Personally i believe that the 1st gens(esp '95s) are most capable. considering the fact i drive a second and usually go out with my friend who had a 3rd i know they can compete too. but after seeing 1st gens with simple, inexpensice lifts that will go through anything ive been convince they are most capable offroad. the only time the cant compete is when you are doing high speed offroading when that ifs comes into play. i dont see how a 4th gen can be in the running. i have yet to see one in action but they just dont look very offroad-able. im sure that big'ol V8 is a huge plus but unless you have plenty of extra money to put into one i dont think that they could keep on an actual trail.