11 cool classic soft-roaders

Style over substance?

Skyrocketing crossover sales around the globe prove that many car buyers care more about looks than about genuine off-road capacity.

It’s a trend that doesn’t bother automotive manufacturers: charging more for a car with black plastic cladding and roof rails is an easy way to make more money. It’s also a trend that’s not new.

Car-based soft-roaders have been around for decades. Their popularity began to balloon in the 1970s when the market for leisure-oriented vehicles expanded.

Join us as we explore some of the classics that, intentionally or not, look far more rugged than they actually are.

1. Jeep Station Wagon (1946)

One of the original crossovers was the Willys-Overland Station Wagon released for 1946. Stunningly modern, it featured an all-steel body in an era when many family haulers were still built with wood.

Jeep’s genes were obvious, but the Station Wagon (and the more luxurious Station Sedan launched later) were often rear-wheel drive, so they weren’t as capable as the smaller CJ model.

Drivers who needed to travel through snow or mud could order four-wheel drive at an extra cost.

Jeep Station Wagon (cont.)

Not being able to crawl over boulders didn’t deter buyers. Station Wagon sales remained relatively strong (24,627 units were built during the 1951 calendar year) and the model remained part of the range until 1964.

Its replacement, the Wagoneer, was one of the first true sport utility vehicles.

2. Jeep Jeepster (1948)

In the late 1940s, Willys-Overland worried that it couldn’t rely solely on the CJ-2 to stay afloat.

It released a more road-focused model named Jeepster to reach buyers who didn’t need four-wheel drive and who wanted a car that was less rudimentary.

Launched for 1948, the Jeepster shared a handful of styling cues with other members of the Jeep range, but it was exclusively offered with rear-wheel drive.

Jeep Jeepster (cont.)

Designed by Brooks Stevens, the Jeepster took the form of a four-seater convertible with a markedly upscale design. Willys did little to advertise the model and sales weren’t as high as executives hoped.

Production ended during the 1950 calendar year, though some leftover units were sold as 1951 models.

Jeep resurrected the Jeepster nameplate in the ’60s on a true off-roader.

3. Mini Moke (1964)

Sir Alec Issigonis developed the original Mini for urban environments. It’s low enough that dozens of aftermarket companies specialised in making sump guards that protected the lower parts of the engine.

Released in 1964, and initially created for the British army, the Moke offered users a tiny bit of relief from having to worry about denting parts of the underbody when venturing off the beaten path.

Mini Moke (cont.)

The open, almost Jeep-like body hid mechanical components borrowed from the Mini, so the Moke remained front-wheel drive.

It was also too low to be used by the British army.

BMC knew that a more capable Moke would sell well in some markets so it built and tested an experimental prototype powered by two engines (one for each axle) in the early 1960s. The layout was never approved for production.

4. Volkswagen Country Buggy (1967)

Largely developed in Australia for Australians, the Country Buggy was conceived as a go-anywhere vehicle for the Australian army.

It was simple because it used a long list of off-the-shelf components, it featured short overhangs that reduced its approach and departure angles, and it had no doors.

It was, confusingly, developed at the same time as the 181, though they were designed by separate teams.

Volkswagen Country Buggy (cont.)

Most historians agree the Australian military needed a vehicle with four-wheel drive, so the Country Buggy didn’t fit the bill; it couldn’t be sold to the armed forces as Volkswagen hoped.

Instead, it was turned into a civilian vehicle and aimed largely at buyers who spent a significant amount of time on a farm or on a beach.

Period ads showcased Volkswagen’s sense of humour: ‘if you think the Beetle is ugly… take a look at this one’, one read.

Buyers were less amused; precisely 1952 units were sold in Australia during a brief production run. Sales continued in the Philippines for several more years.

5. Citroën Méhari (1968)

The ability to comfortably drive over uneven terrain was included in the Citroën 2CV’s design brief from the very start of the project.

It was developed for the countryside in an era when paved roads were still a luxury in the more rural parts of France.

Unsurprisingly, the 2CV-based Méhari offered the same level of confidence on rough roads thanks to a long-travel suspension and several inches of ground clearance.

 

Citroën Méhari (cont.)

While driving on an unpaved road or on a beach was within the Méhari’s realm of capabilities, hardcore off-roading was out of the question.

Its relation to the 2CV meant it launched with an air-cooled flat-twin engine that spun the front wheels via a four-speed manual transmission.

It earned several degrees of off-road prowess when it gained an available four-wheel-drive system in 1979, though very few were built. Most of the 145,000 units made by the time production ended in 1987 were front-wheel drive.

6. Volkswagen 181/Thing (1968)

Volkswagen’s Type 181 was called the Thing in some markets (including the United States), and this name suits it rather well.

