Best small 4x4s in the UK

Best for: value for money

The Dacia Duster is the very definition of ‘cheap and cheerful’. Not only is it priced lower than most small hatchbacks, even in its four-wheel drive form, but it’s both great-looking and fantastic to live with. It’s so good that we gave it the Smart Spender trophy in the 2025 Carwow Car of the Year awards, reflecting its fantastic value for money.

The Duster’s always been more of a serious off-roader than most small 4x4s - Dacia is seriously popular in many developing countries, after all, and its cars are built to cope with unmade roads and plenty of abuse. In the latest Duster, the four-wheel drive version is available on the mid-spec trim level and above, paired to a mild-hybrid petrol engine and a manual gearbox.

You get a couple of off-road settings - specific drive modes alter the powertrain for the most benefit depending on what kind of surface you’re on, plus there’s hill descent control to help you stay in command when going down a steep, slippery hill.

There’s also a really hardwearing interior. It’s not quite hose-down like a proper farm truck should be, but sturdy rubber floor mats keep the worst of muddy boots from the carpets. Plus, the Duster’s interior is mainly flat surfaces and hard plastics, rather than textured materials and fabric upholstery. So while it may not feel especially luxurious, it’s easy to wipe clean with just a cloth.

It’s practical, too. The boot is on par with cars from the class above, and the rear seats are roomy. Dacia’s neat YouClip system also allows you to add accessories such as phone mounts or cupholders onto various points in the car, which is a really cool feature.

If there’s one criticism, it’s that the Duster really does feel its price in places - but a cheap car feeling cheap is hardly something to get worked up about. Even so, a couple of soft-touch materials on the door cards would be nice, or some more supportive front seats. That’s a very minor critique in a brilliant, great-value car - a well-deserved Carwow award-winner.

Best for: a posh interior

The BMW X1 is definitely not much of an off-roader, but it does have a wide range of engine options and several four-wheel drive choices. BMW calls its four-wheel drive cars ‘xDrive’ and with the X1 you can have an xDrive 23i, 23d, 25e, 30e or M35i.

What does all that mean? Well, 23i and 23d are both 2.0-litre, four-cylinder engines - one petrol, one diesel. The 25e and 30e are both plug-ing hybrid models which pair a 1.5-litre petrol engine with electric motors. M35i is another 2.0-litre petrol engine, but this time it’s tuned for extra power and comes in a standalone ‘M’ trim with sporty chassis tuning and an eye-catching makeover.

Regardless of which option you go for, you get the same accomplished four-wheel drive system and an eight-speed automatic gearbox for effortless gearchanges.

The X1’s system isn’t really there to go mud-plugging - the car doesn’t have that much ground clearance, or any underbody protection, so you probably won’t want to take it onto a rock crawl or up the side of a mountain. But it provides welcome extra traction on wet roads, helping the car feel more secure and planted when coming out of a corner, and it should be much more accomplished on slick surfaces like a muddy field.

Owning and driving a BMW X1 is also a pleasure. The interior feels like it’s been pulled straight from one of BMW’s larger SUVs - you get loads of tech, two super high-definition screens for infotainment and driver information, and a generally luxurious feel. The X1’s square body means it’s pretty practical too - there’s good space in the rear and a big boot, though if you want to sacrifice a bit of that for some style, there’s always the coupe-like X2 which shares the X1’s platform and most of its engines.

Best for: electric performance

It may be a former Carwow Car of the Year, but the Volvo EX30 is another four-wheel drive car which you definitely wouldn’t want to take onto any really taxing terrain. It’s nice to have the extra traction available in Ultra Twin Motor Performance trim, especially as the regular EX30 is rear-wheel drive - a setup not known for its ability on the slippery stuff.

That being said, the trim level you’d really want to venture off road is the EX30 Cross Country. It’s (slightly) jacked-up, features plastic cladding around the bodywork and bigger tyres. If you’re really feeling flush, you can opt for the extra-rugged all-terrain tyres and a roof bar for carrying all of your lifestyle gear, too.

