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Here are our picks. What are yours? It began amid a consumer frenzy for 4x4 SUVs. It ended with consumers dumping thousands of 4x4 SUVs for Clunker Cash. In between, the decade of the ‘Aughts beheld multiple revolutions in technology as four-wheel drives grew more sophisticated, refined, and (some would complain) complicated in engineering and design. From Mega Cabs to mini-crossovers, the number of OE production 4x4 vehicles exploded in number and application. Some bemoaned the new technologies while others embraced them. Regardless, whether you wanted a solid-axle pickup truck, a Jeep with factory lockers, a diesel V-10 SUV with adjustable air suspension, or a luxury 4x4 that “does your thinking for you” on the trail, the past ten years had something for just about every taste and driving style. So here’s our pick of the Decade’s Best 4x4, and a passel of Honorable Mentions.  2007-present Jeep Wrangler & Unlimited Rubicon: For an out-of-the-box trail rig, Wranglers have always been pretty hard to beat, and Jeep’s latest iteration of its venerable bobtail , the JK, continued the tradition in a more refined and upscale package. Longer and wider, more stable and streetable, the JK was also the most trail-ready production Jeep we’ve driven to date, thanks in part to its new multilink/coilover suspension system. The Rubicon package, introduced in 2003 on the TJ model, bundled Dana 44 axles front and rear with driver-selectable electric air lockers. Add on 32-inch BFG tires, a manual-shift 4:1 transfer case and six-speed transmission, and the newest Wrangler has everything you need to conquer the gnarliest rock trails without need of further modifications. The JK’s only drawback is, it’s heavier than ever (base weight: 4,100 pounds for a two-door Rubicon) and the 3.8L minivan motor labors at times to keep the JK up to speed on the Interstate. Overall, though, the JK Wrangler represented a big step up in on-road ride and handling for Jeep’s flagship ride, yet its off-roadability wasn’t compromised in the least. If anything, it was only enhanced. Considering how competent in the dirt the previous-gen TJ was, that was no small feat for Chrysler engineers to pull off. But somehow they managed to do it, creating the decade's best four-wheel drive in the process.
2008-present Hummer H3 Alpha: The H2 made a bigger splash with its debut in 2002, but it also caused a bigger consumer backlash. While it certainly had the off-road chops, it was difficult to see out of (especially to the rear, thanks to its door-mounted spare), mileage was horrendous, and while comfortable for cruising, it was simply too big and cumbersome to be a fully functional trail machine. Enter the H3 in 2006, which retained all of its big brother’s trail attributes in a smaller, more trail-friendly package. The five-cylinder first-gen version was significantly down on power, so GM solved the problem two years later with the Alpha package, mating the 5.3L from the ½-ton pickup to the H3, and the result was a truly trailable SUV with plenty of power, competent on-road ride (thanks to IFS) and halfway decent mileage to boot. And of course, 33-inch tires, 4:1 low-range, ground clearance galore, a rear locker, and in-yer-face Hummer styling. So there.  2005-present Ram Power Wagon: It’s a throwback, alright, a gas-guzzling homage to days of yore when Real Trucks ran pushrod motors and solid axles, and we love every retrograde bit of it. The front suspension uses coils instead of covered-wagon springs now, but that’s one of the Power Wagon’s few mechanical concessions to modernity---this is a truck with an old-school work ethic. Add to the mix a pair of selectable diff-locks, an electronic front swaybar disconnect, and a 12,000-pound Warn winch outfitted from the factory, and you’ve got a ¾-ton truck that thinks it’s a Jeep, a nearly unstoppable 4x4 that’ll conquer any trail that can accommodate its girth. It won our Pickup Truck of the Year award when it debuted in 2005, and it’ll begin the next decade by winning it again as our Pickup of the Year for 2010.  2003-2009 Lexus GX470: The only vehicle ever to win our Four Wheeler of the Year award in consecutive years (2003-04), the 4Runner-based luxo-ute earns its place on our list courtesy of its Kinetic Dynamic Suspension System (KDSS), which uses hydraulics to disconnect both front and rear swaybars, giving the Lexus a level of flex and articulation never before seen on an IFS luxury rig. Combine it with a trail-friendly wheelbase, an adaptive variable suspension, and a well-tuned traction control system, and the Lexus was one of the decade’s most pleasant surprises on the trail. The GX was also the platform for one of our most unusual, and beloved, project rigs of all time: The Rubicon-tested TraiLex (pictured), which rebutted two oft-repeated criticisms of modern luxury rigs by proving that yes, you can work on them, and yes, you can wheel them.  2005-present Nissan Frontier Nismo/Pro-4x: Nissan's F-Alpha chassis made a terrific platform for the Titan fullsize, and it was arguably even a better fit for the smaller Frontier midsize. The Frontier's peppy 4.0L and six-speed manual were one of our staff's favorite powertrain combos, and the pickup could be tranformed into a bonafide prerunner with the addition of the Nismo off-road package, which offered Bilstein high-pressure shocks, a pushbutton rear locking diff, full underbody skidplating, and 75-series BFGoodrich Rugged Trail tires on specially designed 16-inch alloy rims. (2009-and-later Pro-4x King Cab models also get the Utilitrack inbed tie-down system with adjustable cleats.) We tested short-term Frontiers, and long-term Frontiers, and we even built a project rig---and any time Nissan wants to toss another tester our way, we'll be happy to oblige. Hands-down, the decade's most versatile, 'wheelable and flat-out fun-to-drive midsize pickup truck.
