Last Updated on April 11, 2023 by Paul S.
In this article, we cover some of the smallest 4×4 off-road vehicles available to you in the USA. Because the US has gone through a supersize me of vehicles there aren’t too many left. So we also cover some cool small SUVs from the 90s that were very unique and still available on the used vehicle market.
Let’s get into it!
Table of Contents
Smallest Ford Bronco
It was a sad day when the last Bronco was pulled off the line in Michigan in 1996. But Ford decided to revamp the Bronco in 2021. They provided us with a beast of an off roading machine but also provided us with a smaller version to whip around the trails.
The smallest Ford Bronco you can get is the Bronco Sport. It has the following dimensions:
Bronco Sport
The Bronco Sport beats out the two door Bronco to be the smallest. It does have a slightly smaller length and width. Interestingly it does have slightly more cargo space and that is because of the wheelbase length.
- Total Length: 172.7 inches
- Total Vehicle Width: 82.2 inches this includes the mirrors
- Max Cargo Space: 65.2 cubic feet
- Wheelbase: 105.1 inches
Bronco Two-Door
- Total Length: 173.7 inches
- Total Vehicle Width: 86.2 inches this includes the mirrors
- Max Cargo Space: 52.3 cubic feet
- Wheelbase: 100.4 inches
If two doors aren’t your thing then you can go with the Bronco Sport. The Bronco Sport has four doors but its off roading capability is limited due to the ground clearance it has.
Check out more specs at the Bronco website.
Smallest Jeep Wrangler
The smallest Jeep Wrangler is the Jeep Wrangler two door. It is a lot smaller than the Broncos mentioned above when you look at the dimensions below.
But! Jeep did not sacrifice any offroad capability with the smaller vehicle. Even if you get the sport version you are getting a serious off roading vehicle with some great ground clearance that can do most of the easy and intermediate trails with no modifications.
Check out the dimensions here:
- Total Length: 166.8 inches
- Total Vehicle Width: 73.8 inch
- Max Cargo Space: 31.7 cubic feet
- Wheelbase: 96.8 inches
If you want to get into more specs of the Two door wrangler check out the Jeep Site here.
Jeep Renegade
The Renegade is the Jeeps version of a smaller 4×4 Off Road Vehicle without the great offroading capability. Its limited off roading comes in the form of ground clearance. It is most likely due to the fact that they wanted to produce a 4×4 that is more fuel conscious and a little more affordable than the Jeep Wrangler.
Check out the dimensions here:
- Total Length: 166.6 inches
- Total Vehicle Width: 74.2 inch
- Max Cargo Space: 50.8 cubic feet
- Wheelbase: 101.2 inches
For more specs check out the Jeep Renegade spec site.
So for the moment, that’s really it as far as small SUV vehicles go that are 4×4 and off road capable. As I mentioned before the USA has an appetite for larger and larger vehicles. But check out the vehicles below and you could get something a lot smaller on the used lot or on craigslist.
SUVs from the 90s
These vehicles while not wildly popular, at some point caught your eye while driving around because of how small they were. But don’t get fooled by their size, these can definitely hold their own on the trail because of their small wheelbase.
Check out craigslist and you can see some impressive modifications people have done to them. Typically they are used as rock crawlers and people have spent countless hours modding them.
Suzuki Samurai 4×4
Okay, remember these were different times then so don’t laugh at how small the Suzuki Samurai was.
- Total Length: 135.0 inches
- Total Vehicle Width: 60.6 inches width without mirrors
- Max Cargo Space: 32.0 cubic feet
- Wheelbase: 79.9 inches
The Samurai is 2.5 feet shorter than the Jeep Renegade! While at the time it didn’t have great ground clearance (around 8.1 inches) people have made a lot of modifications to them since they stopped manufacturing them in 1995.
Although they weren’t a hit in the USA they are very popular in the rest of the world. The Samurai or Jimny (outside the USA) is on its fourth generation and still looking very sleek and off road capable.
Suzuki 4×4 Sidekick
Another Suzuki discontinued in the 90s (1998), the two door sidekick by Suzuki looked like a roller skate on wheels or that was what we called it. The versions with the soft tops almost looked like they were trying to rival the Wrangler.
These were not quite as small as the Samurai but still smaller than what we have on the roads today!
- Total Length: 143.7 inches
- Total Vehicle Width: 64.4 inch
- Max Cargo Space: 45 cubic feet
- Wheelbase: 86.6 inches
Small 4×4 Off Road Vehicles Chart
Here is a breakdown of all of them together.
 | Total Length - Inches | Total Vehicle Width - inches | Max Cargo Space - Cubic Feet | Wheelbase - Inches | Still In Production? |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Bronco Sport | 172.7 | 82.2 | 65.2 | 105.1 | |
 Bronco Two Door | 173.7 | 86.2 | 52.3 | 100.4 | |
 Jeep Wrangler - 2 door | 166.8 | 73.8 | 31.7 | 96.8 | |
 Jeep Renegade | 166.6 | 74.2 | 50.8 | 101.2 | |
 Suzuki Samurai | 135 | 60.6 | 32.0 | 79.9 | |
| Suzuki Sidekick | 143.7 | 64.4 | 45 | 86.6 |
Still interested in reading more? Check out our article that covers small SUVs that have high ground clearance!
Small SUV With The Highest Ground Clearance?
Last Updated on April 11, 2023 by Paul S. Need a small SUV with high ground clearance? There can be many benefits to these types of vehicles. The first one…