Unfortunatly they are making SUV's designed for what the majority of people want, a tall or big car. Its difficult to find a decent one anyomre.
Stay away from AWD, its too unpredictable in anything but a light rain, the system that transfers power from one end to the other gets confused when you start going off the pavement.
Your best bet is to stick with a basic truck/frame based vehicle with a real transfer case with low range. Somthing like a quad cab small/midsized/full size truck for example. You still get close to the same gas milage as one of the toy SUV's but get far more capability.

Not necessarily, certain vehicles can only take so much abuse. A car or car based SUV, even with an AWD system (which, just because it says it's AWD doesn't actually mean you are using all four wheels), simply wont have the ground clearance or ability to tackle some off-road or even on-road situations.

Case in point, I hit a pot-hole at 25mph in my old Mazda and it was enough to wack the rear end out of alignment and bend the lower wishbone (which later caused my rear end to fail sending me sideways into a tree). With more ground clearance and a solid axel it wouldn't have caused any damage.

My cousin in her AWD Audi had to make a sharp turn to avoid hitting a deer and ended up running over a block curb. This ripped out the oil pan and filter, seizing her engine. Again, with some more ground clearance or good skid-pans it could have been avoided.

Neither of those are major off-road events, both (or a similar variation) could be easily encountered in a bug out situation. Like some have mentioned, having to drive over fallen trees, having to go over a curb to get around a stalled car, ect. I'd rather have a vehicle that I know can handle certain situations, than one I will have to pray it will. I'm not talking about driving around a rock crawling rig with beadlock tires, but there are certain factory features that would be desirable.

For example, most people don’t know that, without limited-slip or locking differentials, generally your AWD vehicle is only running around in 2WD (one front wheels and one back wheel gets power), but they call it AWD because any one of the four wheels could be the one getting power. In normal driving this is fine as it allows for better handling and generally it works fine to get traction in rain/snow. However, four wheels with power is better than only two wheels with power when there is a possibility of getting stuck.

Also, without a low range center differential it can be impossible to get up certain hills. Trying to do so could destroy your engine and transmission, or just get you stuck on the side of a hill.

It’s kind of a safety and comfort thing. A butter knife and a DR RSK are both knives, but the RSK is designed to handle situations the butter knife is not. You might be able to get away with using the butter knife for a long time, but all it takes is one situation where is doesn’t work to cause major problems. Deciding to take the butter knife instead of the RSK is a risk.

It’s always up to the individual to decide how much risk they want to take, choosing your tools wisely is part of that decision (which is why a lot of us on here are such gear-freaks).

I'll second the Jeep liberty. Or if you're looking for a used vehicle, I would consider the Jeep Cherokee or an older Grand Cherokee. The great thing about Jeeps are they're quite capable on and off road stock. They have a fair amount of ground clearance, but as mentioned before, they are probably the easiest vehicle to find lift kits and parts for. To solve the poor gas mileage during a bug out, simply buy a roof rack and toss a jerry can on it

"... The one major drawback is gas mileage; mine gets about 128 MPG."

WOW! My little car gets 30, and I thought that was fair... and you think 128 is low? Um... what do you consider good?

Sue

I think he lost a decimal point. Try multiplying that by 10^-1? Maybe ^-2?

As far as I am concerned, there is only one true Survival SUV, and it is the next vehicle I intend to purchase. It is an International CXT, or as an alternative the International MXT Limited. If these won't do the job, then you need a tank or a D-9. Anything less is just a car.

Of course, I wouldn't mind having one of those rigs from "Damnation Alley" either. There would have to be some upgrades though.

Sweet, and it's only costs a $100,000...Wait a minute, give me $70,000 to invest into my Jeep and we'll see which is more capable

Hehe, I've got a 1960's Cat D6 bulldozer that I always thought would make the perfect bug out vehicle. It will go anywhere (including over cars and trucks), pull darn near anything, and the old non-turbo I6 diesel will run on just about any fluid you put in the tank. Plus it's such a simple design you can fix it with stuff you find laying in the road. Only problem is it's bright yellow and it wont go faster than about 20mph.

Just for discussion's sake, here are pics of my Xterra and a buddy's Escalade loaded out for post-katrina Mississippi. You won't have all the radio gear, but this'll make you think about that it'll look like loaded. The back seat is down, so the entire back deck is used.
Leaving for Mississippi

Steve's truck on-site. Note the raised platform with bottled water underneath it.
Steve's truck

I'm strongly considering one of the Silverado Hybrids for my next truck. It'll be several years yet, so we can see how fuel efficiency develops.

Yeah, I changed my post, 18, not 128. And, as far as lift kits go: I put in a little budget boost, 2", in 1.5 hrs. I am not a mechanic, by any means, but it was easy as pie. With 31" tires on it, I am confident I can clear curbs and road debris with ease. I still have AT tires on there, which arent the best, but they do. A MUST for a Jeep, or any off road vehicle, is a self-recovery kit. A hi-lift jack, a couple of towstraps, and some clevises, will get you unstuck fairly easily. I have a gas can & water can kicking around somewhere that, eventually, I will find a spot on my jeep for. Right now, I am saving up for a good bumper