I'm impressed with the Tucson also! I wouldn't have guessed it but it appears it has a quicker responding AWD system and, with a diagonal approach on the ditch it may have crossed without dragging
I like these reviews, great for the soft off-roader people who (sometimes) drive on dirt roads and forest service roads that can get rutted out due to water runoff. The Hyundai surprised me, slap some Falken Wildpeaks on it and call it good for the light duty stuff.
They sell tons and tones of these soft roader SUVs. And it appears that they are far more capable right out of the box than they currently are. This episode demonstrated probably what the single biggest limitation is for these guys. The low front ground clearance of those ground sniffer front bumpers. I wonder how long it’s going to be before the after market seizes the opportunity to address this issue and we see a lot more of these more affordable soft roader more SUVs show up off road and get the job done. It’s pretty amazing what a low first gear, good traction tires and a well sorted brake based and biased ABS and traction control system are capable of. One of the early best examples of this is what Jeep did with the renegade trail hawk model. Those thing actually work way better than the should have.
Crossover manufacturers other than Jeep and Ford need to figure out making alternative bumper designs for their offroad trims. The biggest limiter on these is approach angle
It's worth noting that slapping some wildpeak A/T Trail tires on the Tucson should be less than $1000. I think that pushes it into the lead over the Rogue in my opinion.
Remember this is the Tucson 2.5 though, not the hybrid. That means the Rogue has the more powerful and efficient turbo engine, and because Nissan is close to bankruptcy you can take advantage of the huge discounts they have on dealer lots right now to quickly generate revenue. Nissan is saying without help they will be bankrupt in 6 months, and I was offered $3K off MSRP.
They both did better than I expected, but the Hyundai did the course more easily than the Nissan. Considering it's also less expensive and better looking, it's the clear winner.
I can assure you the Hyundai is not less expensive. Nissan is in a death spiral, the discounts on Rogue Rock Creeks right now are crazy, $3K off MSRP without even really haggling, just walking out saying I love it but its too expensive. Hyundai dealership by contrast said max they could do is waive the addendums, lol!
A lot of AWD SUVs/crossovers are just fine for moderate off-roading. I take my Suzuki AWD off-road a few times a week, it goes to where people think 4L is needed, with no problems. With a lift and skid plates most of these cars can go almost anywhere (obviously, no rock climbing, etc...but how many people do such things anyway, even with real 4WD vehicles?).
My best friend bought a Nissan Pathfinder what's basically every option possible. Big panoramic roof brown leather interior all kinds of screens. It was about 55k which I thought was easily 10,000 too much. We searched all over to find a green Toyota Highlander and had to drive all the way to Georgia to get it from Texas. Then his wife totaled it out and she was determined to have that color and we couldn't find another one so they bought a green Pathfinder. Now it has $24,000 worth of hail damage😅 it's sad because they just retired and I was helping them to find their last vehicle that's why we got the Toyota first. The only thing I didn't like about the Highlander was it switched over to a 4-cylinder now and they've always drove V6 or V8 engines. It's got more power on paper but it just doesn't translate to the driving experience. The V6's sound better and they just feel more powerful for some reason. They like the V6 in the Nissan and I just hope it will last them 10 to 15 years
You need to do the same thing that the Olympics needs to do. You need an Average Joe doing the event to show how hard it truly is. Maybe an all wheel drive mini van or something along those lines.
Not as well as you'd think, neither of those tires are very good for snow. The Rogue may be a tiny bit better on a more loose or muddy campsite than the Tucson just because of the tires.
Offroad tires are not good in snow. Snow tires are good in snow. Snow tires perform better in snow than the benefits of AWD would perform without snow tires.
Both these SUV's have engines that go boom...a three cylinder turbo and the other with a known problem. Surprised they made the first and second cut...
