Now, before we start on all this, we need to get our terms straight. This is not a piece about the best SUV nor crossover in Ireland. There are plenty such models around, and they’re big sellers — indeed, the Hyundai Tucson has been the best-selling car in Ireland for the past several years. However, while it’s certainly possible to buy an SUV or a crossover with four-wheel drive, they are not true 4x4s. True 4x4s are vehicles capable of getting you into, and more importantly back out of, the most rugged and inaccessible spots. They are genuinely hard-working cars, not mere school-run specials. Thankfully, these days, modern motoring technology means that these tough and rugged cars are just as comfortable and refined when you’re driving them on tarmac. With that in mind, the best 4x4s you can buy in Ireland right now are…
1. Dacia Duster
It doesn’t really matter whether we’re talking about the ‘old’ Dacia Duster, which is still on sale, or the new model which will replace it in the coming weeks — the Duster is still one of the best cars you can buy, of any type, but it’s an especially good 4x4. The four-wheel drive version is, inevitably, the most expensive model in the Duster lineup, but it’s worth spending the extra, because not only are you not paying all that much to begin with, but you’re getting a car of genuinely useful all-round ability. The Duster, although roomy inside, isn’t an especially big car and that pays dividends both in town (where it’s easy to park) and out in the sticks (where it’s easy to thread it through gaps between trees, fences, or stone walls). There’s a generous 215mm of ground clearance, and short overhangs front and rear, so while the Duster may appear to be a softy SUV, it’s actually truly rugged, and its cheap purchase price and lack of fancy styling (inside and out) mean you don’t worry too much if it gets a bit dented or muddy.
2. Toyota Land Cruiser
Another classic 4x4 that’s being replaced by an all-new model in the coming weeks, the Toyota Land Cruiser has been a legend ever since the original prototype climbed Mount Fuji to a point where no wheeled vehicle had ever been before. That was in 1948, and the Land Cruiser has been going strong ever since. The latest version — with its rather charming retro styling — is the 250 Series Land Cruiser, and it’s quite deceptive. Deceptive because the addition of mild-hybrid technology, a roomy and comfortable interior, digital screens in the cabin, and push-button controls for all the off-road accoutrements might lead you to conclude that the Land Cruiser has gone a bit soft. Not a bit of it — underneath there’s still a super-strong separate ladder chassis, while the 2.8-litre four-cylinder turbo diesel engine is shared with the famously indestructible Hilux pickup truck. The Land Cruiser has worked out that the people inside it might enjoy a bit of comfort, refinement, and the opportunity to connect to Spotify, but the rest of it remains as uncompromisingly tough as ever.
3. Ford Ranger
The Ranger is, of course, a pickup which is technically a different species to a 4x4, thanks to its massive open load bed at the back. However, we’re letting the Ranger (and its cousin, the VW Amarok) in here simply because it does such a great job of mixing and matching the needs of heavy-duty load-lugging and terrain-crossing, with the sort of comfort and refinement when you’re driving on the road that is a genuine surprise in such an overtly commercial vehicle as this. You can choose from regular diesel versions or the incoming plug-in hybrid model, but the ultimate Ranger is of course the Ranger Raptor, powered by a smooth but noisy V6 turbo petrol engine, with suspension that’s been designed for off-road racing trucks, the Raptor is a high-rise sports car with seats for five and space in the back for a month’s worth of camping-in-the-mountain supplies. It’s an intoxicating mix.
4. Land Rover Defender
The original Land Rover Defender was in production from 1948 until 2016. Sort of. It had evolved out of all recognition, really, in those decades but there was something of a kinship between the diminutive Series 1 and the final Defender. So much so that Land Rover agonised for more than a decade on how to actually replace it, but finally the new Defender was revealed in 2020 and… it was brilliant. The design owes almost nothing to the original, but it still looks like nothing other than a Defender. The cabin is unspeakably luxurious compared to the old one, but still has enough of the rough-and-tumble aspect (check out the tough powder coating on the dashboard) to make it feel like a hard-working Landie. Yes, there are digital screens and smartphone connections, but there are also low-ratio gears for when the going gets seriously sticky, and the adjustable air suspension is as good at keeping you comfy on long motorway runs as it is helping you find the extra ground clearance to go pounding over rocks. The short-wheelbase Defender 90 is almost unstoppable off-road, but the longer 110 model makes more sense if you’re actually trying to carry people, especially the frugal plug-in hybrid P400e version. Why anyone bothers with a more expensive Range Rover when they could have one of these is beyond us.
5. Jeep Renegade
The Renegade should have been a breakthrough vehicle for the Jeep brand in Europe — affordable, right-sized, but still with that brilliant Jeep off-road ability when the road turns to dirt or mud, it’s a proper 4x4 disguised as a small crossover. It’s a shame that European and Irish buyers have just never taken to it. Basic front-wheel drive versions are fine and all, but it’s really the four-wheel drive Trailhawk models in which we’re interested here. The Renegade Trailhawk might be, essentially, a compact family car but in Trailhawk form it has to be able to tackle the same, infamous, tracks and boulders of the Rubicon Trail — in the massive Sierra Nevada mountains of California — as the company’s bigger, beefier Wrangler and Grand Cherokee. We’ve had a Renegade up to its door handles in sticky mud on lonely hillsides and still gotten home in time for dinner, so be in no doubt — buy the right one and a Renegade is a true 4x4.
So there you have it, the best 4X4s you can buy in Ireland. Have we left anything off the list? Let us know!
Remember, if you're buying a used car, you should always get a history check done.
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