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Best Off-Road Sedans for 2025

These are the best off-road sedans based on iSeeCars' analysis of their off-road specs and capabilities.

The best off-road hybrid car is the Toyota Sienna (hybrid) (7 inches of ground clearance).

Traveling off-road in a traditional car isn’t a common pastime, but a few luxury models, and at least one minivan, exist with limited off-road capabilities. These vehicles have at least 6.5 inches of ground clearance and come with all-wheel-drive (AWD) to tackle light off-road adventures.

Various off-road upgrades, such as skid plates, hill descent control, hill hold assist, multiple driving modes, and roof rack crossbars, have also been added to these vehicles. A further explanation of these features is below:

Skid Plates: Skid plates protect the underside of a vehicle by forming a shield between outside terrain and critical drivetrain components like the cooling system, oil pan, and transmission to greatly improve the durability of serious off-road vehicles

Hill Descent Control: Hill descent control is a driving mode that controls a vehicle's speed while descending a sharp incline, ensuring it doesn’t begin traveling so fast the driver loses control or risks damaging the vehicle

Hill Hold Technology: Similar to hill descent control, this technology keeps a vehicle from rolling backwards when climbing up a steep incline; it lets a driver carefully release the brake and apply throttle versus feeling rushed in this process to avoid rolling back

Multiple Driving Modes: In recent model years it’s become more common for off-road vehicles to include specific off-road driving modes; these driving modes coordinate everything from throttle response to transmission shifting to the suspension dampers to maximize a vehicle’s off-road capabilities

Roof Rack Crossbars: Safely traveling off road can involve a lot of extra equipment, and having a roof rack with crossbars increases a vehicle’s storage capacity to carry this equipment

While the cars listed on this page can’t take on serious off-road excursions, their limited ground clearance and off-road technology can serve buyers looking to travel a bit off-pavement without damaging their vehicle.

Browse the lists below to see additional information regarding ground clearance specifications and off-road features offered on each model.

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How We Rank These Cars

The Best Off-road Vehicles lists rank vehicles by their ground clearance and off-road features.

The best off-road vehicle is specific to one or more trim levels for a given vehicle model, and has the highest ground clearance and the most important off-road features.. In the event there is a tie, we use iSeeCars proprietary rating of the overall quality of the car (iSeeCars Score) to break the tie.

The overall iSeeCars Score is an analysis of three factors: reliability, resale value and safety. It is calculated based on the latest research and analysis by our data science team. The data analysis comes from over 12 million new and used vehicles in our Longest-Lasting Cars and 5-Year Depreciation Studies, combined with NHTSA and IIHS Safety Ratings.

Vehicles are scored in three categories:

Reliability

The reliability score represents an analysis of iSeeCars' proprietary research on the longest-lasting vehicles.

Value Retention

The value retention score is based on our data science team's statistical analysis and prediction of 5-year depreciation from MSRP to determine which cars hold their value best, using US Bureau of Labor Statistics data to adjust for inflation.

Safety

The safety score is calculated based on the last five years of crash test ratings from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and incorporates the latest Top Safety Pick information from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS).

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