rmc523 Posted May 19 Share Posted May 19 (edited) Rugged is the new cool. That’s the case at least when it comes to crossovers and SUVs. It seems every major automaker is launching some form of rugged, off-road ready sub-brand. Names like Tremor, TrailSport, Wilderness, and AT4 are just a few examples. Initially reserved for more purpose built offroad ready SUVs, the ruggedization of anything within the SUV/Crossover world is well underway. Anything form a Honda CR-V or Toyota RAV4 all the up to a Chevrolet Traverse or Volkswagen Atlas can come with knobbier tires and extra dirt-ready bits. But what about those in the middle? The SUVs that aren’t in the uber-popular segment where the Subaru Forester and Hyundai Tucson play, nor in the big-boy world along with the Mazda CX-90 and Kia Telluride. Yes, it’s the hard to define mid-size SUV class. Late last year we sampled some near premium mid-size SUVs and found a wide array of options. Watch the full video review here. Best Rugged Mid-Size SUV Mega Comparison | AutoGuide.com Edited May 19 by rmc523 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rmc523 Posted May 19 Author Share Posted May 19 Explorer places 2nd. They talk about points for their winners, but don't explain or show their point system. Man, that Subaru is hideous....... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ANTAUS Posted May 19 Share Posted May 19 Wow you are right.. it's like Grandma put on an S&M leather suit in the front trying to be dominating, and 2 nipple rings in the back. It IS hideous. A friend bought an Outback some months ago, and I told her it would compete well with products from 10 years ago. Tapped on all the hard plastics inside the cabin, lack of lighted switchgear, etc. and I'm like "Well for you it's an upgrade from a Hyundai product, so I'm glad your happy, it'll be reliable and utterly boring to drive, glad it wasn't a Toyota (it kinda is)...I wish you well".... and her husband just didn't have an opinion, he just wanted her to get ANYTHING and get rid of the Hyundai. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rmc523 Posted May 20 Author Share Posted May 20 It really makes me wonder how certain designs move past the drawing table... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
morgan20 Posted May 20 Share Posted May 20 (edited) 18 hours ago, rmc523 said: They talk about points for their winners, but don't explain or show their point system. Probably because Autoguide's reviewers make up the point system as they go along for their bullshit Best Rugged Mid-Size SUV Mega Comparison test, which: includes only one truly rugged, body-on-frame entry in the test, and ranks that entry last 🙄 Edited May 20 by morgan20 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BenKohnen Posted May 20 Share Posted May 20 Holy cripes, agreed, that Subaru is nasty. I still think one of the nice "sleeper" features of the Explorer Tremor is that every one of them gets heated AND cooled front seats, heated second row seats, and 360 camera (GREAT for off-road operations). Down sides are definitely lack of Trail Turn Assist and Trail Control, BlueCruise not available on standard package, and spare tire not standard (again, off road operation, what good is an inflator kit on the trails?). As I think about it, I'm assuming Trail Turn Assist isn't available on Maverick, Bronco Sport, and Explorer because of the unibody construction. Some idiots would twist their vehicles in over-exertion. I'm probably one of those idiots. 😄 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jpd80 Posted May 20 Share Posted May 20 On 5/20/2026 at 5:18 AM, rmc523 said: Explorer places 2nd. They talk about points for their winners, but don't explain or show their point system. Man, that Subaru is hideous....... I’m thinking these types of reviews are set up to increase site clicks, say something controversial or “clearly wrong” to certain people and were off to the races…… 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bzcat Posted May 21 Share Posted May 21 Outback won basically because it was cheap. The big surprise for me was how bad the new 4Runner is... I've read a lot of how the base non-hybrid version is really under powered and the interior is really cheap and this test seems to point out just how silly it is to daily drive one of these vs. unibody based alternative. I agree with their take on Explorer. In the last facelift, Ford finally fixed the ultra cheap interior material problem. I had a rental Explorer a month ago (a XLT not Tremor) and it had been about 4 years since I last drove one. And the inside was 100% better place to be this time. The original version of this gen Explorer felt like a $25K interior inside a $50K car... you are constantly reminded you have made a bad life decision. The current version still not as nice as some but at least it doesn't feel like it belong in a Nissan Versa. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
morgan20 Posted May 22 Share Posted May 22 On 5/21/2026 at 11:38 AM, bzcat said: The big surprise for me was how bad the new 4Runner is... I've read a lot of how the base non-hybrid version is really under powered and the interior is really cheap and this test seems to point out just how silly it is to daily drive one of these vs. unibody based alternative. The surprise is that this review claims to be Best Rugged Mid-Size SUV Mega Comparison, yet the ratings are more appropriate for Best Unibody Shopping Mall Crawler for People Who Want It to Look Rugged. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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