With 7,500 miles rolled on to our ’11 Jeep Grand Cherokee’s odometer, we are still very much enjoying our time with the SUV. This vehicle offers exceptional comfort in a daily driver role, not only offering outstanding around town and highway performance, but also a slew of entertainment options for passengers, such as Sirius satellite radio and a rear seat entertainment system.

Four Wheeler of the Year, our annual new 4x4 competition, was started way back in 1974, with our inaugural winner being the fullsize ’74 Jeep Cherokee. Back then the award was simply called the “Four Wheeler Achievement Award.”

This quarter the big Power Wagon didn’t see as much mileage as you might expect, however, we did take it on several long road trips, including one to Arizona for a new product launch. It was also used to shuttle us around to various desert locations for photo shoots, seeing it has the capability to get us in and out of those places.

It’s the one ½-ton truck that everyone loves, even our own mothers. That is until they pull up to the gas pump. Unfortunately, nearly everyone on staff who has been behind the wheel of the 6.2L V-8-powered Ford F-150 SVT Raptor has complained or at least made a comment in the logbook about the dismal fuel economy. But let’s put it in perspective. This is a 411hp ½-ton pickup with Baja-bred and -proven long-travel suspension that rolls on 35-inch tires. It features a rear selectable locker that works in any transfer case selection and it has 4.11 axle gears. This is the truck we would try to build, only we wouldn’t be able to put the hundreds of thousands of dollars that Ford has into the design and testing of such a truck. Dollar-for-dollar you can’t beat the Raptor with a similar truck modified with aftermarket parts. And the truth is, any truck outfitted similarly would likely get the same fuel economy if not worse than our Raptor. So we consider the Raptor an ideal bargain if these are the kind of modifications you planned to make on your own anyway.

Since 1974, Four Wheeler of the Year has been an annual tradition in the pages of this magazine, appearing on a regular basis for nearly 40 years of our 50-year existence. It is our annual roundup of what vehicles are new in the four-wheel drive market and it gives us a great reason to head out to the dirt for a week of wheeling.

Our winner of the 2011 Four Wheeler Pickup Truck of the Year competition was the Ford F-150 Raptor SVT, which handily defeated two other trucks to earn the distinction of our PTOTY champion for 2011.

We recently had the opportunity to spend a week with the all-new, muscular-looking, third-generation ’11 Dodge Durango, and we found that aside from the name, there aren’t many similarities between the new Durango and its predecessor. It’s lower, shorter, and lighter than the previous generation and its unibody structure is 25 percent stiffer. It’s built on the same platform as last year’s Four Wheeler of the Year-winning Jeep Grand Cherokee; however, differences include a 10-inch-longer overall length and three rows of seating.

The Jeep Grand Cherokee received a major overhaul for the 2011 model year, which included a new platform based on the Mercedes-Benz ML, a new 3.6L V-6 engine, a new fully independent suspension, and more refinement. It narrowly beat out the Land Rover LR4 last fall to become our 2011 FWOTY champion, and now we have taken delivery of our Natural Green Pearl long termer to put it through the Four Wheeler gauntlet for an entire year. With a definite increase in luxurious pretentions, we want to find out if that means a corresponding decrease in trail ability.

Zero to 60 in 4.8 seconds. Sounds about right for a Shelby GT, but a 5,000-pound SUV? And a Jeep?

The current version of the Wrangler, known internally as the JK, was a pretty big deal when it debuted in 2006 as an ’07 model. Not only did it offer a complete rethink of the venerable TJ, but it also brought the Wrangler in to the mainstream with its four-door Unlimited model. At the time of the JK introduction we were happy to see a manual transmission, more refinement, and a spacious interior. No longer did you have to choose between your camping gear and your loved ones, and solid axles and a fold down windshield ensured the Wrangler’s capability and heritage remained intact.

When you put 20,000-plus miles on a vehicle in a single year, you know you’ve really worked it. When you put on those same 20,000-plus miles on a media fleet vehicle, you know you’ve worked it hard. Thus it was for our long-term Xterra during its time in our test stable. Over the 13-month test period, the Nissan did everything we asked of it, and then some. It carried us, and all our gear, to Moab (twice), and wheeled like a champ on trails like Behind the Rocks and Fins & Things once it got there. It took us to Hollister Hills for Top Truck Challenge, to Vegas for the SEMA Show, and throughout southern and central California on myriad highway commutes and holiday fun runs. It ran across dry, dusty deserts, through white-out snowstorms, and every kind of tractive condition in between.

The beauty of the Power Wagon is its dual-purpose nature. Comfortable and spacious enough for family getaways, but adept enough to get the job done—whatever that job happens to be. Hauling, towing, wheeling, commuting—the Power Wagon is up for anything. For this report, we used the big Ram to shuttle us to and from photo shoots, to Las Vegas for the annual SEMA show, and for hauling supplies and trash back and forth for a home we were rehabbing.

It was the best worst kept secret. Over a year ago everyone knew the 3.6L Pentastar V-6 would make its way into the ’12 Wrangler. But several questions remained. How much more power would it make than the old (and generally hated) 3.8L minivan V-6 and how would the JK drive on- and off-road with the new engine? We headed up to the mountains of the Lake Tahoe area and on the Rubicon Trail to find out.