What I want to see is someone do a good test of the stock tires that come on these vehicles. Not just the Rogue and the Tuscon but in general from crossovers and SUV's. The reason is we put too much emphasis on every tire that's labeled as something other than a highway tire being automatically better off road but that's rarely proven by the real world tests such as we saw here. The A/T Trail is very little more than a highway tire with a more aggressive looking sidewall. It may be more durable but who knows. When tested against each other we see slight differences but we never see them tested against tires outside their class. The only tire in this class I've seen real world testing show a significant difference off road is the Yokohama GO15 in the snow versus a HT tire I don't remember the brand of. And, honestly, I've seen Land Rover products with supposedly awful wheel and tire setups do the same trails as rigs with aggressive all terrains and mud terrains. Only the lack of durability from the minimal sidewall has been an issue. But traction wise, well, they did the trail. My suspicion is that by the time you reach the minimal threshold of improved performance of the CUV on/off road tires you're really in need of an actual aggressive A/T tire.
The black plastic cladding, roof rack, NOR the red color is.. going to help when you go OFF ROAD. You’re not gonna say “oh gosh wow. I’m stuck in mud. I AM SO GLAD MY BUMPERS HAVE RED ACCENTS”
LOL, here's to doing more with less! My company fleet vehicle is a base 2024 Rogue and I threw on Nitto Nomad Grapplers and a trailer hitch - it's quite capable on mild offroad and towing a small utility trailer. I would pony up a bit more cash and get something more capable with my own money, but as far as this thing goes it's alright.
I don’t why Hyundai didn’t include AT tires on the Tucson XRT…. The 2025 Santa Cruz and Santa Fe XRT trims have AT tires included… even the new Ioniq 5 XRT will get AT tires… 🤦🏽♂️
because the tires would most likely hurt their fuel mileage ratings or handling performance or road noise testing. Many reasons certain tires are chosen.
@ i hear ya, I guess my issue is that the XRT is supposed to be the more rugged trim level. The most basic change to make a vehicle more capable off road are the tires. Why give it the XRT badge if they aren’t gonna give it the basics. 😆
Can you do a 2025 Nissan Kicks AWD? It has 8.7" ground clearance, more than the Rogue Rock Creek, and appears to have shorter overhangs and a smaller wheelbase so might be even more capable. The SV AWD comes with 17" wheels, and its easy enough to put the same brand tires as the Rogue Rock Creek on one.
@@SylasG Not suggesting they do, just asking to test one. Consumers can then make it their own "Rock Creek" by swapping tires. Half an inch more ground clearance, shorter wheelbase, and shorter bumpers should translate well IMO.
These manufacturers don’t nuild vehicles like this to do any serious off-roading. It’s nice that they can do relatively simple trails like this but these are nothing more than appearance features that make people think you have something rugged and tough. I can’t imagine with the costs of these “specialty” vehicles and their related insurance cost, anyone would actually take them off-road.
I don’t expect every SUV to be for off-road but they need to stop advertising them as off-roaders and giving them names that suggest they are good for off-road
Bots are always wild. Just wait till you read one of those AI run marketing chains in a comment section. They actually pull info from the video and weave it into some lengthy chain about some random investment banker, as if 3-6 random people out of millions on thr internet just happened to be watching the same car video and all decided to switch topics to investment banking naturally lmao
@AHungryHunky yeah. Some long ass chain of people talking about how an investment type of shit helped from homeless poverty lol. I made my comment here because the video was posted 15 minutes ago (at the time) and there were just six bot comments.
Both are junk, but at least Hyundai will be around a year from now. Nissan is going belly up. Your warranty will be gone and so will parts availability.
Nissan Rogue us far far the worst modern vehicle I’ve ever driven. Its drive train is just trash. Mate a weak motor to a horrible CVT and you got recipe for disaster. You floor the gas and it takes a second or two to actually move the vehicle. I almost got into couple accidents.
I disagree. If you do hiking you will see these kind of softroader SUVs at dirt road trailheads all the time. Usually, Subarus. Hard core off-roading, no. Nobody is doing the Rubicon trail with that.
TFL has been doing this for a long time. Its the reason I started watching their channel. They are one of the only journalist sites that actually challenge the marketing material. It's also good to know the capabilities of your run of the mill commuter so you can safely stay below the threshold. I bought a 2016 Renegade based on the video they did showcasing its capabilities when they first came out. Everything I needed it to do fell below what they put it through. Mostly I needed it for unmaintained, deeply rutted private land access roads. Their video put me at ease. Didn't walk the ruts like my old ZR2, but it also was much safer than that deathtrap on the road. Plus, it is more fun than watching yet another overbuilt Wrangler/Bronco/4runner just walk a trail.
