The Jeep Wrangler Rubicon is known as one of, if not the most capable, factory 4x4 on the planet. Taking top prize in the 2012 Four Wheeler of the Year competition only added to the Wrangler’s lore and legacy. For roughly a year now, we’ve pushed the 2012 FWOTY-winning ’12 Rubicon two-door to, and sometimes beyond, its limits. Acting as a family shuttle, cross-country explorer, and a rough-and-tumble wheeler, our long-tern Wrangler has had to wear many hats. In this final testing quarter, we hit the open road again for some more backcountry exploring and sightseeing.

Forget everything you thought you knew about the Range Rover, especially the painfully ingrained image of it being nothing more than a road queen used to cart celebutards through Los Angeles traffic. Does nearly 12 inches of ground clearance and a 36-inch fording depth sound like a street creep to you? Let us put it in perspective, the Jeep Wrangler Rubicon (considered the most capable factory SUV ever offered) only has 10.2 inches of ground clearance and a 30-inch fording depth. Having said all that, we recently had the chance to get behind the wheel of the ‘13 Range Rover both on- and off-road in northern Arizona and southern Utah. We were surprised by what we learned.

During the last two quarters our 2012 Pickup Truck of the Year winner has spent nearly a third of its time hauling trailers of all different shapes and sizes. This quarter we took the Ram Power Wagon on several trailer-less road trips and even a few rockcrawling adventures.

"Dude, can I borrow the Rhino?" Be prepared to hear that a lot if you purchase one, because for some reason people think of these things as community property, in a way no one would with a truck. Typically we borrow a Rhino from Yamaha every year for Top Truck Challenge in order to run around the park, but this year we asked for one for an extended stay to get to know it better. So far, we've utilized this little truck-let in Denver, Colorado, at our sister magazine's Diesel Power Challenge, in Hollister, California, during Top Truck, and during several trips to the local desert for trail exploring, including Calico Mountains, Mammoth Lakes, and Johnson Valley. We've had a heck of a lot of fun during that time, but also gleaned a few things to note before purchasing one.

As the winner of the 2012 Four Wheeler of the Year competition, the ’12 Jeep Wrangler Rubicon long-term tester has been a welcome part of our fleet. So far it’s been used as a makeshift minivan, parts hauler, desert explorer, commuter, and now, cross-country shuttle. It also served as the pre-run rig for this year’s Four Wheeler of the Year competition. That grueling recon run garnered the Jeep a new dent in the oil pan and crossmember, along with a crushed steering stabilizer, which we quickly swapped out for a new one.

It has been seven years since General Motors redesigned its Chevy Silverado and GMC Sierra ½-ton pickups and a lot has changed in the light-truck market during that time. Customers have a new list of demands including more functionality, comfort, and power. Oh, and with higher fuel prices, improved fuel economy. With that said, there was much speculation on how GM would respond with the new-for-2014 ½-ton trucks. Well, people aren’t speculating any longer because the General has spoken with vastly redesigned trucks that the company feels delivers the things buyers want.

Using the 2012 Jeep Wrangler Rubicon as a domesticated family truckster is like inviting your single, beer-drinking, meat-loving, Texas roughneck buddy to give the best man speech at a dry bar, vegetarian-only, gay wedding. It’s gonna be uncomfortable for somebody and it could get ugly. This quarter our two-door Wrangler spent quite a bit of time handling Mr. Mom duties while still finding time to get away from the ol’ ball and chain and rug rats for a little dirt time.

Last quarter we broke in our 2012 Pickup Truck of the Year winner with a wheeling trip over desert two-track, then hitched up a 10,000-pound trailer and hit the road for the Easter Jeep Safari in Moab, Utah. This quarter our Power Wagon continued to impress us with its towing capability and off-road prowess.

For years the Jeep Wrangler Rubicon has been touted as the most capable factory 4x4 ever produced. That is a strong statement, and for Jeep, a big reputation to live up to. Since its debut in 2003, the Rubicon edition Wrangler has set the benchmark for what an off-road ready SUV should be. Fitted with a multilink suspension, front and rear Dana 44 solid axles, selectable lockers, and a 4:1 transfer case ratio, the Rubicon was always much more than a simple sticker package. With the transition from the ’03-’06 Jeep Wrangler TJ Rubicon, into the ’07-to-present Wrangler JK Rubicon, the refinements both inside and underneath the sheetmetal have been substantial throughout the years.

Not only did the ’12 Ram Power Wagon take home the coveted 2012 Four Wheeler Pickup Truck of the Year award, it also won over the hearts of our drivers. Of the three competing pickups, five out of the seven testers claimed the Power Wagon was the truck they would want to take home with them. So of course we were more than happy to have the Power Wagon join our long-term fleet. The big changes for 2012 included the addition of a six-speed transmission, RamBox bed storage, tie-down bed rails, and a spray-in bedliner, among other things.

If you thought the tow rig wars were finally cooling down, think again. For 2013, the Ram 2500 and 3500 series trucks are stepping up their game and Ram is rolling out a host of new innovations and features for the heavy-duty line including best-in-class towing and best-in-class Gross Combined Weight Rating (GCWR). We recently got a first look at the new ¾- and 1-ton models, and while more info is still to come, the fresh sheep are aiming to lead the herd. For most of us looking at the heavy-duty line, the torque-churning diesel engine is the biggest draw. While it’s hard not to gravitate towards the 6.7L Cummins diesel, it is worth mentioning that the 2500 and 3500 (single-rear wheel) model trucks are now fitted with the 5.7L Hemi V-8 as a standard issue powerplant.

