Ground Clearance Isn't Wading Depth: The Nissan Patrol Sits 39mm Higher Than a Ranger and Wades 100mm Less

Spec sheets invite you to read one big number and feel reassured. On a 4x4 that is a genuinely expensive habit, because the numbers measure different things and — as our own data shows — they do not move together.

We keep capability figures for 17 serious 4x4 pickups and off-road SUVs. Ranked side by side, the disconnect is obvious:

The Nissan Patrol has 273 mm of ground clearance to the Ford Ranger’s 234 mm — it sits 39 mm higher. It also quotes 100 mm less wading depth.

If you were choosing a flood vehicle on ride height, you would choose wrong.

The three numbers, ranked

Model	Ground clearance	Wading depth	Approach / departure
Land Rover Defender 110	291 mm	900 mm	38° / 40°
Ford Ranger Raptor	272 mm	850 mm	32° / 24°
Jeep Wrangler Rubicon	274 mm	800 mm	44° / 37°
Isuzu D-Max	240 mm	800 mm	30° / 24°
Isuzu mu-X	235 mm	800 mm	30° / 25°
Ford Ranger	234 mm	800 mm	30° / 26°
Ford Everest	226 mm	800 mm	30° / 25°
Toyota Land Cruiser 300	235 mm	700 mm	32° / 25°
Nissan Patrol	273 mm	700 mm	34° / 23°
Toyota Fortuner	225 mm	700 mm	29° / 25°
GWM Tank 300	224 mm	700 mm	33° / 34°
Mitsubishi Triton	222 mm	700 mm	30° / 23°
Toyota Land Cruiser Prado	221 mm	700 mm	31° / 17°
Mitsubishi Montero Sport	218 mm	700 mm	30° / 24°
Toyota Hilux	216 mm	700 mm	29° / 26°
Nissan Navara	228 mm	600 mm	32° / 27°
Suzuki Jimny	210 mm	300 mm	37° / 49°

Sorted by wading depth, then clearance. Figures are the manufacturer’s quoted numbers for a named flagship 4x4 variant and vary by trim and market.

What each number is actually measuring

Ground clearance is the gap under the lowest fixed point of the chassis. It tells you what you can drive over — a rock, a rut, a kerb — without grounding out. It is the number most people quote and the one that matters least in a flood.

Wading depth is limited by something else entirely: the height of the air intake, and how well the electrical connectors, differential breathers and door seals are sealed. A manufacturer can raise a vehicle without moving the intake, which is exactly why clearance and wading come apart in the table above. Water reaching an air intake causes hydrolock — water does not compress, the piston cannot complete its stroke, and the engine destroys itself in a moment. That is an engine rebuild, not a repair.

Approach and departure angles are governed mostly by overhang — how far the body sticks out past the wheels. Short overhangs beat expensive suspension every time, which is why a ₱1,300,000 (~$21,300) Suzuki Jimny posts a 49° departure angle that nothing else here comes close to, and why the Land Cruiser Prado’s long rear overhang leaves it at just 17° — the lowest in our set, on a vehicle costing several times more.

(At ≈₱61 = US$1; PH SRPs are approximate and move often.)

The three findings that surprise people

1. The Jimny is the best and the worst vehicle here, depending on the column. Best departure angle of anything we track by a wide margin (49°), best approach after the Wrangler (37°) — and the worst wading depth by 300 mm. It will thread through tight technical terrain that stops a Ranger dead, and it should not be taken near floodwater. Two facts, same vehicle, both true.

2. Clearance and wading are close to uncorrelated — with one instructive exception. The Wrangler (274 mm / 800 mm) and the Patrol (273 mm / 700 mm) are within a millimetre on ride height and 100 mm apart on water. The Ranger sits 40 mm lower than either and matches the Wrangler on wading. The exception is the Land Rover Defender, which tops both columns at once — and the reason proves the rule rather than breaking it. Its air suspension raises the whole body for off-road driving, which lifts the chassis and the air intake together. On a fixed-height vehicle those two are set independently, which is exactly why they drift apart everywhere else in the table.

3. Price buys refinement, not always geometry. The Prado’s 17° departure angle is beaten by every pickup in the table, including the cheapest. That is not a flaw — it is a design choice favouring cabin length and on-road manners — but it is the sort of thing a spec sheet lets you discover only if you read past the headline.

In a Philippine flood, discount every one of these

Quoted wading depth is a laboratory figure, measured in still water at a controlled speed. Real flooding is not that:

• Moving water builds a bow wave in front of the vehicle that rides considerably higher than the static depth. Drive faster and you raise it further — into your own intake.
• You cannot see the road surface. Open manholes, missing drain covers and washed-out sections are invisible under brown water. A wheel dropping into one drops the whole vehicle well past its rated depth instantly.
• Water gets in besides the intake. Door seals, cabin carpets, electrical connectors and the differential breathers all take water long before the engine does. A car that “made it through” can still cost a fortune in electrical faults and mould.
• Salt water is worse than fresh, and coastal flooding is common here.

The rule that keeps engines alive: go slowly, keep a steady bow wave, do not stop, and do not follow a bigger vehicle closely — their wake is your problem. If the water is above the bottom of the doors on the car ahead, turn around.

And if you do go through, there is an after-care checklist that matters as much as the crossing itself — see flood wading and post-crossing car care.

One more spec that is quietly missing from the table

Nothing above tells you whether the vehicle can put its power down. That is the job of low range and differential locks — and on those, our 15 models are far more uniform: every one has a dual-range transfer case, and 14 of the 15 have at least a rear diff lock. We covered that split, and why it is the real dividing line against an AWD crossover, in 4x4 vs AWD vs 4WD explained.

Where to go next

• Compare all 17 4x4s — sort by clearance, wading, towing or power yourself
• Isuzu mu-X vs Ford Everest — two 800 mm waders, very different vehicles
• Suzuki Jimny vs Jeep Wrangler Rubicon — where the Jimny’s 300 mm limit really bites
• Toyota Fortuner vs Isuzu mu-X — a 100 mm wading difference in the seven-seat class
• Your first 4x4: a beginner’s guide — if you are still choosing, this is where the numbers above turn into a shortlist
• Rainy season car care in the Philippines
• Nine months of diesel on one Montero Sport — what a 4x4 actually costs to feed in mountain provinces

After any deep crossing, the differential and transfer-case oils want checking for water contamination — the kind of job nothing reminds you about until it is expensive. Kotselog keeps that on a schedule alongside your registration and insurance. Open the app.

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All capability figures are from our own maintained dataset, web-verified 2024–2026 and cited per model on each 4x4 detail page. They are manufacturer-quoted numbers for a named flagship 4x4 variant and vary by trim and market — a lower trim of the same model may differ. Quoted wading depth is a maximum under controlled conditions, not a guarantee in floodwater.

Frequently asked questions

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