Compact SUVs Monster Off-Road Test - Don't Fall for Jeep's Trailhawk Rating

You could ask a friend who 'knows cars,' you could go on a research spree and read every article out there on the matter, or you could go with your gut and just buy the Trailhawk trail-rated Jeep - which in this case would be the Compass. Everyone knows Jeeps are tough and capable - definitely more so than the Chinese HAVAL H6 or the Volkswagen Tiguan with its sporty R-Line package. Well, there is now an even better option: keep reading here and, if you have the time, watch the clip below as well and you'll find out which models in this segment will refuse to go over a puddle and which come the closest to being a mountain goat.

The guys at CarExpert Australia engineered a short but pretty comprehensive test course for these vehicles that is difficult enough to require some sort of an SUV to clear it (ground clearance and AWD required) yet should seem doable for anything that meets these two criteria.

Here's what the twelve SUVs had to do: first off, they needed to navigate through a series of muddy ditches. At one point, the driver would stop the vehicle in a see-saw position and test the chassis rigidity by checking whether the door opens and closes normally under heavy articulation. Then, it's off to a similar position, except this time it's all about the AWD system and how well it manages to get the car unstuck. Finally, the "log mountain" (a series of logs half-buried transversally on a slope, oddly resembling a very rudimentary flight of stairs) should pose the biggest challenge as the SUVs will have to climb midway, come to a stop, and then resume their ascension. Should they fail, they'll revert to the base of the obstacle and have another go, this time with some momentum. Here's how they all did.

The Jeep Compass Trailhawk is the first, and it doesn't start well for the American. Its door refuses to open and shut properly when flexed, showing poor rigidity. It makes up for it with the next obstacle - the see-saw start - where it just drives off without any fuss. However, it's back to disappointment once it hits the log mountain (we'll call it that). It gets in position but, once it's time to pull off from a standstill, it just can't do it. What's more, its AWD system fails as well.

Next up is the Toyota RAV4 Hybrid which, even though is obviously not made for this kind of stuff, still has a "trail mode." The rigidity is fine (in fact, we won't even mention this from now since the Jeep Compass is the only one to fail - and remember there's a Chinese SUV in the test as well) and it clears the second obstacle with ease as well - though it requires a bit more convincing than the Compass. It's the log mountain where the RAV4 has its first real issues, failing to get moving from a halt. The wheels spin, but they just can't seem to grip, suggesting the tires might have a role to play too.

Overall, RAV4's split propulsion architecture (ICE for the front, electric for the rear) doesn't seem to be properly managed or calibrated - or maybe the electric motor is just too weak to push the SUV up a hill, though we doubt that between itself and the gasoline engine, they couldn't do it.

The Mitsubishi Outlander is the first pleasant surprise here, though the fact it shares its platform with the Nissan X-Trail should give it some credit from the off. It's not even as impressive as the RAV4 in the see-saw position traction test, but it manages to get going. However, the real surprise comes on the log mountain where, after seemingly spinning the front wheels while the rear ones did nothing, it suddenly gets moving once the latter decides to join the party. It's even more remarkable since, as you'll see, the X-Trail won't be able to reproduce this feat.

Once a reputable off-roader, the Subaru Forester - like all Subarus - has lost some of its off-road credibility lately. Well, this test will put the Japanese brand right up there as the Forester (spoiler ahead) is by far the best performer of the bunch. It just seems to go "is that all?"

The first of the two Korean siblings to take to the course is the Kia Sportage. Its poor ground clearance is instantly obvious as it seems to graze the ground. In the see-saw position, it takes a lot of gas pedal action - and I do mean "a lot" - to get the AWD system working properly. It wouldn't be a problem, but it does make the SUV more difficult to control. The log mountain proves insurmountable, and it even struggles to get up with a bit of momentum.

After the Sportage's performance, the Hyundai Tucson has a figurative mountain to climb, as well as a literal log one. Right from the off, it's clear it has better ground clearance (though on paper they are identical). The see-saw obstacle sees the Tucson perform only slightly better than the Kia, but once in position on the log mountain, the Hyundai joins the Outlander and Forester in the very select group of only four vehicles (the fourth is yet to come) that managed to conquer the obstacle in its most difficult form. It feels as though Hyundai optimized the Tucson more toward off-roading than Kia did with the Sportage.

The Mazda CX-5 is notoriously bad off-road, but it's a compact SUV so, whether it liked it or not, it still had to be there. Surprisingly enough, it comes with an off-road mode, though whether it does anything is entirely debatable. Having said that, it does surprisingly well in the see-saw test (behind only the Jeep and the Subaru) and even looks like it could successfully conquer the log mountain. In the end, it proved to be an illusion, but the CX-5 proved it's more than just a pretty face.

The Ford Escape has the fourth-lowest ground clearance in the test, yet it navigates the moguls without incidents. The see-saw set off proves a very little challenge for the Escape as it does extremely (and surprisingly) well. The firm suspension, however, makes climbing the log mountain a bit problematic, and it only manages to do it with the help of a bit of momentum.

Like the Mazda CX-5, the Honda CR-V is also known for its very poor off-road abilities. Unlike the Mazda, though, the CR-V doesn't do anything to change people's perception about it in this test. With a rear wheel in the air, it shakes it behind like it's in a hip-hop video and only moves forward after very sustained throttle input. It also performs the worst on the log mountain where it fails to even spin its wheels, let alone climb.

The HAVEL H6 is probably the least known quantity in this test, so the fact it performs decently (yes, this is the fourth model that makes it up the log mountain after coming to a halt midway through) also makes a big surprise. And it's not like the way it navigated the see-saw obstacle gave us any reasons to expect anything great: the AWD system had very abrupt interventions making loud clunky sounds and shaking the vehicle. On the logs, though, the H6 got moving effortlessly, as if it was going downhill

The MQB-based Volkswagen Tiguan is known to be a decent all-rounder, but here it came with the R-Line package - not the best option for off-roading. Despite sitting right in the middle when it comes to ground clearance, it scraped the ground at some point during the first part of the test (see the chunk of mud sitting on the lip at the end).

The lifted wheel traction test proves to be very doable for the Tiguan. While it did need some insistent throttle inputs to get going, it felt completely in control at all times - unlike the Sportage, for example. It even looked as though it would successfully climb the log mountain but after the initial jerking forward, the wheels start slipping and it's stuck. With momentum, it's a breeze.

Finally, we have the Nissan X-Trail, the SUV with the third-best ground clearance, a lockable 4WD option, and a relative that had performed reasonably well before it - the Outlander. In theory, it should be among the top performers.

Well, practice says otherwise. The first obstacle is cleared, but not without some struggle, whereas the log mountain ultimately proves unconquerable. It didn't miss by much and, like with the Tiguan, it could very well be the tires, but at the end of the day, what matters is that it couldn't get up.

Conclusion

Four vehicles cleared the log mountain, and it's safe to say at least two of them were very surprising names to find on that list (the HAVAL H6 and the Hyundai Tucson). Also, you would have expected better from the Nissan X-Trail and particularly the Jeep Compass Trailhawk, with the latter actually being this test's biggest disappointment. As for the winner, that would be the Subaru Forester, which is somehow both expected and surprising at the same time.