Roman and his Jen should be ashamed of themselves. I sure do hope that people who buy these things know they aren't true off-roaders. Roman knows this but he has for more than a decade spoken condescendingly about unibody crossovers and how they arent true off-road vehicles. Duh Roman. Get a new spiel. Or else go test body on frame vehicles with the name "Sport" in their names on a road course and see how well they so with track times compared to actual "sport" cars.
@@SylasG my issue is more with Roman. Every video he does like this he knows that the unibody is not as off road capable as a body on frame yet still bags on the unibody for not being a "real" off-roader...to the point where he has been really insulting to the vehicle. He has been doin g this shtick for more than a decade. Hence, I dare him to review any "sport" labeled body on frame vehicle and see how it does on a road course to see how insulting he is to that vehicle.
I can't be the only one but ... Who is this random new person? WHY does it sound like a mother sarcastically agreeing to an embellished story from a toddler every time she speaks? She did a video with Andre in the Ranger for a tow test, and I'm pretty sure 68% of what she said was "Yeah, Mhmm, and Of Course"... or she simply stated the profoundly obvious. Is she there for like inclusiveness or does she ACTUALLY bring anything to the viewer experience? I don't mean to come off aggressive or anything but its honestly sabotaging the experience for me and I may stop watching because of it... MAYBE I'm being extra I don't know lol but who cares.
Honestly I have the upland and A/T trail tires instead. IMO I get 99% of the trailhawk for less money, and the AT Trail tires are not a limiter for me offroad, usually the problem is the AWD system or running out of clearance, not the grip of my tires. And I get better fuel economy with the milder tread pattern Compass does make for a great softroader tho
TBH the first two obstacles are enough for most soft-road driving. Bravo to both of them for clearing.
The Tucson with road tires did a great job. Impressive!
I'm impressed with the Tucson also! I wouldn't have guessed it but it appears it has a quicker responding AWD system and, with a diagonal approach on the ditch it may have crossed without dragging
I like these reviews, great for the soft off-roader people who (sometimes) drive on dirt roads and forest service roads that can get rutted out due to water runoff. The Hyundai surprised me, slap some Falken Wildpeaks on it and call it good for the light duty stuff.
I’m still rolling in my 1999 Toyota 4Runner Trail Edition with locking differential. 200k miles later, still going strong.
But your ass has been numb since 1999 from those horrible seats. lol
but these get about 100% more miles per gallon if their capabilities are enough for what they need why waste fuel if you dont need to
you are amazing. And this video is not for you then. I often go to the Miata vids and brag about my Corvette.
@ 😂😂😎
damn, only 8000 miles per year.
Good job Jen and Roman, no case makes for a great tfl video!
They sell tons and tones of these soft roader SUVs. And it appears that they are far more capable right out of the box than they currently are. This episode demonstrated probably what the single biggest limitation is for these guys. The low front ground clearance of those ground sniffer front bumpers. I wonder how long it’s going to be before the after market seizes the opportunity to address this issue and we see a lot more of these more affordable soft roader more SUVs show up off road and get the job done.
It’s pretty amazing what a low first gear, good traction tires and a well sorted brake based and biased ABS and traction control system are capable of.
One of the early best examples of this is what Jeep did with the renegade trail hawk model. Those thing actually work way better than the should have.
Crossover manufacturers other than Jeep and Ford need to figure out making alternative bumper designs for their offroad trims. The biggest limiter on these is approach angle
After one off road adventure that won’t be an issue.
They won't do that because it would hurt drag coefficient and fuel mileage numbers.
@@SylasGbut again, how many people are buying off roaders for mpg?
It's worth noting that slapping some wildpeak A/T Trail tires on the Tucson should be less than $1000. I think that pushes it into the lead over the Rogue in my opinion.
Remember this is the Tucson 2.5 though, not the hybrid. That means the Rogue has the more powerful and efficient turbo engine, and because Nissan is close to bankruptcy you can take advantage of the huge discounts they have on dealer lots right now to quickly generate revenue. Nissan is saying without help they will be bankrupt in 6 months, and I was offered $3K off MSRP.
Let's pair these against the Mazda cx50. If u recall that did amazingly well on the course.
I like seeing a woman like her involved!