 2002-2005 Chevy/GMC Quadrasteer: Available on fullsize GM trucks and Suburbans, this was the first (to our knowledge) four-wheel steering system ever offered on a production 4x4. The Delphi-sourced system’s obvious benefit to owners who used their trucks for serious (e.g., gooseneck, fifth-wheel) towing was apparently offset by its considerable cost; checking off the Quadrasteer option could set you back five grand or more when it was initially offered. GM eventually slashed the price, but soft demand for Q-steer lingered, and GM discontinued the option after only three years. We still think it was an idea ahead of its time, and wish that some other OE manufacturer would offer it again on a light-duty truck.  1999-2001 Isuzu VehiCross: We’re cheating here since this magnificent mini went on sale in ’99, but we didn’t get our hands on one until our 2000 Four Wheeler of the Year test---which it very nearly won. The VehiCross had a lot going for it---direct injection, remote-reservoir monotube shocks, Recaro seats, Momo steering wheel, ample ground clearance, great power-to-weight, and terrific approach and departure angles. What it had going against it, alas, were poor timing---automakers couldn’t build enough Durangos, Expeditions, Excursions and other oversized pork-utility rigs fast enough to keep up with consumer demand in the late ‘90s---and an undercapitalized corporate parent which was content to market the ‘Cross as a limited-production halo car (fewer than 4,500 were ever sold in the U.S.). With automakers nowadays using existing chassis to create purpose-built "niche" vehicles (think “Raptor” or “Rubicon” here), we think the VehiCross, like GM’s Quadrasteer, was an idea that’s ready to be revived. We’re not holding our breath, but we’d love to see something like this from an OE manufacturer again.  2005-2009 Land Rover LR3: A technological marvel, the LR3 was the first production 4x4 to offer a driver-adjustable four-wheel drive system that literally “tailored” the vehicle’s throttle, gearing, braking and suspension tuning to varying types of terrain with the twist of a knob. Called “Terrain Response,” the LR3’s system recalibrates thousands of performance parameters in a fraction of a second to improve the vehicle’s ride and handling over rocks, sand, mud, dry dirt or pavement. It’s sort-of a forerunner of the current Toyota/Lexus “Crawl Control” and the( less-sophisticated) Jeep “Freedom Drive” 4x4 systems, and is still far and away the smoothest such system to be offered by an OE manufacturer. Grizzled old-timers may like to curse its existence (“It takes the driver out of the equation”), but few can question its historical significance---and hey, when we’re trying to nurse a $65,000 SUV over a rock-crawling course, we’ll take any electronic advantage we can get.  2005-2006 Jeep Liberty 2.8L CRD: What, a Liberty on a roster of “Best 4x4s”? Okay, we’ll admit the KJ is not one of our A-List trail rigs, but its workhorse 2.8L four-cylinder engine, sourced from Italian engine supplier VM Motori, grants it entrée to our roster of favorites: A small-displacement diesel that delivered abundant low-end torque (close to 300 lb-ft at 1,800 rpm; a true “Jeep motor,” in other words) and 20-plus mpg for good measure. The 2.8L fell victim to changes in California emissions laws in 2007, but we still think that the “small-diesel” option that it represented (as did the more powerful 3.0L diesel V-6 in the 2007-08 Grand Cherokee) holds a great deal of promise as a mileage-conscious alternative for future midsize 4x4s. And for what it’s worth, we just love the smell of diesel in the morning.  2005-2007 Volkswagen Touareg V-10 TDI: A masterpiece of powertrain engineering and a migraine-inducing money pit, the V-10 Touareg was like nothing else we’ve driven this decade, a Dakar rally racer in a gray flannel suit (and with an unlimited expense account). We marveled at the 5.0L V-10’s neck-snapping torque and efficient (20mpg) performance, and we grumbled as its oversized Brembos scorched its brake pads every few thousand miles. We gushed at its seamless six-speed manumatic tranny and 4xMotion four-wheel drive system, and we gobbled more Motrin when its power windows stopped working and its seatbelt pretensioners failed. It was the fastest production 4x4 we’ve ever driven (don’t ask), and it spent more time in the shop than any rig we’ve ever tested. We loved it, and we hated it, and its saving grace was this: every time we took it 'wheeling, it worked really, really well. Tomorrow: We gleefully savage the Decade’s Worst 4x4s.
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