More interestingly, the EX30 is a fully electric car, so if you were looking to reduce your carbon footprint but didn’t want to sacrifice having the security of four driven wheels then this could be a great place to start.

A rear-wheel drive EX30 is absolutely stonking value for money, but the Twin Motor Performance model in Ultra trim pushes the price over £44,000 - and the Cross Country is an extra £1,000, without any of the cool accessories fitted. Still, for that you’re getting a stylish car with a posh badge, not to mention acceleration that can shame many a sports car.

The EX30 definitely emphasises just how small a 4x4 can be, though. The rear seats are pretty cramped and the boot is quite small, so you probably won’t want to squeeze the whole extended family in there for a long road trip. At least there’s no load lip, making it easy to get heavy items in and out the back.

Maximum range on a charge takes a hit with four-wheel drive, too - Volvo claims you should be able to achieve 279 miles, but you can expect more like 220 - 240 in the real world, or even less if you’re making the most of the rapid acceleration that the four-wheel drive models offer. Still, the EX30 is immensely comfortable and refined both in town and on the motorway, and it makes for a great runaround.

Best for: hybrid fuel economy

The Lexus LBX is the posher, classier sister to the Toyota Yaris Cross - and like that car, you can specify an all-wheel drive powertrain. Don’t expect it to channel the DNA of Toyota’s legendary off-roaders like the Land Cruiser - the system basically consists of a very low-powered motor on the rear axle which functions at slow speeds.

So it’s perfect for giving you a bit of extra grip to get out of a muddy field, or up a slippery driveway - just don’t take it rock-crawling. The added weight also means you lose a bit of fuel economy and boot space to the standard LBX.

Everything else is unchanged, though, which is great news because the LBX is a brilliant small SUV. It manages to feel genuinely posh despite its bijou dimensions, thanks to plush materials throughout the interior. The hybrid engine is quiet and very efficient, and it’s comfortable to drive if not very exciting.

Best for: driving pleasure

The Mazda CX-30 is essentially the SUV version of the excellent Mazda 3, which is obvious when you see the two cars side by side and compare their sleek dimensions and driver-focused interior.

If you opt for a top-spec Takumi model, you can add four-wheel drive to the priciest Skyactiv-X engine, with either a six-speed manual or automatic gearbox. Both options are rather pricey, but the CX-30 has a lot going for it, including a gorgeously-appointed interior that feels like it’s come from a much more expensive car.

It’s also really lovely to drive, with one of the nicest manual gearboxes around - though the six-speed auto is a bit old-fashioned and dimwitted. It’s a shame that the engine with this 4x4 model is slightly underwhelming - the Skyactiv-X is a fiendishly complicated beast that promises diesel fuel economy with petrol performance, but what you get most of the time is diesel grumbliness with petrol’s lack of low-down shove.

Best for: stylish off-road ability

Land Rover’s smallest model may be the glitzy, stylish member of the family - but like a posh horserider, it’s as gritty as the rest of them and just as happy to get covered in mud. The Evoque is remarkably good at off-roading, with all but the base model coming with four-wheel drive and a swathe of useful driving modes under Land Rover’s ‘Terrain Response’ umbrella.

Terrain Response is the same tech you get on bigger Land Rover models, and it tailors the car’s suspension and four-wheel drive system to the specific surface you’re driving on. Of course, the dinky Evoque can’t quite venture as deep into the wild as its bigger siblings, but it’ll still tackle ground that would shame many other four-wheel drive cars.

It also does other luxury SUV jobs rather well. The Evoque’s interior may not be quite as plush as the full-fat Range Rover, but it’s still stylish and swathed in sumptuous materials. The Evoque’s also fabulously relaxing to drive. It’s perfectly at home pootling around town, allowing you to enjoy good visibility and a commanding driving position in traffic or on the motorway.

