Conventional wisdom used to be that car-based unibody vehicles, which we now call “crossovers,” would not be strong enough to withstand the demands of off-roading. Not only that, without a frame, crossovers sat too close to the ground, meaning that even moderate obstacles would hang them up or damage their undercarriages. Advances in engineering, materials, and suspension design have changed that perception, and now some crossovers are found among the most capable off-road vehicles on the road, right alongside traditional SUVs.
One of the key attributes of a capable off-roader is ground clearance — the maximum height of an obstacle that can be cleared by the lowest part of a vehicle. To identify the 10 crossovers with the best ground clearance, we used the manufacturers' specification sheets for the tallest version of their crossovers, factoring in any height-adjustable air suspensions. Here are the leaders that we found.