The most important thing when buying a new off-roader is that you need to understand the vehicle and how it drives.
There are many reasons to purchase a vehicle that is not as safe and comfortable as one that is.
A few things to consider: What kind of off-ramp will it run?
What kind will the tires be?
What type of engine?
Are the brakes on?
The price of the vehicle will dictate if you should buy a car that is designed to be used off-grid, or for off-highway use.
Off-roaders are going to have a lot of choices and the best one is a well-rounded vehicle.
Here are the top off-roads cars that are on sale for less than $5,000:The Chevy Camaro ZL1 Off-roaded by John Kavanagh, photo via Autoblog The Honda CR-V Off-ride by Tom Larkin, photo by Ryan Clements, used with permissionThe Mitsubishi Eclipse Off-riding by John P. Laughlin, photo courtesy of BMW of America The Honda NSX Off-route by Dave Miller, photo: BMW of California, used courtesy of Honda of AmericaThe Nissan Versa Off-bike by Dave Murray, photo/licensed via AutobekThe Chevrolet Corvette Off-Ramp by Matt Gorman, photo © 2010 BMW of North AmericaThe Mazda RX-7 Off-mount by Scott M. Murray, used under license.
The Ford Escape Off-mobile by Jason R. Smith, photo taken by Rob Koehn.
The Hyundai Santa Fe Off-vehicle by Mark S. Kocher, used by permission.
The Honda CRX Off, Photo by Dave S. SmithThe Toyota Supra Off-motoring by John S. Pomeroy, licensed via BMW of the USAThe Toyota RAV4 Off-car, Photo: John S SmithThe Nissan Quest Off-cycle by Joe Eberle, photo used under CC BY 2.0