Is IFS really that inferior to a solid axle when it comes to off road?

[TRDTom]

We have heard it a million times. Solid axles are better than IFS when it comes to off roading. How true is this and how big is the difference? Has anyone here had experience with both?

 

[F150Andrew]

The main difference is when the trail gets really tough. The articulation on the solid axle will make all the difference. Also, they can handle a bit more bashing around before stuff start to break. For most situation they will be pretty similar. However, ig you want to hit the really tough trails the solid axle will have the upper hand

 

[Crawler80]

Sadly they are. They brake CVs do not flex well and can easily bend steering arms. You need to drop a lot of money into an IFS setup to make it work in the really tough trails. A solid axles can work insanely well with a few simple upgrades

 

[Harry May]

They are still very capable but again, on the rough stuff they struggle. There are companies that build them up which does make them very capable but you need a lot of money to do that