Best 4x4s of 2026 in the UK
The best 4x4s on sale differentiate themselves from the best SUVs by having a degree of proper off-roading ability and four wheel drive - not just a boxy silhouette. There are some mud-plugging staples on sale today, such as the Land Rover Defender and Toyota Land Cruiser, which have been around for over half a century.
Not all 4x4 cars are big, squared-off things, like the Mercedes G-Class and Jeep Wrangler. The Dacia Duster is just as happy in town as it is on a green lane, for example, while the Range Rover and Volvo XC90 are seriously posh things, perfect for the school run.
Our expert reviews team have comprehensively tested every 4x4 car on sale in the UK, subjecting them to real-world scenarios to see what’s what. Here are our ten favourites:
1. Land Rover Defender
Land Rover Defender 110 reviewThe Land Rover Defender is a car that can do it all. It’s one of the most legendary names in off-roading, so of course it’s accomplished on the rough stuff, but it also makes a fantastic family car and a superbly comfortable long-distance cruiser.
The Defender name is synonymous with off-roading and while the current Defender might not be quite as simple and rugged as its predecessor it makes up for it with a suite of sophisticated electronics designed to keep you going in whatever direction the nose is pointed, over any terrain.
Land Rover’s Terrain Response system makes sure the Defender is set up correctly whether you’re driving on slippery sand, through deep ruts or trying to rock crawl. It takes the guesswork out of off-road driving and means that the Defender is extremely friendly to those who haven’t really ventured off the tarmac before.
Many Defenders never even make it to any terrain more taxing than Kensington, though, so it’s good to know that this is a seriously multi-talented car. Whether you go for the ballistic V8 engine, the tax-friendly plug-in hybrid or one of the eminently sensible diesel options, you can be sure that you’ll get a pleasant driving experience.
It’s especially good on a long journey where squashy suspension and excellent refinement make it feel really luxurious. Even round town, it’s not too bad - you get a high driving position, light and accurate controls and plenty of driver assistance kit to take the sting out of parking or tight roads.
It’s practical, too. The 110 model here is the sweet spot of the bunch, having up to seven seats but being manageable in dimensions. The eight-seater 130 is overkill, while the smaller 90 looks insanely cool but has cramped back seats and a minuscule boot.
Other 4x4s are cheaper, more spacious and a bit less ‘look at me!’ in style - but the Land Rover Defender is a hugely impressive package and if you need to go off road, there’s almost nothing better.
2. Toyota Land Cruiser
Toyota Land Cruiser reviewThere’s a reason that everyone from explorers to the UN uses Toyota products - they’re legendarily long-lasting and reliable. The latest Land Cruiser looks set to continue that enviable legacy.
Not only is it super-rugged, capable of matching or even beating the best Land Rovers with its off-road accomplishments, but Toyota in the UK gives you an unbeatable ten years of warranty cover, compared to just three years for most alternatives.
Off-roading in the Land Cruiser is easy - it doesn’t have so many flashy aids as the Land Rover Defender, but what it does have is enough to keep you going over just about any terrain. Combined with seriously tough bodywork, loads of traction and the toughest of the tough four-wheel drive systems, there shouldn’t be anywhere you can’t go.
The Land Cruiser comes with just one engine - a 2.7-litre diesel - so don’t expect a rip-roaring V8 under the hood. It’s very much a dutiful rather than spectacular unit, but it has enough performance for effortless off-roading and doesn’t feel underpowered on the road either.
Speaking of on-road driving, the Land Cruiser isn’t quite as comfortable as a Land Rover Defender - but you certainly don’t suffer too much for having this 4x4. It’s quiet and refined enough on a long drive, and the standard automatic gearbox means it’s not too much of a pain to drive in town either.
And the Land Cruiser’s interior is just as hardwearing as the outside. Built like a true tank, it’s well up to the rigours of family life and outdoor pursuits alike, with plenty of wipe-clean surfaces just waiting to be muddied up again.
Perhaps the best thing about the Land Cruiser is its achingly cool retro-classic looks, though. The Land Rover Defender may have a few design details that hark back to previous models - the Land Cruiser is a full-on homage, from the cool circular headlights to the choice of vintage-inspired paint schemes. It’s definitely retro done right.
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3. Mercedes G-Class
Mercedes-Benz G-Class reviewThe Mercedes G-Class is a 4x4 that’s very hard to buy with the head. For starters, it’s colossally expensive - even the most basic model starts at nearly £140,000, and if you want the very top AMG model you’ll be looking at a bill in excess of £200,000. Spending the price of a three-bed semi on a car is never a logical choice.