Best for: reliability

Every car Subaru makes shares two things - a horizontally-opposed ‘Boxer’ engine, and permanent four-wheel drive. That means that unlike most cars on this list, all four wheels are driven all the time, rather than the car favouring one axle for economy and sending power to the other only when it’s needed.

The Crosstrek uses this to great effect, combined with a jacked-up ride height and quite a tough body. It doesn’t look much more rugged than a normal hatchback, but will off-road on surfaces that many SUVs wouldn’t touch.

That translates out to the road as well where the Crosstrek feels incredibly secure and stable. However, part of the reason for that is that the engine is so weedy you’d really have to be trying before you were going fast enough to run out of grip.

There are other issues too. Really poor fuel economy is one, while a high price tag and somewhat low-rent interior is another. The Crosstrek is a car that demands quite a bit of compromise - but if its ability delivers for you where it matters, it definitely has the ability to fill a niche. Subaru’s reliability is also legendary, so the Crosstrek should prove trouble-free to own.

Best for: a fun drive

The Suzuki Vitara has a manual gearbox and is a peppy, turbocharged 1.4-litre engine that has plenty of performance and is actually great fun to drive.

It's available with four-wheel drive, which is labelled ‘Allgrip’ in Suzuki’s brochure. While the Vitara isn’t quite the mud-plugger that the old Jimny was, it’s actually not half bad when it comes to tackling the rough stuff - there’s lots of grip, pretty good ground clearance and a few useful off-road modes to make things easier.

The Vitara’s a practical small SUV with plenty of room and a hardwearing interior, though it’s grown in price without really stepping up its material quality. It does feel cheap inside, and doesn’t look especially stylish on the outside either, which is a shame for anyone spending this much on a small SUV.

And while you get reasonable equipment levels for your money, everything just feels a bit low-rent - the touchscreen infotainment system, for example, really feels like a third-party unit rather than one that’s cohesively designed for the car. At least the Vitara’s light weight promises great fuel economy and low running costs, though.

Best for: American flair

The Jeep Avenger may be more closely related to the Fiat 600 than it is to any all-American off-roader, but you still get a sense of that iconic Jeep style thanks to the eye-catching seven-slot grille, chunky proportions and plenty of customisation options.

It’s also a genuinely small car, which means it’s more at home around town than you’d expect from something wearing the Jeep badge.

Inside, the rugged aesthetic continues, but it’s all well up-to-date thanks to a 10.0-inch infotainment screen, a nice row of physical switchgear and some cool coloured trim pieces.

Four-wheel drive is only available in the Avenger 4xe, which uses a 1.2-litre turbocharged petrol engine that predominantly drives the front wheels. An electric motor on the rear axle provides that much-needed four-wheel drive, and though you shouldn’t expect the Avenger to be anything like as accomplished off-road as a Wrangler, it should be able to tackle a bit more than most cars this size. It has to uphold Jeep’s heritage, after all.

On the road, the Avenger is great around town and pretty good on a longer journey too. It can get noisy at high speeds, though, and if you’re considering it as a family car you won’t be too impressed by the cramped boot and back seats.

Best for: a stealth 4x4

And finally, a bit of fun to finish our list. Hatchbacks with four-wheel drive are particularly rare, but Suzuki’s offered one for ages - the tiny Swift comes with the same ‘Allgrip’ option as the brand’s larger SUVs.


There’s not much to separate the Allgrip from the regular Swift - it rides a little bit higher, adds very little weight and doesn’t reduce fuel economy that much. There are no locking diffs or manually selectable drive modes, and it just sends power to the rear axle when it detects slip - making it ideal for slippery conditions or muddy lanes.

You still have all the pros of the Swift, including a genuinely compact body that’s an absolute doddle to park. As one of the lightest cars you can buy today, it’s a riot to drive, and it revels in being chucked from bend to bend. It’s not the most useful small 4x4 around, but it’s one of the most fun.