What to upgrade on Ford Escape?

Probably a silly question, but what can I do to my 2012 ford escape xls manual to get better performance for light off road. Just moved to Colorado and looking to do a lot of camping and just adventuring around in mountains on light trails. Was thinking of buying a cheap 4x4 but probably not going to afford two cars till my wife starts working and get some debt paid off. Would it be a good idea to upgrade ignition coils, turbo charger, cold air intake? Anything to know would help and some cost associated.

If you want to do what the Natives do, Coil Over Shocks and Skid Plates. And bigger, chunkier Tires. The downside to those is that they're noisy on the highway. But you don't need Mudders, but you can't use All Season Hiway tires either. You can, but you won't get very far off the road. That's all you need for Light Offroading. And most people have a Tow Strap and Rope too.

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If this is your only vehicle I'm not sure I would be using it offroad on any trail that would need you to modify it. But if you do I agree that money spent on the suspension would be your best bet.

Better make sure you check the rubber brake lines that run to the rear calipers. Ford didn't make them long enough and I've replaced quite a few of them. They fray at the rubber hose where it attaches to the metal brake line and when they rupture you lose your brakes. You can do a visual inspection by looking over the top of the tire to see them. They rupture from just putting the vehicle up on a lift so I'm sure off roading will really stress them.

Keep it simple! Spraying the country side with the debris from on the road/ground all over the place is just hard on the drive train.
I will stick with the oldest advice I was given on performance up-grades for a vehicle:
Up-grade the driver!
Keep in mind often the fastest driver is not the loudest driver. In the case of "light off road" the issue becomes even more paramount. Getting all the way there and all the way back takes expertise. A lot of places you think you need a 4 WD for can be reached by skilled driver with a two wheel drive vehicle. More then likely I could get there in a 72 stock Corolla, but some one hot-dogging it with your vehicle will end up needing a tow truck or at least a wench before they can get there and back.
Save the money and learn how to pick the route that gets you in and out with out getting stuck.