Josh King of Jeff&amp;#039;s Bronco Graveyard, high mileage is not a problem. &amp;quot;As long as it hasn&amp;#039;t been abused, the low-revving engines last for over 200,000 miles,&amp;quot; King says. He&amp;#039;d stick with 1986 and newer Broncos to take advantage of the fuel injection and overdrive transmissions. Even with those features, the Bronco has a big appetite for hydrocarbons. But five grand, King says, nets a used Bronco with all the goodies like leather seats, power windows, cruise control--every feature the early &amp;#039;90s could offer.  Isuzu Trooper /// 1984-1992  While the Trooper was sold in the U.S. from 1984 to 2002, we like the first-gen version that was produced until 1992. The later version offers more luxury features and is certainly roomier, quicker and a whole bunch more refined, but it&amp;#039;s just not as cool-looking. The first-gen models are not only cheaper but they have that utilitarian, it&amp;#039;s-nothing-but-the-box-it-came-in look. And according to experts, they are a simpler, more rugged truck. What&amp;#039;s more, the early Troopers have tall windshields that offer excellent visibility and were available in three- or five-door body styles. Don&amp;#039;t mess with Troopers equipped with the early 1.8-liter four-cylinder--they&amp;#039;re too slow. Search instead for the 120-hp 2.6-liter four-cylinder, or better yet opt for ones that have either the GM-made 2.8-liter V6, or the 2.2-liter turbo diesel four-cylinder. That latter engine was woefully underpowered (it made about 80 hp), but achieved mid-20s fuel economy. A decent early Trooper trades for around two grand, with the diesel-engine trucks going for twice that amount. Don&amp;#039;t forget that Isuzu will stop selling vehicles here early next year. That fact should lower used-car prices but could also make it tough to find parts. Mitsubishi Montero /// 1991-2000  Any Montero produced between 1984 and 2005, the year it was discontinued, would fit our adventure-wagon criteria. Which generation and year you choose depends on your budget. We&amp;#039;re partial to the second-gen Montero that ran from 1991 to 2000. These vehicles seemed to have it all--a tall greenhouse, roomy five-door body, adequate V6 power, five-speed manual and four-speed automatic transmissions, available antilock brakes, and a good balance between comfort features and no-frills ruggedness. We also like the look of the second-gen body and its 40-degree approach angle and generous ground clearance (over 8 in.). The Montero four-wheel drive system (called Active Trac 4wd) was advanced in its day because it had a rare center differential that allowed full-time four-wheel drive. And SR models came with a locking rear differential. While all second-gen Monteros had four-wheel drive, shop carefully. If you see any evidence of rust--on the Montero or any used SUV--run away quickly because there&amp;#039;s no telling what structural trouble lurks. We also recommend paying a bit more to get one with lower miles. A used car is always a bit of a crapshoot, but paying more for a lighter-used example is usually a good bet. Nissan Xterra /// 2000-2004  The Xterra filled the gap that was opened when the Pathfinder SUV moved up to a more refined, unibody platform. Consequently, the Xterra was based on the Nissan pickup and employed the classic body-on-frame construction of old-style rough and ready 4x4s. It was also a lot less expensive--the Xterra went for less than 20 grand when it debuted for the 2000 model year. And that cheap entry price even when new is why this is the only vehicle that&amp;#039;s less than 10 years old that makes our list. After only two years, the Xterra was freshened along with the Frontier pickup and a supercharged V6 became available. For fuel economy reasons, you&amp;#039;ll want to stick with the 2.4-liter four-cylinder engine, which actually worked pretty well. And be sure you get a four-wheel drive model. Yes, they did build rear-drive-only Xterras. The 4wd Xterra came already outfitted for adventure with lever-actuated four-wheel drive, skidplates, plenty of interior cargo hooks, a full-size spare and even the famous tailgate-mounted first-aid kit that was so prominently featured in the ads. There&amp;#039;s an honest simplicity to these first-gen Xterras that few modern vehicles have. "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.popularmechanics.com/cars/a12150/4283360/>