A real dichotomy is this SUV class, with car-based, crossover sport utility vehicles on one hand, and on the other, real live trucks, with real live truck axles and full frames.
Perhaps what's most surprising is that the two subclasses' strengths cross over a fair amount.
The truck-based trucks here (except the extreme off-roading Jeep Rubicon) all ride nearly as well as cars and, really, can function as them in day-to-day use, and most of the car-based sport-utes have enough ability to at least satisfy casual off-roaders.
CHEVROLET TRAILBLAZER EXT
What's not to like of more of the same?
This TrailBlazer is like any other TrailBlazer: butter-smooth engine, surprisingly fine driving dynamics for something based on a stiff ladder frame, and a driver and passenger-friendly environment that's quiet, roomy and great for a long road trip.
Now, you can bring more passengers along: there's a third row of seats, easily accessed by pulling a couple of levers and flopping the second row forward.
The extra length and girth have blunted the TrailBlazer's performance some — go for the optional V8 — but it still remains an appealing drive.
Quick calls to the throttle department produce some hesitation, but the ride is even smoother, and the brakes are up to their task.
The TrailBlazer EXT shares the regular TrailBlazer's weaknesses as well, though: namely a poorly made cabin that does little to live up to the exceptional standards set by the rest of the vehicle.
Everything from the dashboard to the vents to the door handles is rendered out of cheap, flexible plastic hard to forgive when most rivals are so well turned out inside.
Price as tested: $44,415
HONDA PILOT
Confession: I have a bit of a soft spot for the Pilot after using one to haul up all of the traffic cones we used on the track during our four days at Shannonville for TestFest. On the ride up, it tracked straight and true on the highway, and even laden down with stuff, the 3.5 L, 240 hp V6 still had more than enough power for highway passing manoeuvres.
The ride is smooth, the steering light and easy, and the brakes progressive, if a bit squishy.
Because it's based on Honda's Odyssey platform, it's no surprise that the Pilot is the most car-like of this group. The step-in height is low, the glass is big and the windshield is really far forward.
The interior is cavernous; two of the three rows of seats fold flat at the pull of a lever, and even with all of them up, there's enough cargo space for a few bags. Most impressive of all is the heater, which warms the cabin up almost instantly, blowing hot air through a seeming million vents, a godsend during Shannonville's cold, cold mornings.
The Pilot is probably the weakest of this group off-road, with a front-biased, all-wheel drive system and squishy road-biased Goodyear tires. But who cares? Nobody actually drives their SUVs off-road anyway. Right?
Price as tested: $41,088
JEEP RUBICON
If you're determined to drive your sport-ute off-road, at least make it a Jeep, preferably this rock-hardened,
Rubicon-rubricked TJ.
Combine a vehicle already legendary for its off-road prowess with more aggressive tires (certainly the knobbiest and grippiest on the dirt track), a lift kit and suspension upgrades, and you have the class's only true rock-hopper, a truck that will literally climb things that you yourself couldn't.
All that capability comes at a cost, though.
The Jeep was easily the loudest, roughest, least refined and least comfortable of this bunch on the road.
Seats are fine, but the interior design feels old. Wind and road noise abound, and the ride and the steering — ideal for climbing boulders or fording streams — feel looseygoosey on pavement.
Nevertheless, at least with this vehicle, such characteristics really do hint at the capability that lies underneath.
Many other trucks are pretty rough, but nowhere near as ready as this Jeep to tackle whatever challenges you wish to throw their way.
Price as tested: $33,685
KIA SORENTO
Remember the cute but capable Sportage? Well, forget it.
This Kia is serious, with a 3.5 L V6 engine, a rugged ladder frame and parttime four-wheel drive (with an optional on-demand system).
Not only does the Sorento have the looks and attitude to compete with the class luminaries, but it also has the off-road capability.
Even with road-biased tires, the big Kia tackled our off-road course with ease, its solid rear axle humping easily over rocks and boulders, and its low range making quick work of the big hill.
It's pretty impressive on pavement, too. The Kia's steering feels connected to the road, the brakes work fine and it rides well despite that solid rear axle.