With every Four Wheeler of the Year competition comes the inevitable deluge of mail from our readers asking how we selected the vehicles we did and why we don’t test every 4x4 on the market. Because OTY is setup to only evaluate those vehicles that are all new or significantly revised, we decided a new shootout was in order.

Nearly all of the original equipment vehicle manufacturers produce concept vehicles. Most of these vehicles are strictly show cars that can barely be driven on a closed-course. The gauges are often cardboard cutouts, the transmissions sometimes can’t get out of Second gear, and quite often the one-off suspension geometry makes them more unstable than a 50-year-old tricycle at 90 mph. The one exception to this rule has been Ram truck. The company has actually been producing functional concept vehicles for decades. A perfect example of this practice is the Ram Long-Hauler concept truck. Not only has Ram put a trailer behind this rig, they handed it out to a select group of ham-fisted magazine editors to give it a whirl too.

John Deere, long known for giant combines and robust utility vehicles, recently invited us out to Moab, Utah, to test its latest creation, the Gator RSX850i 4x4 side-by-side. From the company that invented the utility vehicle segment with its All Materials Transport in 1987, this is John Deere’s first real entry in to the sport UTV market and the company worked hard to get it right.

Ever since its introduction in 2001, Yamaha’s Raptor has been a long-standing favorite with ATV enthusiasts. Maybe it is the torquey thumper engine, the solid rear axle, or the long-travel suspension, but whatever it is, it has been a formula that Yamaha got right early on and has only had to refine over the years.

Our time with the 2011 Four Wheeler of the Year award-winning Jeep Grand Cherokee went by faster than expected. When we first received our Grand a year ago, we set out to answer the question of whether or not it was too upscale for the trail and if it possessed the qualifications to wear a seven-slot grille.

Alternative fuels seem to be all the rage these days, but one of the few that actually seems to make sense to us is compressed natural gas, also known as CNG. CNG is natural gas that has been compressed to less than one percent of its volume at standard atmospheric pressures. It is clear, odorless, non-corrosive, and clean-burning fuel that is drawn from natural gas wells or crude oil production and is a plentiful resource in North America, with an estimated 120-year supply available.

We recently welcomed our 2012 Four Wheeler of the Year-winning ’12 Jeep Wrangler Rubicon into the long-term fleet, replacing the ’11 Jeep Grand Cherokee Overland that has served us well for the last year. For 2012, the Wrangler received a significant powertrain upgrade that won our judges over as a major improvement to the breed. Over the next year, we hope to see if the new engine can live up to the Wrangler’s rugged reputation.

Cruising through the moderately whooped-out desert road at about 45 mph with the suspension breathing over the terrain and it becomes apparent to us that someone at Toyota took this project seriously. The TRD T|X (for Toyota Xtreme) Baja Series, as its namesake implies, was designed to tackle harsh desert roads at speed, while leaving you with a totally streetable truck complete with a full factory warranty. Sound familiar? If it does, you may be inclined to compare the Toyota Tacoma Baja to the Ford Raptor, and while they aren’t direct competitors, we couldn’t blame you.

Ford recently invited us out to Detroit, Michigan to preview the ’13 Super Duty Platinum, which is an all-new model in the Super Duty lineup. With the popularity of Ford’s King Ranch trim level, Ford decided to offer an equally luxurious version for those who want upscale appointments, but don’t have a Stetson on the hat rack. The Platinum model, currently available on the F-150, was a natural direction. Consider it a competitor to GMC’s Denali and you get the idea.

After three quarters of living with our Grand Cherokee, we have a pretty good idea of what makes our 2011 Four Wheeler of the Year tick. The WK2, as it is called internally, is a radical departure from previous Grand Cherokees, with its all-independent air suspension, simply gorgeous interior, and astute highway manners. Jeep also packed the Grand full of advanced technology that we have enjoyed getting to know.

Over the last year we’ve used our long-term Ford Raptor relentlessly on- and off-road. It’s blasted 100-mph down isolated desert dirt roads, hauled a 6,000-pound trailer up and down steep mountain grades, carried bed-loads of motorcycles, gear, and railroad ties, yet has remained civil enough to be one of our favorite commuter vehicles that can even go out on a Friday night. In a word, it’s versatile.

You might think that the Ford F-150 SVT Raptor 6.2L is a high-strung, finicky, supermodel truck built specifically for looking good and speedy off-road forays. So did we. It’s a ½-ton, high-speed, desert-truck with 35-inch tires, how well could it possibly perform as a work truck? During this quarter we aimed to find out if this prissy prerunner can do the work, too.

Typically, when we review a new vehicle it is at a controlled media event over the course of a few days, or maybe for a week back home if we are lucky. So, when we have the chance to evaluate a vehicle over the course of a full year, we get a chance to really see what the vehicle is like in daily life. Our most recent vehicle to serve out a year with us was our 2010 Pickup Truck of the Year-winning 2010 Ram Power Wagon.

What could Ford’s Special Vehicles Team possibly do to make the Raptor better? Ever since its introduction in 2009 as a ’10 model, the fast Ford has been improved each year with upgrades such as the 411hp 6.2L V-8 and the SuperCrew body style, and SVT isn’t ending that practice for 2012. In addition to several styling upgrades, the Raptor receives practical features such as a front traction aid and front-facing camera.