It was loosely inspired by the Kübelwagen developed by Ferdinand Porsche and built for the German army in the early 1940s, and it was created to temporarily replace the four-wheel drive DKW Munga in the West German army. Driving off the beaten path was in its genes.

Volkswagen 181/Thing (cont.)

And yet, the 181 was not as capable as its lineage suggested. Closely related to the Beetle, it was powered by an air-cooled flat-four that drove the rear wheels only.

Some of VW’s engineers quietly played about with four-wheel-drive technology during the 1970s, several experimental Buses were notably built, but the 181 remained rear-wheel drive throughout its production run.

7. Renault Rodeo 4 (1970)

Like its main rival, the Citroën Méhari, the Renault Rodeo looked more capable than it was.

It shared its underpinnings with the Renault 4 but it featured a plastic, open-top body that many compared to a Jeep.

In its standard configuration, its best off-road attributes were a generous amount of ground clearance and a long-travel suspension; it didn’t bottom-out on rough trails. It struggled on loose terrain, however. Sinpar fixed this issue by making a four-wheel-drive system available, though few were ordered with it.
 

Renault Rodeo 4 (cont.)

The Rodeo went through several evolutions during its long production run. Renault released a more powerful model named Rodeo 6 in 1972 and then the thoroughly updated Rodeo (pictured) in 1981.

Smaller than its predecessors, it capitalised on the popularity of leisure vehicles with an outdoorsy design that would earn the ‘crossover’ label in 2021. Renault retired the nameplate in 1986.

8. Citroën FAF (1977)

While the Citroën Méhari was primarily aimed at the European market, the FAF was designed for developing countries where paved roads were a rare treat.

Its name was an acronym that stood for facile à fabriquer (easy to build) and facile à financer (easy to purchase).

Like the Méhari, it was closely related to the 2CV so it was powered by an air-cooled flat-twin engine that drove the front wheels. Unlike the Méhari, it wore metal body panels that were completely flat to keep manufacturing costs in check. 

Citroën FAF (cont.)

The idea of transforming the 2CV into a soft-roader wasn’t new; it was even older than the Méhari. The Baby Brousse was assembled in Africa years before the Méhari made its debut.

Citroën and its partners built the FAF in numerous countries including Portugal, Indonesia and Senegal, and body configurations varied from nation to nation. Production nonetheless remained low, due in part to a lack of demand.

9. Matra Rancho (1977)

Matra created the Rancho by making a cocktail of components sourced from the Simca parts bin. It was somewhat improbably based on the VF2, a commercial van that was itself based on the innovative 1100.

From there, the French firm added brakes borrowed from an 1100TI, an 80hp engine from the 1308 GT, and a four-speed manual transmission from the 1307. This assortment kept development costs in check.

Matra Rancho (cont.)

Matra’s creativity wasn’t limited to mixing and matching existing parts.

It gave the Rancho a brawny design characterised by large foglights, black plastic cladding on the sides, plus a new rear section with generously sized windows and a two-piece tailgate.

While the Rancho looked like it could go anywhere, its off-road capacity was severely limited by its front-wheel-drive layout.

Matra reportedly experimented with four-wheel drive, but lacked the resources to bring the system to production.

10. Dodge D150 Little Red Truck (1978)

Dodge boldly argued a pick-up didn’t necessarily need to be marketed as an all-terrain tool when it launched the D150-based Little Red Truck in 1978.

Unlike most of the pick-ups in its range, the Little Red Truck was designed primarily for on-road use. It’s fondly remembered as the first high-performance truck in America, yet it followed the time-tested recipe of putting a big, powerful engine in a light chassis. 

Dodge D150 Little Red Truck (cont.)

Power for the Little Red Truck came from a 5.9-litre V8 fed by a four-barrel carburettor.

It exhaled through a pair of chrome stacks mounted directly behind the cab, a feature that helped it stand out from other D150s.

Dodge built 2188 units of the Little Red Truck in 1978 and sold 5118 examples in 1979.

11. Honourable mention: Lincoln Blackwood (2002)

While not a classic in the commonly accepted sense of the term, the Lincoln Blackwood is quickly approaching its 20th anniversary.

It represented an attempt to replicate the Navigator’s success by offering buyers a more luxurious alternative to the Ford F-150, which was (and still is) one of America’s best-selling vehicles.

Lincoln overlooked several details during the development process so the Blackwood launched exclusively with rear-wheel drive. It wasn’t great in the snow, let alone on a challenging trail, and not making four-wheel drive available cut its career short.

2002 was the Blackwood’s first, last and only model year on the American market, though it lasted for one more model year on the Mexican market.