Despite the popularity of off-road marques like Hummer, Jeep and Land Rover, it is common knowledge that few owners ever venture off the highway, let alone stretch the capabilities of their vehicles.

But if you want to get a taste of what some of them can do, there are test tracks available at a number of local dealerships —and once you’ve driven up a 60-degree hill, you don’t really come down again.

The star is the Hummer track at Hurd Auto Mall on Hartford Avenue in Johnston that was opened earlier this year. President Chris Hurd said he spent $150,000 to create the 500-foot track with a host of GM-specified obstacles including a two-foot gully, 16-inch rock “steps” and that 60-degree hill.

Meanwhile, at Jake Kaplan’s Land Rover dealership on Bald Hill Road in Warwick, salesman John Vallante drove me through the ups and downs of their smaller track. Indeed, Land Rover’s track may just be a very steep hill, gully and deep, reverse-angled curve, but it certainly provides proof of the vehicle’s capability – although, as he noted, “You can flip any car if you don’t drive it right.”

Vallante said he enjoyed taking customers on the track for the first time because they were usually taken aback by the angles the vehicles can hold.

“It’s a kick, believe me,” he said as he maneuvered an LR2 SE up the hill. “Usually the guy in the front is saying: ‘Oh my God, we’re up here,’ and his wife in the back has said a word she is not supposed to say in front of the kids and is apologizing.”

Hurd’s track is more extensive and more aggressive. A total of eight components line the rough concrete track, starting with a 40-degree side slope, the two-foot-deep gully that at one point has one of the back wheels two feet off the ground, a series of one-foot moguls, a loose-rock river bed leading into a two-foot V-ditch, which directly fronts the 60-degree hill.

“I always say this is the most fun you can have at 5 miles an hour,” said Hummer sales manager Derrek Sanger, who was directing my ride in an H3 from the passenger seat.

Going up the hills at both dealerships was unnerving, but the Hurd one especially so. Even though I was driving, I practically closed my eyes – which hardly made any difference because at that angle all you are looking at is the sky anyway.

And while the track surface is rough concrete, which provides maximum traction, the angle is well within the vehicle’s safety margins. The same goes for the Land Rover track, and while both Sanger and Vallante acknowledged their companies would not endanger prospective customers, they were not prepared to say how far the vehicles can be taken.

Finally the H3 reached the top and tipped forward, only to take a 23-degree angled turn down the hill. That was followed by 16-inch rocks steps, a series of logs and a set of rollers designed to spin three of the wheels to demonstrate that the H3 can still move forward with only one wheel getting traction.

While Land Rover’s short test track is uniform at every dealership, Hurd said Hummer tracks can vary, with GM specifying at least three of its eight suggested obstacles.

Indeed, unlike Land Rover, not every Hummer dealership has a test track, according to Hummer spokesman Nick Richards. “We encourage everyone to put them in because they provide an impressive way to show the customer what the vehicle can do, but not every dealership has enough space, especially in urban areas,” he said from his office in Detroit.

Hurd Auto Mall has gone the full distance by putting in all optional obstacles and then having the entire track landscaped.

Hurd added that he owns a sliver of land beyond the track and is thinking of extending it “over the river and through the woods.”

While all Land Rover and many Hummer dealerships have tracks, Jeep dealerships do not. Wags at Jeep claim they have nothing to prove, as Jeeps have been driven off-road starting in WWII. Indeed, the original Land Rovers (1946) were based on the WWII Willys Jeep.

However, most Jeep dealerships have at least one vehicle set on a steep-angled stand at the entrance to the lot.

Land Rovers and Hummers have special driving settings to allow them to navigate extreme off-road conditions.

The L2 has four pre-set driving modes: General for everyday road use; Grass/Gravel/Snow to maximize traction on firm but slippery surfaces; Mud & Rut for soft, wet ground, and Sand for sand or loose dirt. (The L3 has an additional Rock Crawl setting.)

Vallante set the LR2 on Mud & Rut mode, which has a hill-descent feature that automatically applies the brakes to control speed and maximize traction. “All four wheels can do the braking,” Vallante said, noting at one point that one of the back wheels was off the ground.

“It’s the safety factor – you’re never going to do that with this car,” he said. “But [the customers] know it can do that and that sells the car, especially with all the family.”

While safety is a factor for the Hummer, Sanger added that a major selling point was “the aggressive look.”

The H3 has three main settings: 4-High for everyday road use; 4-High Lock for most off-road use, such as mud or sand; and 4-Low Lock for severe off-road conditions that demand high torque to all four wheels. Sanger set the vehicles on the 4-Low Lock setting and put the vehicle in Drive 2 to allow for maximum torque.

Sanger said 10 percent to 15 percent of Hummer owners go off road. Land Rover owners appear to be more urbane, as Vallante said he thought less than 5 percent go off road.

But both dealerships organize off-road events about four times a year to let owners fully experience going off road – similar to owners taking their Porsches to Lime Rock race track and driving them at speeds they cannot do legally on the highway.

Jeep organizes elaborate annual get-togethers, with the latest three-day “Camp Jeep” held in the Blue Ridge Mountains in Virginia in late July. The camps offer a mixture of off-roading and family outdoor activities.

“Part of it is getting a group of owners together,” said Hummer’s Richards. “It’s a lifestyle thing.”

Sanger said Hurd had recently hosted a Hummer Happening in Jaffrey, N.H., where 12 owners took their trucks to a 330-acre tract of land with a trail designed for off-road play.

The event lasted a weekend with the dealership paying for everything except lodging. “We bring our technicians with us,” said Hurd. “It’s an off-road adventure that gives the customers a taste for off-road driving.”

Land Rover has similar events, but they involve more vehicles. “We have dealership events,” said Vallante, noting that the latest involved about 100 vehicles. He said the event lasts one day and the location, with man-made obstacles, is within striking distance of both the Warwick and the Norwood, Mass., Kaplan dealerships.

“We go up and back on Sunday,” he said, adding that, like Hummer, the dealership provides technicians who provide technical support.

“We drive around, supply the lunch and there are raffles for the kids,” he said. “It’s a fun thing.”

pelsworth@projo.com