Available versions range from a semi-sensible diesel option to the absolutely bonkers G63 AMG with more than 600hp.
The G-Class does go some way to warranting that with the sheer force of presence it conveys. Very few cars make an entrance as well as a G-Class - no matter whether you’re pulling up outside the Ritz or heading through the McDonald’s drive-thru, people notice you.
It’s also an example of a design institution that’s been sympathetically updated over the years. The current G-Class looks very similar to the original model that debuted back in the late 70s, but it has up-to-date engines and a modern interior shoehorned into a body that feels very retro.
From the moment you open the bank vault-like door and clamber up into the driver’s seat, you feel a sense of imperiousness that you don’t even get from a Range Rover. In traffic, the only people sitting higher than you are those driving buses or lorries, so you can sneer down at those people who ‘only’ spent five figures on their cars.
Head into the rough stuff and you’ll find the G-Class’ rugged looks reflect reality. This is a car that can seriously go anywhere, as comfortable blasting across sand dunes as it is rock crawling.
You do compromise a little more than you do in more modern alternatives, though. Despite its size, passenger space in the G-Class is pretty poor, and if you carry a bit too much speed into the corner you’ll feel the effects of its old-fashioned chassis pretty quickly.
It’s hard to believe that this generation of the Volvo XC90 has been around for over a decade, because a 2024 update took an already handsome car and brought its styling bang up to date.
The sleek headlights with a new take on the ‘Thor’s Hammer’ LEDs, a wide grille which resembles the lapels on a pin-stripe suit, crisp wheel arches and tall, slender taillights look fantastic. It looks far less shouty than a Mercedes G-Class and far more refined than a Jeep Wrangler.
Step inside and you’re presented with an equally stylish cabin - which looks distinct from its German, American and Korean counterparts. The portrait-oriented infotainment display is powered by Google, making it slick to look at and use. Material quality is superb and the seats are not only comfortable, but spacious too.
You’ll find a pair of extra seats in the boot, and while there are more spacious seven-seaters on sale, adults can fit in the back with little fuss. With the last row stowed away, boot space is generous, too.
There are two engine options for the XC90. The entry-level choice is a 2.0-litre petrol engine with mild hybrid assistance, but there’s also a far more powerful plug-in hybrid version, which makes for much swifter progress.
The PHEV is also the better choice if you spend a lot of time in town, where you can potter about silently on electric power alone. Neither version is particularly gentle over bumps, but the Volvo settles down into a comfortable motorway cruise, and it feels stable and composed on a country lane.
5. Land Rover Discovery
Land Rover Discovery reviewThe Land Rover Discovery is the less glamorous and marginally less capable sibling to the Land Rover Defender (above). It doesn’t quite have the off-road supremacy of its more roughty-toughty sibling, but it retains the same four-wheel drive system and Terrain Response features, which means it can go further off the beaten track than almost any other seven-seat ‘SUV’.
Inside the Discovery’s slightly bulbous body - it’s not exactly a looker - you’ll find one of the roomiest interiors on any SUV. Seven six-foot adults can genuinely get comfortable, with each row set slightly higher than the one ahead of it to give a stadium-style seating arrangement ensuring everybody gets a good view out.
The interior feels seriously luxurious as well - not as plush as a Range Rover or as overtly outdoorsy as the Defender, but a nice happy medium between the two.
If you want a Discovery for work rather than play, then you could always opt for the Commercial variant. This eschews the rear seats for a load area like a van, but one that still looks and drives just like a posh SUV.
And with some nice sensible diesel and petrol engines to choose from, the Discovery makes an excellent daily driver for large families, capable of surprisingly good fuel economy.
6. Dacia Duster
Dacia Duster reviewThe Dacia Duster range is almost unbelievably good value. It’s so well-priced that we gave it the Smart Spender title in the 2025 Carwow Car of the Year awards. For most people, the entry-level Duster, or even the super-efficient Duster hybrid will be the best options - but Dacia does still offer this SUV with proper four-wheel drive for those who want to go off the beaten track on a budget.
Paired to a modest 1.3-litre engine and a manual gearbox the four-wheel drive Duster makes no attempt to be a luxury car - it even looks pretty cheap, but it hides an impressive level of specification for something so affordable. The interior may not be plush but it’s robust and very usable, with a surprisingly good touchscreen infotainment system that covers all the basics.
The Duster is also great to drive - it has nice light controls, good visibility and feels agile in the corners. Some SUVs are sportier to drive - but those are the SUVs that’d be defeated by a slightly muddy driveway, whereas the Duster has already proven over on our YouTube channel that it’s something of a giant-slayer at off-roading, capable of holding its own against cars two or three times the price.