The Hyundai HTRAC AWD System comes from Magna in Graz, this is the same company that builds the Mercedes G-Wagen drivetrain.
Is that really true?! AWD ain't any low range 4x4, but. . .
@@DaciaProject It is not the same system, but the same manufacturer. They sure know something about offroad tech.
They both did better than I expected, but the Hyundai did the course more easily than the Nissan. Considering it's also less expensive and better looking, it's the clear winner.
I can assure you the Hyundai is not less expensive. Nissan is in a death spiral, the discounts on Rogue Rock Creeks right now are crazy, $3K off MSRP without even really haggling, just walking out saying I love it but its too expensive. Hyundai dealership by contrast said max they could do is waive the addendums, lol!
Accidently took the Mrs 2023 Tucson AWD through thick mud that looked like concrete...I don't know how we didn't get stuck. Good AWD system.
A lot of AWD SUVs/crossovers are just fine for moderate off-roading. I take my Suzuki AWD off-road a few times a week, it goes to where people think 4L is needed, with no problems. With a lift and skid plates most of these cars can go almost anywhere (obviously, no rock climbing, etc...but how many people do such things anyway, even with real 4WD vehicles?).
Logging road is about as off road as I'd want to go with either of them.
I ❤ Jen!
Jen finding her sea legs with TFL! Looking forward to more reviews with her, especially with Tommy (they vibe well).
Nice video. TY.
My best friend bought a Nissan Pathfinder what's basically every option possible. Big panoramic roof brown leather interior all kinds of screens. It was about 55k which I thought was easily 10,000 too much. We searched all over to find a green Toyota Highlander and had to drive all the way to Georgia to get it from Texas. Then his wife totaled it out and she was determined to have that color and we couldn't find another one so they bought a green Pathfinder. Now it has $24,000 worth of hail damage😅 it's sad because they just retired and I was helping them to find their last vehicle that's why we got the Toyota first. The only thing I didn't like about the Highlander was it switched over to a 4-cylinder now and they've always drove V6 or V8 engines. It's got more power on paper but it just doesn't translate to the driving experience. The V6's sound better and they just feel more powerful for some reason. They like the V6 in the Nissan and I just hope it will last them 10 to 15 years
You know this is NOT a Pathfinder, it’s a Rouge. AND there is no Toyota. It’s a Hyundai.
You are posting functionally illiterate comments.
Awesome Story Bro
The nissan v6 has been the most reliable engine they ever made.
@SylasG I would agree
You need to do the same thing that the Olympics needs to do. You need an Average Joe doing the event to show how hard it truly is. Maybe an all wheel drive mini van or something along those lines.
Wow nice review I'm shock to see both vehicle perform marvelously they mean business and not just a badge
Really this two are truly built for not off-roading but will do good on the snow covered roads
Not as well as you'd think, neither of those tires are very good for snow. The Rogue may be a tiny bit better on a more loose or muddy campsite than the Tucson just because of the tires.
Offroad tires are not good in snow. Snow tires are good in snow. Snow tires perform better in snow than the benefits of AWD would perform without snow tires.
Both these SUV's have engines that go boom...a three cylinder turbo and the other with a known problem.
Surprised they made the first and second cut...
Thanks for the lesson what would we do without your negative input.
Usually after about 50k miles not 5.. 🤦🏽
The Tucson has a good engine. It is a new engine from Hyundai that has been very reliable. The old 2.4 is gone.
Should put the BadSport in all these sOFFt-Roader vids as the "control".
The keyword used here, is: "cars". Period.
What I want to see is someone do a good test of the stock tires that come on these vehicles. Not just the Rogue and the Tuscon but in general from crossovers and SUV's. The reason is we put too much emphasis on every tire that's labeled as something other than a highway tire being automatically better off road but that's rarely proven by the real world tests such as we saw here. The A/T Trail is very little more than a highway tire with a more aggressive looking sidewall. It may be more durable but who knows. When tested against each other we see slight differences but we never see them tested against tires outside their class. The only tire in this class I've seen real world testing show a significant difference off road is the Yokohama GO15 in the snow versus a HT tire I don't remember the brand of. And, honestly, I've seen Land Rover products with supposedly awful wheel and tire setups do the same trails as rigs with aggressive all terrains and mud terrains. Only the lack of durability from the minimal sidewall has been an issue. But traction wise, well, they did the trail. My suspicion is that by the time you reach the minimal threshold of improved performance of the CUV on/off road tires you're really in need of an actual aggressive A/T tire.
