1. BENTLEY BENTAYGA
Not just a lot of leather, there’s a depth of engineering. Class act
No, you’re absolutely right. Hardly anyone who buys a Jaguar F-Pace, let alone one that tiptoes around on 22in wheels (twenty-twos!) will subject it to trial by quarry. We’ve done it now, so they won’t have to. And predictably, the Jag was outclassed in the rough. The ride, which it struggles to reconcile with British roads anyway, bounced occupants clean out of the seat, and, like the Alfa, its rear-drive-untilyou-slip set-up isn’t really optimised for bushwhacking. Fearful of splintering the low-profle bumper and tyres on underwater obstacles, or a sharp-edged twig, these unashamedly road-biased SUVs were subjected to the least harsh of-road treatment. These are jacked-up sports saloons, with only a hill-descent mode between them as a sop to their go-anywhere marketing potential.
The Peugeot and Skoda are both FWD. You can spec 4x4 on a Kodiaq, but this version, with 148bhp and DSG ’box will be the top seller. It’s got greater approach and departure angles than the 3008, so it was happier of-road, but in fairness, once the Pug actually got some traction, its relative lack of mass and manual ’box helped it haul itself up steeper slopes than the Jag, Alfa and Skoda. Maybe a micron of Dakar rally DNA crept into its make-up…
Nah. If it’s underdog of-road status you’re after, look no further than the Duster. This is a brilliantly thoughtout little workhorse. You don’t feel guilty hopping in and out of it, tramping mud into its thin carpet and smearing skidmarks onto the sills. It’ll rinse of. The rough steeringwheel hide and hard-wearing seat feel utterly appropriate for the abuse. And so’s the mechanical make-up.
Instead of ftting a low-range gearbox or hilldescent ESP mode, which would have added weight and complication respectively, not to mention cost, the Dacia simply has a very short frst gear. Like a hillclimb car, I suppose. The ultra-short frst can be used to haul it up an improbable slope or calm its descent down the other side. Its four-wheel-drive gubbins are brutally ordinary, but because it’s never having to apportion torque and take thinking time, it doesn’t fritter away traction. The steering, so slow on the road it’s a pain to park, doesn’t wrestle away and buck in your hands. I genuinely hope Land Rover is keeping one of these things close by when it cracks on with setting up its Defender replacement. As a no-bull, simple and sorted of-road car, the little Duster is a gem, so long as you’re willing to get involved. Get your hands dirty, rather than washing them of the experience.