Well, I had to go up before going down.... In fact, this portion of the trail was very easy. Unfortunately, I was having too much fun to remember to pull out the camera earlier. By the time we were here (in the pic) we were headed out of the humbug area (AZ). This was my last chance to get a good pic but it doesn’t really do the Nitro any justice. The fact is, the Nitro handled very well climbing, going through holes and over rocks and I was VERY satisfied with the off-road performance.
With that said, I had a dodge 2500 4x4 before getting the Nitro and I'm sure that the Nitro would NOT do as well as the truck in SOME 4LO situations. That's ONLY because it doesn't have 4LO. Make no mistake, however, mechanically and suspension wise, Its ALL JEEP. If it did have 4LO, IMHO, it would rival the jeeps in its class (which is why DC didn't put a 4LO in the Nitro).
Even without 4LO it handles some situations better than my truck because of the size, approach angle (with lift) and Maneuverability. These qualities eliminate the need (in some cases) for 4LO. Big trucks sometimes have to go though an entire obstacles where the Nitro is simply agile enough to skirt them and make it’s own way or is small enough to lessen the severity of the obstacle. For example, my brother’s F150 couldn’t make some obstacles, that the Nitro could, because it was too long and scraped the bumper and undercarriage (even at an angle).
Is it a Jeep Rubicon with a lift and lockers…of course not. If I were into off-roading just for off-roading sake, I’d have that Jeep. However, the Nitro gets me to my fishing hole or camp site and back and that’s what I really care about.