Can you guys test the Santa Cruz XRT??
You should defintely try the 2 againist a rav4 or a corolla cross or somethin
The black plastic cladding, roof rack, NOR the red color is.. going to help when you go OFF ROAD. You’re not gonna say “oh gosh wow. I’m stuck in mud. I AM SO GLAD MY BUMPERS HAVE RED ACCENTS”
average person doesn't think that way.
LOL, here's to doing more with less! My company fleet vehicle is a base 2024 Rogue and I threw on Nitto Nomad Grapplers and a trailer hitch - it's quite capable on mild offroad and towing a small utility trailer. I would pony up a bit more cash and get something more capable with my own money, but as far as this thing goes it's alright.
I don’t why Hyundai didn’t include AT tires on the Tucson XRT…. The 2025 Santa Cruz and Santa Fe XRT trims have AT tires included… even the new Ioniq 5 XRT will get AT tires… 🤦🏽♂️
because the tires would most likely hurt their fuel mileage ratings or handling performance or road noise testing. Many reasons certain tires are chosen.
@ i hear ya, I guess my issue is that the XRT is supposed to be the more rugged trim level. The most basic change to make a vehicle more capable off road are the tires. Why give it the XRT badge if they aren’t gonna give it the basics. 😆
Tommy's hair and voice changed?!? Looks like there is a new addition.
Can you do a 2025 Nissan Kicks AWD? It has 8.7" ground clearance, more than the Rogue Rock Creek, and appears to have shorter overhangs and a smaller wheelbase so might be even more capable. The SV AWD comes with 17" wheels, and its easy enough to put the same brand tires as the Rogue Rock Creek on one.
I don't think TFL commonly does any modifications to cars they test.
@@SylasG Not suggesting they do, just asking to test one. Consumers can then make it their own "Rock Creek" by swapping tires. Half an inch more ground clearance, shorter wheelbase, and shorter bumpers should translate well IMO.
These manufacturers don’t nuild vehicles like this to do any serious off-roading. It’s nice that they can do relatively simple trails like this but these are nothing more than appearance features that make people think you have something rugged and tough. I can’t imagine with the costs of these “specialty” vehicles and their related insurance cost, anyone would actually take them off-road.
The best looking of the three in bunch😅😅😊😊
Wow these cars are almost $40k wow!
Nissan will probably sell a lot of these to people to drive to the mall in winter! Nothing wrong with that.
I don’t expect every SUV to be for off-road but they need to stop advertising them as off-roaders and giving them names that suggest they are good for off-road
Why not, every single car manufacturer gets away with advertising their EV's as "green" and "good for environment and feelings".
Nissan Rogue with a plastic oil pan, not sure I'd offroad with that.
Lmao I don't hate geeting compliments from pretty women as any other red-blooded male, but your comment section is wild hahaha
Bots are always wild.
Just wait till you read one of those AI run marketing chains in a comment section. They actually pull info from the video and weave it into some lengthy chain about some random investment banker, as if 3-6 random people out of millions on thr internet just happened to be watching the same car video and all decided to switch topics to investment banking naturally lmao
@AHungryHunky yeah. Some long ass chain of people talking about how an investment type of shit helped from homeless poverty lol.
I made my comment here because the video was posted 15 minutes ago (at the time) and there were just six bot comments.
Oh yeah, the bots waste no time. On the plus side, I haven't seen a "First!" comment In a long time@khonjel_singh
The rogue will cut power more often because it has a cvt and too much revs with no movement will just burn that cvt up
you don't need full power, wheel spin isn't helping you offroad more. You need traction.
Take the Nissan all day!
Those Nissan CVTs frequently fail before 100,000 miles. I’ll take the Tuscon.
Both are junk, but at least Hyundai will be around a year from now. Nissan is going belly up. Your warranty will be gone and so will parts availability.
Says the guy in a 30 year old shitbox
Why would Hyundai put street tires in that vehicle? Stupid.
