To help celebrate the ongoing explosion of weekend off-roading editions of an increasingly wide range of vehicles, our local Rocky Mountain Automotive Press group took to the hills above Central City this week for the 4XFall drive.

That offered some hands-on and manufacturer-approved trail adventures with three vehicles we’ve already profiled – the Land Rover Defender 110, the updated 2025 Subaru Forester Sport and the new Kia Sorento X-Pro – as well as some upgraded, more dedicated off-road editions of the new and interrelated 2024 Toyota Tacoma, Toyota Land Cruiser and Lexus GX550.

While the Land Rover performed very much as expected, with air-lift suspension and a variety of crawl controls, I was pleased with the actual off-road capabilities of both Forester and Sorento. The Forester still may not pack a ton of horsepower, but it’s competent and highly capable on loose, steep rock with that full-time symmetrical all-wheel drive, even on relatively benign all-seasons. The 281-horsepower Sorento also did a great job of galloping up rocky roads on its almost truck-styled all-terrain tires—which will also be helpful for upcoming winter driving.

All-new for the event, the 2024 Trailhunter edition of the Tacoma was joined by the more capable First Edition build of the Land Cruiser and a rugged Overtrail edition of the GX550, with the latter two showing a whole lot of upscale and versatile similarity.

I’d actually had a crack at the Trailhunter Tacoma a week earlier and appreciated the opportunity to learn more about the full details of this $63,000 rendition of the new Tacoma, which features the turbocharged 2.4-liter hybrid powertrain as its standard setup.

Much like the overloaded GMC Canyon AT4X AEV, the Trailhunter offers nearly all of the off-road features users look for as expensive modifications. Here, that mix of electronically disconnecting front sway bars, electrically locking differentials and 33-inch tires on bronze-colored 18-inch wheels is served up in a pretty aggressive looking package, as well as a metal arch over the front of the bed, a roof rack, and a variety of LED lamps and a front light bar. Oh, and a mostly functional, low-profile snorkel, which consistently whootles and hisses, event at low speeds in parking lots.

Trailhunter adds a steel ARB rear bumper (no such luck up front, so you’ll have to add one yourself), plus a full set of underbody plates under the engine and transmission, plus semi-obtrusive, full-cab rock rails.

The upgraded Tacoma also gets a full Old Man Emu suspension that gives it two inches of lift in the rear and standard 2.5-inch monotube shocks, plus some red rear tow hook points.

Wrap that all up in the bronze oxide metallic paint job and it’s a showier rendition of the already macho TRD Pro edition, which may have a certain appeal to a certain kind of customer.

As for the four-cylinder hybrid power, it’s a mixed but mostly positive bag, as it is on the Land Cruiser. The 278-hp engine puts out 326 total horsepower when combined with the single electric motor, fed by a battery that takes up most of the space under the very tiny rear seat, but it’s the 465 pound-feet of torque that really sets it apart from older Tacomas.

Like the whole new Tacoma family, the cabin is a little busy, with some odd mesh bins in the doors and center console that I guess are designed to allow you to dry your Speedo, plus some added concrete-colored trim here. You also have to be mindful of a complicated knob that combines drive, crawl, tow and off-road modes, as well as the two-speed high-low range, which needs a sequence of stop/neutral/brake pedal/something to actually engage low range.

I found highway driving to be great but ran into a little turbo power deficiency/flatness while charging up the steep Two Brothers Road in Idaho Springs. I also got a full transmission overheating warning while bonking along on a rock trail, so super-users will have to work out a few kinks – just as Toyota is also this week addressing automatic transmission issues in a number of 2024 Tacomas.

Meanwhile, I’d be happy to spend more than an hour in either of the off-road-ready and actually quite similar Land Cruiser and GX550 models, and their full-time 4WD. Here, the First Edition Land Cruiser – nearly $20,000 more than the base model – gets the tires it needs, plus skid plates, rock rails, a roof rack and a leather interior. The GX’s Overtrail edition mixes Lexus niceties such as massaging front seats with some very serious capability, 33-inch tires and that far-more-satisfying 349-horsepower twin-turbocharged V6 engine.         

Andy Stonehouse’s column “Mountain Wheels” publishes Saturdays in the Summit Daily News. Stonehouse has worked as an editor and writer in Colorado since 1998, focusing on automotive coverage since 2004. He lives in Golden. Contact him at summitmountainwheels@gmail.com.