If you want to do serious overland travel, a Jeep, Land Rover or a compact pickup will get there, but after a week or five in a rooftop tent, things start to get a little cramped. For all their advantages, the smaller vehicles simply don’t have the GVWRs to take all your toys. A fullsize truck fits the bill, but it can be a little big for some trails. Now there is another option—introducing the Bremach T-Rex. Bremach has been building trucks in Northern Italy since 1950. In 1970, the company began devoting its engineering skills to four-wheel drives, mostly sold in Europe, Africa, and Latin America. That may explain why you haven’t seen them on the road. Bremach USA, the company’s North American division, is about to change that. Currently, they are importing the cab shells and chassis assemblies for a variety of applications for finished vehicle that will be manufactured at their southern California factory. As drivetrain specialists, they offer the Bremach T-Rex with powerplants that include natural gas, diesel, gasoline, and 100-percent electric, with other fuels such as propane to follow.

We recently returned from a media event in Florida, where we spent a sunny day testdriving a new truck on the streets of Miami. It was a rather unusual vehicle for us to be driving, and it was a most unusual event. (In a really good way.)

For 2011, Chrysler has resurrected the Dodge Durango in an all-new, all-wheel-drive incarnation that's lighter (by some three hundred pounds), lower (by 20 mm) and slightly shorter (by three inches) than the previous version. And contrary to rumor, you can get it with a two-speed transfer case. Available in both rear- and all-wheel drive and in four trim levels (base-level Express, volume-leading Crew, Hemi-standard R/T, and high-zoot Citadel), the new Durango should've already arrived at your dealer showroom by the time you read this.

Regular readers of this magazine will recall last month's issue, in which we presented our 2011 Four Wheeler of the Year award to the all-new Jeep Grand Cherokee. Now, while Jeep's newest version of its upscale SUV is a remarkably refined piece of engineering, with its Terrain Select off-road drive system and Quadra-Lift adjustable air suspension, the other vehicles in the Jeep model line have all seen substantial improvements for 2011 as well. So when our friends at Chrysler invited us recently to fly up to Wyoming to testdrive the entire Jeep line-up for a couple of days, we begrudgingly accepted their offer (Jackson Hole? Who'd ever wanna go there?), and here's some of what we saw.

This was arguably the most politically incorrect concept vehicle on display at this year's North American International Auto Show, held last January in snowy Detroit. Naturally, we loved it.

We love when we have Of The Year tests with such equally matched competitors, as was the case with this year's test. Going into the competition, there was no clear favorite in the minds of the staff. Each of these vehicles has won our Four Wheeler of the Year test with a previous iteration, making this one of the most closely matched shootouts in recent memory.

While this year's Four Wheeler Pickup Truck of the Year competition might remind some of a favorite move franchise that offers a predictable plot with an inevitable ending, we take nothing for granted and put all of the vehicles through the gauntlet. And even though this flick might seem like it has an ending that can be seen a mile away, there is an exciting subplot in this "upteenquel" that had all of our editors wondering who came out the hero's sidekick in the end.

We weren't surprised when Land Rover chose Telluride, Colorado, as the location to introduce the 2011 Range Rover and LR4 to the media. After all, Telluride is an affluent mountain town located 8,750 feet above sea level, where luxury SUVs are a standard part of the lofty landscape. Our accommodations were 795 feet above Telluride in Mountain Village, where well-heeled residents tip their glasses in luxury homes and condos as they gaze over the majestic San Juan Mountains.

Having won our 2010 Pickup Truck of the Year competition (Mar. '10), the staff highly anticipated getting our hands on a Ram Power Wagon for our long-term fleet. Our Bright Silver Metallic truck arrived to replace our much-loved '09 Ram TRX4 and gave us an opportunity to sample Ram's light-duty and heavy-duty lineup, back-to-back.

Cursing winter won't make it go any faster. But if you have a Polaris RMK Assault 155 snowmobile, there's a good chance you won't be wishing winter away.

Hang on to your lug nuts because Ford has unveiled four new powerplants for the 2011 F-150. This is a pretty big deal because it's the most extensive powertrain makeover in the truck's 62-year history. In addition, Ford says that these new engines make the 2011 F-150 up to 20 percent more fuel-efficient than the 2010 F-150. So, say goodbye to the two- and three-valve 4.6L and 5.4L V-8s because they're sailing off into the sunset. Say hello to the new hotness; the 3.7L V-6, 5.0L V-8, 6.2L V-8, and 3.5L EcoBoost V-6. How hot are they? We had a chance to drive all of them in Texas recently, and here's the lowdown.

Ranchers, hunters and those who actually need an ATV to get work done in the great outdoors have long favored Yamaha's Grizzly product line. In fact, the Grizzly 450 is the best-selling model in the utility ATV class today. Popularity aside, the previous-generation Grizzly 450 left engineers ample room for improvement, or so it seems based on the plethora of upgrades found on the new 2011 model.