I've honed in on a GX 550 Premium (or Premium Plus) in order to get the third seat. So the 550 Overtrail and the Land Cruiser are off the table.
But I do want/need my new vehicle to be an off-road upgrade from my current vehicle -- Mercedes cross-over SUV with AWD, 7.9 ground clearance, 19 inch wheels and 28 inch diameter all season tires.
I go back and forth between Denver and Breckenridge, CO. Current vehicle is more than fine for winter/snow/ski season driving. The off-road upgrade is solely for the summer time. I don't intend to do hard core rock crawling, but I do want to access more camp sites and trail heads than my current vehicle can handle. Using the rating system from OnX Offroad, I'd likely want to be able to handle moderate rated trails. Rougher forest roads rated #4 (Spruce Creek and Crystal Lake Road) or #5 (Peak 10 road).
The Premium comes with 20 inch wheels, 31.5 all season tires, 8.7 ground clearance, 26 approach, 21 depart. Center diff with locking feature. No locking rear diff; no crawl control; no downhill assist; no multi-terrain select; no E-KDSS or sway bar dis-connect. Since I'm new to off-roading vehicles, I'm not sure how much of this stuff is enough. Or too much.
Do you think a stock 550 Premium would be sufficient for my purposes? If not, would an upgrade to AT tires on the 20 inch wheels be enough?
Or would I need 19 wheels and 33 AT tires (assuming those would fit without doing a lift)? I'm not opposed to having a second set of wheels/tires for off-road in the summer. I'm sure the standard 20 inch wheels/31.5 all season tires would be fine for ski season driving.
If the 550 Premium just won't cut it, I'd probably go for a Rivian to get a third seat and more off-road capability.
Thanks in advance for your thoughts.
P.S. My wife (so far) has rejected pretty much everything else I can think of with 7 seats increased off-road -- Jeep Trailhawks, Nissan Armada Pro4X, Broncos, 4Runners, Sequoias, Range/Land Rovers.
But I do want/need my new vehicle to be an off-road upgrade from my current vehicle -- Mercedes cross-over SUV with AWD, 7.9 ground clearance, 19 inch wheels and 28 inch diameter all season tires.
I go back and forth between Denver and Breckenridge, CO. Current vehicle is more than fine for winter/snow/ski season driving. The off-road upgrade is solely for the summer time. I don't intend to do hard core rock crawling, but I do want to access more camp sites and trail heads than my current vehicle can handle. Using the rating system from OnX Offroad, I'd likely want to be able to handle moderate rated trails. Rougher forest roads rated #4 (Spruce Creek and Crystal Lake Road) or #5 (Peak 10 road).
The Premium comes with 20 inch wheels, 31.5 all season tires, 8.7 ground clearance, 26 approach, 21 depart. Center diff with locking feature. No locking rear diff; no crawl control; no downhill assist; no multi-terrain select; no E-KDSS or sway bar dis-connect. Since I'm new to off-roading vehicles, I'm not sure how much of this stuff is enough. Or too much.
Do you think a stock 550 Premium would be sufficient for my purposes? If not, would an upgrade to AT tires on the 20 inch wheels be enough?
Or would I need 19 wheels and 33 AT tires (assuming those would fit without doing a lift)? I'm not opposed to having a second set of wheels/tires for off-road in the summer. I'm sure the standard 20 inch wheels/31.5 all season tires would be fine for ski season driving.
If the 550 Premium just won't cut it, I'd probably go for a Rivian to get a third seat and more off-road capability.
Thanks in advance for your thoughts.
P.S. My wife (so far) has rejected pretty much everything else I can think of with 7 seats increased off-road -- Jeep Trailhawks, Nissan Armada Pro4X, Broncos, 4Runners, Sequoias, Range/Land Rovers.