7. Subaru Outback
Subaru Forester reviewThe Subaru Forester, with its tough features, durable cabin and low-powered engine may as well be an SUV from about twenty years ago. As an off-roader, that’s a very good thing. It’s very rugged compared to other medium-sized SUVs, if a bit slow and inefficient.
It isn’t what you’d call stylish, though, more…ultilitarian. Angular wheel arches and a wide front grille with aggressive headlights are the design highlights, but the real treat to the Forester is its low shoulder line and massive windows - meaning lots of visibility all round.
The cabin is fairly basic in design and it’s full of tough, solidly-built - if not plush - materials. The Forester soldiers on with analogue instrument dials, which are charming, but combined with the slow infotainment display feel dated.
The seats are hugely comfortable all round, and there’s plenty of room both front and back, even for tall adults. The boot isn’t huge, but on par with alternative SUVs.
Die-hard Subaru enthusiasts rejoice, because the Forester still has a ‘Boxer’ four-cylinder engine under the bonnet, paired with a CVT automatic gearbox. It’s smooth and relaxed around the city, but it’s inefficient compared to other SUVs and it feels a bit underpowered, too.
Still, it’s massively comfortable both in town and on the motorway. However, the gearbox is a let down when accelerating up to the national speed limit, as putting your foot down generates an awful racket as the revs spike. Don’t even try to tackle a country lane with any verve, as the Forester has a lot of body lean around bends.
8. Jeep Wrangler
Jeep Wrangler reviewThe Jeep Wrangler is another true off-road institution, being descended from the original WWII Willys Jeep. In fact, find a bumpy road and you may wonder if the suspension has received any sort of an upgrade since the 1940s - when it comes to on-road dynamics, the Wrangler is near the bottom of the pack, being bouncy, noisy, and thirsty.
But it makes up for it by being tremendous off-road - especially if you go for the chunky Rubicon model - and looking fantastic with its retro styling and bright colour palette.
You can even remove the roof and the front doors for the full California beach effect, though you’ll need to find somewhere to put them, of course - you might find it’s better to specify the full-length fabric sunroof instead.
9. INEOS Grenadier
INEOS Grenadier reviewThe Ineos Grenadier is what you get when one of the richest men in the UK believes that Land Rover should never have stopped building the old Defender. The Ineos Grenadier captures the spirit of off-roaders of old, but adds a modern twist with six-cylinder engines poached from BMW.
The Grenadier has a wild interior festooned with switchgear - almost too many switches, if we’re honest - and hose-down surfaces. It’s superlative offroad thanks to old-school tech - a proper ladder chassis and even old-fashioned recirculating ball steering, which reduces kickback from poor surfaces.
However, those factors do make it rather unappealing to drive on the road - the Grenadier is noisy, thirsty, uncomfortable, and the steering feels downright weird. It’s a real niche offering.
10. Range Rover
Range Rover reviewOther cars on this list are off-roaders with luxury features - the Range Rover is a luxury car that just happens to also be a spectacularly good off-roader. Whichever seat you’re sat in you’ll enjoy truly sumptuous comfort in the plushest of surroundings, with air suspension taking the sting out of the worst road surfaces and wonderful refinement making for a hushed journey.
But if you ever feel like taking Blenheim Palace into the rough stuff, you’ll find the Range Rover as astonishingly capable as its less expensive siblings. The off-road tech works seamlessly, and the only consideration you have to make is that your paint, wheels and bodywork are rather more expensive to repair than they might be on lesser cars.
The Range Rover’s sheer size also means you won’t be taking it down any particularly tight passages, and it can feel a bit unwieldy through town too.
Factors to consider when choosing a 4x4 car
Off-road v. on-road
You may be tempted by the most rugged, highly-capable off-roader on sale which prioritises all-terrain performance over on-road manners, a-la Jeep Wrangler. It’s worth considering what percentage of your driving really is in the wilderness, though, because something like the Volvo XC90 or even the Dacia Duster will be far more comfortable to live with in town.
Budget
The price difference between the cheapest and most expensive cars on this list is staggering, as you can easily buy ten Dacia Dusters for the price of a top-spec Mercedes G-Class, with enough change for a five-star holiday to boot. The Land Rover Defender offers the best mix of poshness, refinement and go-anywhere ability at a reasonable-ish price.
Petrol, diesel or electric?
If you’re on the hunt for a company car then an electric 4x4 is a no-brainer, as you’ll pay a far more reasonable amount of Benefit-in-Kind than you would in a combustion-engined alternative. The Mercedes G-Class Electric is arguably better off-road than the petrol or diesel versions, too.
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