Scotty, what would be a good used vehicle that can handle normal roads and some light off-roading (eg. unpaved roads, gravel paths, park trails)? Would a 4/6 cylinder sedan work, or a 4 cylinder SUV/crossover? I'm not sure what the right choice would be considering the strain off-roading might put on a vehicle's engine, transmission and suspension.
Best used vehicle for off roading is one that is fully paid for.
Definitely no car payments unless I can profit in some way or affoed it in general.
4runner
double that, the OG hilux brother.
Jeep CJ 7
An old Jeep Cherokee with the inline six would fit the bill if you can work on it yourself. (They're so old though that if you had to depend on a mechanic for every little thing that goes wrong on a 20+ year-old vehicle it's not a good choice.)
I am a bit thrown off that you say sedan as an option for a vehicle intended for off road. My initial thought is the same thing Joe said, a 4runner.
However, are you planning to use this for something else? Are there other factors that might sway you against the possibly best, most reliable off road vehicle?
A 4runner can handle most anything you throw at it, they are very tough. 3rd and 4th gen can be had pretty cheap if you look around. It is not the absolute best off roader, but they are very well rounded and can be a good daily driver as well.
Yea, I know it doesn't sound right when I say sedan. Basically, the intent of the question was to find out if I would be able to get away with using a v6 (for additional torque) sedan for light-offroading situations as opposed to a dedicated offroad vehicle (most likely an SUV or truck). And I would need the vehicle to be able to handle regular driving as well, so I wasn't looking for too much of an offroad specialist.
In that case, maybe a subaru outback or something at least with awd.
I would recommend an older Toyota 4Runner or a Nissan Xterra (which will be cheaper than the 4Runner). On the Xterra, see below:
https://carkiller.com/scottykilmer/postid/127578/
Also, for light off-roading it’s not a good idea to take a sedan or any low clearance vehicle like that. I have seen plenty of folks do it, but it always makes me cringe - not the right tool for the job.
I have pictures somewhere of me taking a 93 Dodge Spirit down a Jeep trail in the ozarks.