Probably because they know most buyers won't hardly touch gravel with it
They don’t want to reduce the fuel economy
Fuel economy numbers and road noise most likely.
The fake tow hooks on the Nissan 😂😂
Didn’t we see this already ?
I miss the boys….honestly, chemistry isn’t there between these 2…
Can we end drop this inclusivity crap and just bring everyone back?
😂
NEY ROMAN HOW ABOUT THE NEW CHEVROLET EQUINOX AWD ACTIVE😅😢😢😢😢😂😂😂
CVT is probably overheating
I don’t trust the 3cyl on the Nissan Rogue
Nissan is trash. Huyndai did better than Rouge with All session tires.
The Nissan looks better
Both of these have the most hideous front ends out there. The Nissan takes the cake though
CVT garbage 🗑
Nissan Rogue us far far the worst modern vehicle I’ve ever driven. Its drive train is just trash. Mate a weak motor to a horrible CVT and you got recipe for disaster. You floor the gas and it takes a second or two to actually move the vehicle. I almost got into couple accidents.
Not sure what the point of this exercise is; these vehicles will not be driven off road. Unless you count the rollback truck
I disagree. If you do hiking you will see these kind of softroader SUVs at dirt road trailheads all the time. Usually, Subarus. Hard core off-roading, no. Nobody is doing the Rubicon trail with that.
TFL has been doing this for a long time. Its the reason I started watching their channel. They are one of the only journalist sites that actually challenge the marketing material. It's also good to know the capabilities of your run of the mill commuter so you can safely stay below the threshold. I bought a 2016 Renegade based on the video they did showcasing its capabilities when they first came out. Everything I needed it to do fell below what they put it through. Mostly I needed it for unmaintained, deeply rutted private land access roads. Their video put me at ease. Didn't walk the ruts like my old ZR2, but it also was much safer than that deathtrap on the road.
Plus, it is more fun than watching yet another overbuilt Wrangler/Bronco/4runner just walk a trail.
Roman and his Jen should be ashamed of themselves. I sure do hope that people who buy these things know they aren't true off-roaders. Roman knows this but he has for more than a decade spoken condescendingly about unibody crossovers and how they arent true off-road vehicles. Duh Roman. Get a new spiel. Or else go test body on frame vehicles with the name "Sport" in their names on a road course and see how well they so with track times compared to actual "sport" cars.
why would you compare sport trucks to sport cars? Two different vehicles.
@@SylasG my issue is more with Roman. Every video he does like this he knows that the unibody is not as off road capable as a body on frame yet still bags on the unibody for not being a "real" off-roader...to the point where he has been really insulting to the vehicle. He has been doin g this shtick for more than a decade. Hence, I dare him to review any "sport" labeled body on frame vehicle and see how it does on a road course to see how insulting he is to that vehicle.
I can't be the only one but ... Who is this random new person? WHY does it sound like a mother sarcastically agreeing to an embellished story from a toddler every time she speaks? She did a video with Andre in the Ranger for a tow test, and I'm pretty sure 68% of what she said was "Yeah, Mhmm, and Of Course"... or she simply stated the profoundly obvious. Is she there for like inclusiveness or does she ACTUALLY bring anything to the viewer experience? I don't mean to come off aggressive or anything but its honestly sabotaging the experience for me and I may stop watching because of it... MAYBE I'm being extra I don't know lol but who cares.
Haha yeah who cares!
You know you're buying a cheap pos when they put kumho tires on it lol, literally the cheapest tires you can find.
All the guys running Kumho slicks at the drag strip know how dumb you sound.
There are cheaper OEM tires...such as the Giti tires VW puts on the Tiguan.
I will stick with my 2024 Jeep Compass Trailhawk with Falken Wildpeak AT 3W's.
ok johnwanamaker84
Honestly I have the upland and A/T trail tires instead. IMO I get 99% of the trailhawk for less money, and the AT Trail tires are not a limiter for me offroad, usually the problem is the AWD system or running out of clearance, not the grip of my tires. And I get better fuel economy with the milder tread pattern
Compass does make for a great softroader tho
Thumbs Down. Jen isn't TFL
Scared of women? Don't worry maybe one day you won't be so scared and might even meet one that can tolerate you!
Thumbs up. Jen is TFL
@@drags666❤
😂