Last Updated on April 22, 2023 by Paul S.
What are you looking for with an SUV with the most ground clearance? It could be for off-roading, getting through the snow, or just even sitting high to have a comfortable seat and view of the traffic!
Having great ground clearance on your vehicle can be important for many reasons. For me, it’s to be able to get to far off places for camping, biking, or hiking.
Off-roading ground clearance allows you to navigate rocks and ruts, and climb things you couldn’t do in a low riding vehicle. In the snow it allows you to get out of your driveway and get to work or the store.
Whatever the reason is this article is going to provide some of the SUVs with the most ground clearance available! We are going to start with the lowest ground clearance and then grow from there.
Table of Contents
Toyota 4runner Ground Clearance
The 4runner has been around since 2002 and it is a go-to for many people and not only for its offroad capability. There are always some on the trail no matter where you go.
But for this list, the 4runner is the SUV with the smallest ground clearance at 9.6 inches.
Now don’t go kicking the 4runner just yet. It is still very trail capable and can tackle almost all the trails out there.
There are many trims of the 4runner but if you just stick to the 4×4 edition of each trim then you will get the 9.6 inch clearance. Otherwise, the clearance will drop if you go with the 2wd editions.
Jeep Wrangler Rubicon Ground Clearance
This iconic off-roading vehicle is most likely responsible for pushing the envelope on ground clearance. Whatever trail you end up going on you will most likely see one of these getting over the easy stuff and braving the difficult stuff.
The Rubicon jumps our list up to 10.8 inches of ground clearance.
The Rubicon also has a great stock package of wheels, tires, shocks, and much more to get you into the most difficult trails and get over any obstacle.
Learn more about different ground clearances for the Jeep Wrangler JL and JK at another one of our posts: Jeep Wrangler Ground Clearances
Jeep Grand Cherokee Trailhawk Ground Clearance
The Cherokee Trailhawk came into production around 2014 to improve the trail capability of the Cherokee line. It is a great alternative if you want to stay in the Jeep family but do not want a Rubicon. This vehicle is probably a little more family friendly because it comes with side airbags.
The Cherokee Trailhawk comes with the quadra lift air suspension that can top out at 10.8 inches. This is another great option if you want to take it on the trail or some gnarly dirt roads. It is also great that you can manually adjust the vehicle to ride lower if you want to save some gas while driving down the highway.
Jeep Grand Cherokee L Summit Reserve Ground Clearance
Another Jeep product but this time the clearance only jumps up 0.1 inches from the Cherokee Trail Hawk to reach 10.9 inches.
The Cherokee L Summit Reserve also has the Quadra-Lift air suspension system and that is what can raise it to that 10.9 inches. Without the air suspension system, the vehicle sits 2.4 inches below that at 8.5 inches. It wouldn’t even make this list!
Reportedly these vehicles may be hard to come by due to the chip shortage.
The Summit Reserve is the luxury model of the line so I would have a hard time wheeling it due to its cost but it sure would be a luxurious ride on the road.
Land Rover Defender Ground Clearance
Now we jump past the 11 inch mark for ground clearance. The Land Rover Defender SUV boasts a total ground clearance of 11.5 inches. The Defender also has an air suspension system that is adjustable. Without deploying the system, the Defender would sit at 8.9 inches.
The Jeep Gladiator Mojave
Mmmmmm not really an SUV but a truck, but we will keep it on this list because I like Jeep products. I just don’t not the look of some….but the Gladiator Mojave has its ground clearance game up with the big boys.
The Mojave checks in at 11.6 inches of ground clearance!
What is very important to understand on trucks is the departure angle. The departure angle of a truck is typically bad because of the truck bed. As you leave obstacles on the trail you can scrape and bump them a lot!
So, the departure angle of the Mojave is 25.5 degrees and if you compare that to the 4 door Wrangler Rubicon’s 37 degrees departure angle it cannot compare. FYI Bigger is better in this category!
It will still be great on the trail but just know that your back bumper may be saying hello to a lot of obstacles.
The Ford Bronco
The biggest buzz about a new SUV since forever is about the Ford Bronco. It is definitely a challenger to the Jeep Wrangler throne but only time will tell if it can compete. So far, I would say that the tech in the Broncos is a step up from the Wranglers.
The Bronco’s ground clearance comes in at 11.6 inches. This is for the two door but if you look at the four door you only lose 0.1 inches so it should not matter too much on the trail.
The Bronco vs Wrangler is an exciting fight to keep your eye on as the fight for trail king begins!
Rivian Ground Clearance
After sticking around the 11 inch ground clearance territory for three vehicles the Rivian decides to skip a couple of inches and go straight to 14.9 inches. This. Is. Crazy.
My first thought goes straight to, “yea but it’s going to tip over so easy”. Of course, they knew that, and because it is an electric vehicle the battery is placed under the passenger compartment that keeping the center of gravity down. So cool!
The Rivian will come with an onboard air compressor to make it easier to air down and up after off-roading.
My second thought is that we probably will never see these on the trail, but I definitely hope we do! All the bells and whistles that this vehicle has are begging to be taken offroad. They start at $72,500 so do you think someone wants to pinstripe that on the trail? Only time will tell!
It’s worth a visit to check out the Rivian on motortrends website. Click here: motortrend.com
Hummer EV Ground Clearance
My first thought right now….why is there another vehicle after the 14.9 inch ground clearance of the Rivian. We should be done!
No, no we ain’t done until the Hummer EV has said so.
In the standard setting, the brand new ’22 Hummer EV comes in at 10.1 inches of ground clearance. Who cares! But wait, there is more. In terrain mode, it grows to 11.9 inches. Okay great….But, in extract mode, it grows to 15.9 inches of total ground clearance!! Now we can say this is the SUV with the most ground clearance.
This is the max we can go right? I guess there is more to Electric Vehicles than saving a bit of gas.
If you have a second it is definitely worth a couple of minutes exploring the GMC Hummer website. Check it out here: GMC Hummer SUV
As the kids say, LFG!
Conclusion
Considering physics, gravity, and the magnetic field of pluto I thought that ground clearance of stock vehicles have reached its limit. I thought no manufacturer is going to take a risk and provide a consumer with 1 foot plus of clearance. But from the top two on the list, my thoughts have been smashed to pieces.
If you don’t want to bet against technology, I am sure the other vehicles mentioned on this list that have “small” ground clearances are going to be catching up soon!
Need a smaller SUV but with high ground clearance? Check out our post on them: Small SUV 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…
Or check out our Mid Size SUV post regarding ground clearance here: Mid Size SUV Ground Clearance
Mid size SUV With The Highest Ground Clearance
Last Updated on April 12, 2023 by Paul S. This article is going to which mid size SUV has the highest ground clearance on the market. For explorers, adventurers, and…