Rugged Outdoor

More About the Rugged Outdoor Driver

The Mountain Man needs a vehicle as rugged and no-nonsense as the lifestyle: go-anywhere capability, room for gear, and a powertrain that doesn't complain about altitude. The Toyota 4Runner is your truck: body-on-frame, part-time 4WD, and a reputation for surviving 300,000 miles of mountain roads without drama. The Jeep Wrangler is the open-air alternative for the Mountain Man who wants to feel the pine-scented breeze at 9,000 feet.

The Ford Bronco brings modern tech to the old-school off-road formula, while the Toyota Tacoma TRD Off-Road is the mid-size pickup that fits on narrow forest service roads. The Nissan Xterra, if you can find a good used one, is a cult classic for mountain dwellers. The Chevrolet Colorado ZR2 offers Multimatic DSSV shocks that eat up washboard roads, and the Subaru Outback Wilderness sneaks in with lifted suspension and all-terrain tires for the mountain man who doesn't need a body-on-frame truck.

Summit stickers on the back window, a Yeti in the cargo area, and a dog riding shotgun - that's the vibe.