The 4 x 4 is back in fashion, at the start of the last decade, buyers turned their backs on large four wheel drive cars and SUV’s due to the their reputations for using a lot of petrol. But over the past few years many of the car companies have made their cars more fuel efficient and friendlier to the environment. With a wide range of diesel engined vehicles and clever green technology you can be sure that you can get a four by four that is not going to take a huge chunk out of your finances in relation to fuel.

Many off road models are bought due to the styling which has been improved over the past few years. A good comparison would probably be from the Vauxhall Frontera to the Range Rover Evoque. 4×4 used to be the synonym for huge box shaped vehicles, however nowadays there are a large range of vehicles which have 4×4 capabilities without having the ugliness of a huge boxy vehicle. The fashionable type of vehicle nowadays seems to be the SUV or estate vehicle, many of which do have 4×4 capabilities, like the Toyota Rav 4 or the Audi A4 for example.

Many people tend to have a 4×4 as they give a great sense of security, with high driving positions, piece of mind with power going to all four wheels, an off road model has more than enough grip to keep moving through all kinds of terrain including snow, ice, rain or even hilly conditions. The most capable models have clever 4×4 technology that adjusts the suspension, engine and transmission settings to cope with the most extreme terrain, often at the touch of a button. The huge dimensions usually mean plenty of interior space, too, and some models make the most of their boot size with extra rear seats that fold up from the boot floor. The vast majority of cars sold in this class run on diesel and have considerable pulling power, so 4x4s are popular with caravan owners due to their huge towing capacity. Just bear in mind that towing will hamper fuel efficiency further.

From the prestige range of four by fours like the Range Rover to the rugged off roader like the Land Rover Defender, or the Jeep Grand Cherokee, here are some of the 10 best 4 X 4 vehicles:

• Range Rover
• Volvo XC60
• Land Rover Discovery
• Porsche Cayenne
• Nissan X Trail
• Skoda Yeti
• Kia Sportage
• Ford Kuga
• Toyota Rav 4
• Volvo XC90