If you want to climb every mountain and ford every stream, a proper rough-and-tumble vehicle is exactly what you need.

The best 4x4s and off-roaders are genuinely capable, mud-plugging machines designed to tackle terrain that would make a mountain goat think twice. 

But which is the best?  The choices for the 4x4 class aren't straightforward, because some prioritise off-road performance above all else and others are the consummate all-rounders, as happy bouncing over boulders as they are tearing along asphalt.

And that's before you start getting bogged down (metaphorically, not literally) in the details about breakover angles, wading depths and axle articulation, not to mention locking differentials and low-range gear ratios.

In our eyes, there's no better car for the job than the Land Rover Defender, which tackles off-road driving with genuine ease and with you in relative comfort.

Yet whatever your off-roading wants or needs, there's something in our top 10 topography-tamers that should suit your requirements and budget.