When in Costa Rica, we ALWAYS go off the pavement. Most of this beautiful country is still accessible only by dirt.
Personally, I consider this a good thing. I don't think rapid development ever goes well for the land or the locals. So while traveling among the Ticos, I'm never without a four-wheel drive vehicle and
over the years, I've learned that not all 4X4s are created equal...
Let's start with the Nissan XTrail. This one looked good, but had a little trouble heading up the hill to Tiki Villas in Dominical and bottomed out regularly on the road to Boruca, so I can't say I'd try to rent another.
Now consider the Toyota Fortuner.
We've rented that model twice now, and it has scaled in two-wheel what some others cannot achieve in four. I call this one a winner. It also has guts. For those of you who've suffered long stretches of time behind a truck doing 20 km/hr on the Intramericana, when you finally get a chance to pass, low clouds and opposing traffic require to you to move your ass...
| For this reason, I cannot fully recommend the Mitsubishi Montero. It handled the road to Boruca alright, but had a hard time getting out of it's own way in the passing lane on the highway. |  |
We also spent quality time with a Mitsubishi Nativa. We were happy with both the highway and off-road performance, taking the totally muddy road to Nauyaca Falls without breaking a sweat. This one was another winner.
| And then, there was the dear little Suzuki Ignis... sure, it had four-wheel drive, but it failed miserably on the higher, unpaved portion of the road up San Miguel Arriba in Grecia (we walked). I may as well have just rented a Mini. |
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The smaller vehicles did not perform nearly as well as the larger ones, though you will clearly take a hit on fuel economy.
