The 10 Cheapest Off-Roaders You Can Buy in 2025

For reasons out of our control, off-roading and overlanding had a bit of a moment a few years ago. It seemed like everyone wanted to get lost on a long, winding trail.

Unlike the homemade sourdough craze, though, the passion for off-roading hasn't died down—in fact, based on the number of rugged SUVs out there, enthusiasm may be at an all-time high. Even though off-roading enthusiasm hasn't slowed, our budgets most certainly have.

With the average price of a new car in the US now over $50,000, finding an off-road vehicle that won't break the bank is a tougher task than ever. If you are looking to get into the off-road game but don’t have Raptor, TRD Pro, or G-Wagen money, there are still options out there. 

Based on 2025 model year base prices, including destination (or 2026 prices wherever available), here are the 10 cheapest new off-road cars you can get in 2025—trucks, SUVs, and even a few crossovers alike.

10. Chevrolet Colorado Trail Boss: $42,495

Squeaking into 10th place is the 2026 Chevy Colorado Trail Boss, which starts at $42,495, including destination. As the name suggests, it’s the trail-oriented version of GM’s mid-size pickup truck.

The Trail Boss package adds off-road suspension with a two-inch lift and a wider stance, 32-inch all-terrain tires, a two-speed auto transfer case, along with underbody protection, and an off-road performance display. Despite being called the Trail Boss, this isn’t the bossiest off-road Colorado you can get—that honor goes to the $50,000 ZR2. But for those looking for an off-road Chevy with lighter payments, the TB’s your best bet.

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9. Ford Bronco Sport Badlands: $42,110

Scoring ninth is the 2025 Ford Bronco Sport, specifically the $42,110 off-road Badlands model.

Not to be confused with the bigger “proper” Bronco, this is the smaller unibody Sport that’s inherently a lot more pedestrian, sharing a platform with the Escape crossover. For the Badlands, though, Ford ups its off-road cred with all-terrain tires, metal bash plates, Trail Control, and seven “G.O.A.T.” driving modes—that’s Ford speak for “Goes Over Any Type of Terrain.” Given this car’s reasonable price, it could also easily stand for Go Off-Road Affordably… Today?

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8. Ford Bronco: $41,990

In two-door base form, the proper, burlier 2025 Ford Bronco is actually cheaper than the Badlands Sport, available for as little as $41,990.

Powered by a 300-horsepower, 2.3-liter EcoBoost four-cylinder, the Bronco is one of the most proper off-roaders you can get out of the box. Part-time selectable 4x4, off-road suspension, standard 30-inch tires (35s are available), and removable doors make it the quintessential Ford for venturing off the freeway. The Bronco starts affordably, but it has a bevy of creatively named, higher models like the Big Bend, Outer Banks, Badlands, and, of course, the top dog, $80,000 Raptor.

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7. Nissan Frontier Pro-X: $40,265

If the aforementioned Colorado was up your alley but still a little pricey, the $40,265 2026 Nissan Frontier Pro-X may be worth a look.

Nissan’s midsize pickup receives all-terrain tires, off-road suspension parts by Bilstein, red tow hooks, and chunkier fenders in Pro-X form. We should note that this is the 4x2 Pro-X and not the 4x4 Pro-4X, which costs several grand more. This truck may have been revamped in 2021 and has gotten regular updates since, but it’s still a staunchly old-school vehicle. As the seventh cheapest off-roader available today, it arguably has a price worthy of nostalgia, too.

6. Toyota Tacoma TRD PreRunner: $40,115

Toyota, however, offers essentially the same recipe for even less, albeit slightly. Starting at $40,115, the 2025 Tacoma TRD PreRunner is the sixth least expensive off-roader on the market.

Adding an electronically controlled locking rear differential, 32-inch BFGoodrich all-terrain tires, and a front suspension lift, the PreRunner is the rear-drive off-road Taco, much like the Pro-X Nissan, and you’ll again have to shell out a few grand more if you’d like the four-wheel-drive of the Tacoma TRD Off-Road. Where the Nissan stubbornly sticks with a V-6, the Toyota is now turbo-four only. The Tacoma may only land in the middle of this list, but its longevity is legendary, very possibly giving it a big cost-to-own edge when you account for just how long you can keep one of these things on the road.

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5. Jeep Gladiator: $40,095

If reliability is less of a concern, the 2025 Jeep Gladiator can be had for $40,095, earning it fifth place on this list.

That price gets you into a base Sport model, featuring a Pentastar V-6, 10.0 inches of ground clearance, 32-inch tires, Dana 44 heavy-duty axles front and rear, a two-speed transfer case, and three skid plates. Jeep also boasts of class-leading towing and payload: the Gladiator will tow up to 7,700 pounds and haul up to 1,725 pounds. It may undercut its fellow body-on-frame pickup rivals on this list, but if it were our money, we’d probably spend a bit more for one of the others.

4. Subaru Forester Wilderness: $39,835

Subaru is a byword for affordable, accessible trail capability, and if you’re serious about taking your Subie on mixed terrain beyond the occasional snowstorm, you’ll want one of the more rugged Wilderness models. Coming in as the fourth cheapest off-roader is the $39,835 2026 Forester Wilderness.

Par for the Subaru course, symmetrical all-wheel drive is standard with all Foresters, but the Wilderness adds all-terrain tires, better cooling, and upgraded suspension with longer coils and shocks, giving it 9.3 inches of ground clearance and better off-road angles than the normie Forester. It also looks a lot cooler than the regular crossover, and if a lot of us are honest with ourselves, that’s half the battle.

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3. Subaru Crosstrek Wilderness: $35,215

Dipping into true bargain-off-road territory, the 2026 Subaru Crosstrek Wilderness starts at $35,215, taking the bronze medal in this list.

The Wilderness Crosstrek is what you get when you want your entry-level econobox to also be able to hack it on a trail. Symmetrical all-wheel drive, a Forester Wilderness-matching 9.3 inches of ground clearance, different gearing, taller suspension, all-terrain tires, and SUV-style cladding let it go places that, say, a Mazda 3 and its tight shocks and polished red paint wouldn’t dare.

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2. Jeep Compass Trailhawk: $34,390

Coming in at almost a grand less than the most rugged Crosstrek is the 2025 Jeep Compass Trailhawk, starting at $34,390. We should note that Jeep recently unveiled the next-gen 2026 Compass but not a Trailhawk version yet, so this is the outgoing Compass that’s been around for almost a decade.

The standard Compass may have a Jeep badge, but it’s a fairly pedestrian compact crossover that shares platform genetics with the Fiat 500L. The Trailhawk variant, however, adds a 20:1 crawl ratio, a one-inch suspension lift, hill-descent control, skid plates, off-road tires, and the obligatory red tow hooks. It’ll tow up to 2,000 pounds and ford up to 19 inches of water. Not bad for a Fiat 500L cousin.

1. Jeep Wrangler: $34,090

Arguably the icon of cheap, accessible off-roading, the 2025 Jeep Wrangler is the least expensive new off-roader you can get today, with a starting price of just $34,090.

That buys a base, two-door Sport model, but you still get approach, breakover, and departure angles of 40.8, 18.4, and 25 degrees, respectively, along with 10 inches of ground clearance. Dana solid axles, a two-speed transfer case, tow hooks, and skid plates are also part of the standard Wrangler package. Like its Bronco rival, you can take off the doors and roof, of course, and newly standard for 2025 are power locks and windows. So even though the Wrangler is the cheapest off-roader you can get, it’s not a complete penalty box anymore.

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