2022’s Crossover Trend: Off-Road Lite

It’s the latest trend in crossovers parked at soccer practice throughout the U.S: off-road packages on your everyday crossover. 

For the 2022 model year, a rash of top automakers are introducing new trim levels that lend an appearance of trail-climbing prowess, even if some don’t actually tinker with any meaningful hardware to get you there. 

These trims let consumers flex their outdoorsiness a bit more than their neighbors, without going through the hassle and expense of customizing their cars with aftermarket accessories. It’s all about automakers further differentiating their vehicles from their competitions’ – even if the competition is rolling out similar packages. 

Below, you’ll find a list of the key off-road-ish trim packages automakers are now offering on their crossovers. To slice through the fluff, you’ll see a mention of whether the upgrades are truly off-road worthy or merely ‘scoff-road’ — good for looks but not for changing the vehicle’s true off-road abilities. The latter isn’t necessarily a bad thing; it’s just that some of these packages are more meaningful than others. 

Also note that this list is limited to your everyday, ho-hum crossovers that people buy millions of each year. This means full-size SUVs, luxury models, and off-road-oriented trucks were all excluded. 

Happy trails.

Ford Timberline

Available on: Explorer (and Expedition)

What you see: Unique 18-inch wheels and ‘Forged Green’ exterior color, red tow hooks, beefier all-terrain tires, various interior and exterior trim upgrades, 0.8-inch suspension lift.

What you don’t see: Skid plates, retuned springs, upgraded shocks, limited-slip differential, standard all-wheel-drive.

Off-road or scoff-road: We’ll give this one an ‘Off-Road’ nod. It’s not on the level of Jeep’s Trailhawk trim upgrades, but there’s just enough here to feel like a meaningful upgrade you might actually use off-road, especially compared to others on this list. 

Toyota TRD Off-Road

Available on: RAV4 (plus 4Runner and Tacoma, not covered here)

What you see: Front skid plate, 18-inch alloy wheels wrapped in Falken Wildpeak tires, TRD badging inside and out, faux-leather seats, and red accents throughout the interior. 

What you don’t see: Retuned TRD suspension and shocks, standard all-wheel-drive.

Off-road or scoff-road: TRD means business in Toyota-speak, with TRD Pro models sitting atop the lineup for the midsize Tacoma pickup, the 4Runner SUV, and the full-size Tundra pickup. But that trim isn’t available on the RAV4, so shoppers will need to settle for the next trim level below it, the TRD Off-Road setup. Nevertheless, it’s just meaningful enough of an upgrade to warrant an ‘Off-Road’ rating here. 

Jeep Trailhawk

Available on: Grand Cherokee, Cherokee, Compass, Renegade

What you see: Unique badges and decals, more aggressive tires wrapped around trim-specific rims, red tow hooks, matte-black hood.

What you don’t see: Depending on the model, the Trailhawk trim can add meaningful ground clearance, upgrade the suspension, revise the all-wheel-drive system, and add an additional traction control setting and lower crawling gear.

Off-road or scoff-road: This one’s easy, compared to every other brand on this list: ‘Off-road’. Jeep built its reputation on its impeccable off-road manners, so any off-road-oriented package from the automaker is going to be legit. No matter the model, the Trailhawk name means business.

Subaru Wilderness

Available on: Outback wagon and Forester compact crossover for now; Crosstrek and Ascent possible

What you see: Lifted and retuned suspension (0.8 inches higher on the Outback, half an inch higher on the Forester), unique black alloy wheels wrapped with all-terrain tires, matte-black hood, StarTex water-resistant seats, anodized copper tow hooks and roof rail tie-downs, redesigned front and rear bumpers for better approach and departure angles, LED fog lights, revised exterior cladding.

What you don’t see: Retuned terrain-management system, standard turbocharged four-cylinder engine, revised gear ratios.

Off-road or scoff-road: ‘Off-Road.’ The suspension lift and overhaul, aggressive tires, and revised terrain management system add up to be the real deal in terms of boosting off-road cred. 

Honda TrailSport

Available on: Passport midsize and Pilot three-row crossovers for now; smaller CR-V crossover, Ridgeline truck possible later.

What you see: Lifted suspension (0.6 inches, on Pilot only), beefier tires, unique 18-inch alloy wheels, exterior badging, leather seats with orange stitching. 

What you don’t see: Nada…mechanically the TrailSport models don’t differ from their mainstream iterations. 

Off-road or scoff-road: We’ll split the difference and say the two-row Passport is ‘Scoff-road’ while the three-row Pilot is ‘Off-Road’ thanks to its (slightly) increased ground clearance. But the Jeep Trailhawk package this isn’t. 

Kia X-Pro

Available on: Sportage compact crossover for now; larger Telluride and Sorento expected later in 2022

What you see: 17-inch alloy wheels with BF Goodrich all-terrain tires, more rugged front and rear bumpers and side trim, other blackened exterior trim and roof rails.

What you don’t see: A heated windshield and washer nozzles, terrain-specific drive modes. 

Off-road or scoff-road: The more aggressive tires are a nice start but this package as a whole won’t transform the Sportage’s off-road manners…so it’s ‘scoff-road.’

Hyundai XRT

Available on: Santa Fe now, Tucson in near future

What you see: Black 18-inch alloy wheels, side rails, front and rear skid plates, a darkened grille, black roof rails and cross rails, other black exterior trim, additional non-off-road features. 

What you don’t see: Not much. Like GMC’s AT4 setup on its crossovers, this package is about appearances only. 

Off-road or scoff-road: ‘Scoff-road’ for sure. This is an appearance package only, which, while it works to give the Santa Fe and capable visage, doesn’t do anything for its trail abilities. 

GMC AT4

Available on: Terrain and Acadia crossovers (plus Yukon, Canyon, and Sierra 1500 and HD models).

What you see: Beefier tires, unique grille, 17-inch black alloy wheels, interior and exterior trim upgrades.

What you don’t see: Front skid plate, revised Traction Select system.

Off-road or scoff-road: Scoff-road. This was an early entrant in the off-road-ish crossover upgrade world and it doesn’t get the primo upgrades other AT4 models in GMC’s lineup get, which is a pity. This means it’s appearance only and won’t work harder to get you through tricky terrain.