When it comes to gravel roads, rocky forest service roads, and drivable double track I think the superstition about Jeeps, Land Rovers, and some otherwise decent vehicles is just a bit over the top. We can't believe everything we hear in the marketing spin.
And it is worth noting that in the trip mentioned above featuring Land Rovers that Land Rover probably paid big advertising bucks to help sponsor the event.
Anyway, on two different occasions (June 2004, and July 2010) I've spent considerable time in and around Westcliffe, CO. On any given day people out there are riding the mountain roads in every conceivable type of vehicle - some 4x4, and others 2x4; some in nicely outfitted trucks and others in aging but reliable old cars. (I don't recall the exact location at the moment, but the TAT crosses/intersects the CDT (Continental Divide Trail) somewhere in the vicinity of Westcliffe.)
On one occasion in June 2004 a woman in a Suzuki Samurai passed us and waved at the top of Tincup Pass. We were picking our way through baby-head sized boulders and she was probably doing 20 mph. As she passed she looked at me like I was an idiot.
My friend who lives there looked at me and said "They all drive that way out here."
The Samurai bumping over the hill had street looking tires on it.
In 1998 I spent the second week of June in Salt Lake City and used my rental car to explore the mountains between Park City and Wyoming. At 5,000 feet the sun was shining, at 6,000 it was raining, at 8,000 it was sleeting, and when I crossed the mountain at 8,500 feet there was 4' of snow on the ground.
My point is that with elevation and ground surface considered, rain and snow can radically alter the passibility of any dirt route in a matter of minutes. And as a caveat I'll note that sand changes the equation drastically. Street tires in sand would be a disaster.
That aside, on a dry summer day my basically stock Ranger 4x4 with street tires would take me back to any place I drove in 2004 and 2010.
With those things considered the spin about Land Rover being the only suitable vehicle is malarkey.