On the highway, the cabin is hushed and comfortable, nicely finished in soft leather and decent-quality fake wood (only the ugly plastic steering wheel mars the near-Lexus-like effect).
Standard equipment, always a Kia strong point, is generous to the point of philanthropy, with a full load of power goodies, alloy wheels and two-tone paint all part of the base equation.
One of the testers summed it up best: "It looks like a cross between a Mercedes ML and a Lexus RX 300 and drives like one, too — for not much more than half the price."
Price as tested: $35,745
MITSUBISHI OUTLANDER XLS
Despite the name; this Mitsu is the class's urban warrior.
Ground clearance is minimal; the little trucklet scraped and banged its undercarriage on the offroad course, and its independent suspension and lack of low range mean it struggles on any condition off pavement.
On road, the story is much better: the Outlander steers like a dream, it corners flat and stable through any tight turn and the brakes are trusty and powerful.
That is, once you get going; the 140 hp engine has a lot of weight to deal with, and with only a four-speed automatic (no manual available), it takes a while to get up to speed.
Driving aside, however, this is a pretty pleasant vehicle. Its distinctive to look at inside and out, and is well-made to boot.
The cabin is spacious and quiet at a highway cruise, and it's packed with features.
The big cargo area expands easily by flopping the seats forward. The shifter sprouts out of the dash to liberate some extra space on the floor, and the clock set into the metallic-finish dash is a nice touch.
A good-looking and well-resolved package, the Outlander is perhaps the best product in Mitsubishi's current product portfolio.
Despite the lack of go, I predict it will still sell like mad.
Price as tested: $31,353
NISSAN MURANO
Is this a really an SUV?
The body is low and swoopy, with Nissan's newly characteristic vertical headlights. The wheels are big, almost concept-car like in their proportions.
And the rear glass tapers to a sharp point on what would have been a bubble butt, were it not so nicely designed.
Though the Murano has the requisite ground clearance and high seating position, it's also got big sportscar exhaust pipes, neat gun-metal gray accents on the grille and sills; and pointy-eared door mirrors.
It's even more of a design riot inside, where Nissan has ditched traditional design tenets for a dashboard defined by a "floating" instrument panel and centre console, both trimmed in real brushed aluminum.
It's a genius piece of work, with huge storage space on top of the dash and in the doors, as well as a panoramic view out.
A long wheelbase and short overhangs mean ample space for four with adequate manoeuvrability. Fit and finish aren't the best in the world, but better than some of Nissan's recent efforts.
On the road, the Murano was the hot rod of this group, with its powerful 3.5 L V6 and an intuitive continuously variable transmission (CVT); the noise it made, too, was wonderful.
Off-road, it fared surprisingly well, though a few bits dangle, low and vulnerable, beneath the body.
But something so beautiful should never be subjected to mud and tree scratches anyway.
Price as tested: $40,500
SUBARU FORESTER
Really, it's the most clever of deceptions, this Forester, an Impreza masquerading, with its tophat styling and high ground clearance, as an SUV.
The thing is a car, and it drives like a car not even like a tall car.
Throw the Subaru into a corner and you can steer it with the throttle; you can floor it on the way out; you can take all sorts of liberties you could never take with a real truck.
It's a blast to drive, easily the most nimble and responsive of any of these vehicles on the road; the 165 hp flat-four feels more powerful than it is, and ride and refinement are up to luxury car standards.
What came as a surprise was that the Forester did just fine off the road, as well.
No, it's not that tall, and its tires are for gripping pavement rather than ripping gravel, but it will straddle a
fair-sized rock and climb up most grades.
It's just that, unlike, say, the Jeep, it doesn't relish off-road work; it will get you where you want to go on dirt, but it would rather play on asphalt.
Its other sport-ute attributes are a mixed bag. Certainly, there's versatility on offer, with split-folding rear seats and a good roof rack, but despite the tall glass, the driving position isn't that elevated (a prime reason many people like sport-utes), and Forester is simply a lot smaller than other five-passenger utes.
But drivers will like this Subaru.
Price as tested: $33,895
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