Grand Vitara (07 4x4): only light off-roading?

ultranet

A co-worker said that it could only do light off-roading, not like a jeep.
I tend to think that's not a true statement.

Yes, jeep wrangler has 11% more HP, but many of them don't have full-time 4x4. Plus, GV has limited-slip differential (apparently it only matters in AWD mode), which none of the wranglers have, other than saharas, which cost about $5.5K more.

I think GV is good for real off-roading. The only thing i noticed on mine is some pipes and bars on the bottom, which kind of reduce the amount of real clearance available for off-road, but i think it's still capable of hard-core off-roading.

What arguments pro and con do you have on this subject?

P.S. I don't need to mention that Jeep Liberty, for instance, doesn't have full-time 4x4 at all, AFAIK. And the models that do have 4x4 cost a lot more than GV does. So for me GV would still be the best choice, but i kinda wonder about its off-roading comparisons against some other models.

Thanks.

ultranet

http://www.autobytel.com/content/shared/articles/templates/index.cfm/article_pag- - e_order_int/4/article_id_int/813
http://www.autobytel.com/content/shared/articles/templates/index.cfm/article_pag- - e_order_int/6/article_id_int/1438

ultranet

http://www.edmunds.com/insideline/do/Drives/FullTests/articleId=109809

ultranet

http://uk.cars.yahoo.com/car-reviews/car-and-driving/suzuki-grand-vitara-2002500- .html

ultranet

Is what i mentioned earlier: clearance. This article says 7.9'' is not enough for "serious off-roading".
http://suvs.about.com/od/suzuk1/fr/jf_06SuzGrandVi.htm

bm000092

I did some off-road with mine and it's almost comparable with the previous Cherokee I had. If Jeep can say that one of the version of the Patriot is trail rated (the version with the proper drive-train), well just add 2 inchs of clearance to the GV with some kits already availables and you get better numbers.