I don't mean to lessen the importance of a well built 4x4 but I bet I've put more truly off-road miles on my honda accord than most people do on their 4x4's. The only two limitations, I couldn't go fast and I couldn't cross even moderate streams. In my opinion, how you drive is a lot more important than what you dive. Having said that, with a nice 4x4 nothing is funner than being able to go "through" something rather than having to go "around" it.