Tacoma TRD Pro Cost $65,395

Valid point on the 4 Banger they’re putting in everything now.

 

still comparing apples to oranges.

if someone is looking at a palisade (highlander) or santa fe (rav4), you wouldnt be comparing a bof to all those unibody's

 

A lot of people ask me what car to buy, and want a 4Runner because they want awd and they prefer to be up high. They could care less about body on frame, off-roading, or any of the stuff that enthusiasts think are important. I just talked my daughter in law out of a new 4Runner because what they need is a Subaru or a Rav4. My son has the Tacoma that he uses for hunting, but they just needed a family car, or similar suv.

So, yeah, people do cross-shop the 4Runner with other, less off-road focused SUVs. In fact, for most people, the 4Runner is usually not the best fit. People buy what they buy for emotional not logical reasons.

 

Why? I see no benefit in the 4Runner being body on frame for anything we do with it. If anything the frame is a negative as it’s a headache to keep it from rusting away. I just had to reapply some surface shield when changing the oil yesterday. It’s a rusty mess under the skid plates.

 

only reason i go the 4R route is i need the ft 4wd system in the limited. the awd on the unibody models just doesnt suit my needs for wintertime in nd for getting to work. on occasion i go fishing where i might need it, but i have yet to use 4L in 11yrs for actual real world use (not including engagement to keep the system lubed).

the awd systems of toyota dont let you keep the diff locked above 30 mph (remember it will disengage at 30mph speedo reading not actual distance travelled)

i have seriously looked at getting a grand highlander cause i really dont need a 4R except for the 4wd setup on the 4R and i probably could get by with the grand highlander awd setup with compromises though.

 

I'm not entirely sure Kia has figured out the whole automotive thing. The majority of their vehicles are train wrecks once they get to six-figure mileage. Like Chrysler Corp. back in the day, Kia offers that huge warranty because they need to based on their reliability record...or lack of a reliability record.

 

The fist 3 generations of the 4Runner had a 4 banger (and even the 4th gen and part of 5th outside US) ... just sayin'

 

If snow is your main concern then get a Subaru. They are by far the best vehicles for driving in the snow.

 

I have had 2 Hyundai's. A 2009 Sonata Diesel and a 2007 Santa Fe. I also had a 2008 Toyota Camry.
My Sonata had 175000 miles before we sold it. My Camry had 161000 miles before we sold it.
The Sonata was as if not more reliable as the Camry and we spent equal on both cars' upkeep over the years.
My 2007 Santa Fe has been more reliable than my 2011 4runner. I think I had close to 220000 miles on before it was sent to our country home.We did not sell it and it is probably still running somewhere by someone.
The Koreans are at the same level as Japanese when it comes to vehicle building in today's time.
Look at the Genesis. No everyday brand has managed to capture the luxury end of the market dominated by the Germans in such a short time. Lexus has been trying it for decades.
It's literally a Hyundai with fancy drapes but I know at least 3 people that could have picked up the S class but bought the G90.
I like Toyota, they make fuss free cars, but they are not completely invincible when it comes to realibility and that's okay. I would gladly spend money to upkeep my Toyota than a German.

 

I'm glad you had a good experience, I've looked at a late-00's Borrego and Sorento myself but sadly the sharp styling, engine issues and anti-theft feature removal (plus who knows what else) all hit at once at the 2011MY heralded by the handsome new Optima and Sonata then.

 

i did have a 3.6R legacy. but after that i stayed clear of subu's since all models went cvt now (except sti's).

i prefer not to go cvt route if i can avoid.

 

I thought the 3.6R was a fine engine...better than the current Subaru offering.

My wife and I got burned by the Nissan CVT. That was our one and only experiment with that type of transmission.

 

Sounds like a Kia / Hyundai salesman is infiltrating? Lol

Completely different cars and feel. One doesn’t have to do serious off roading to want a 4Runner. If one must simply want a truck feeling, that alone is sufficient.
If one wants beyond proven reliability, that’s good enough to want a 4Runner. And I don’t care how many hundreds of thousands of miles a warranty a Kia has, it’s only valid if they honor it, it’s still a huge waste of your time to keep your car on the shop, and those cars are just crap compared to a 4Runner as it pertains to reliability. They’re also crossovers, not everyone wants that. Not everyone wants to look like a mom going to soccer, so that’s also a valid reason to own a 4Runner.

 

i loved that 3.6R, locked the diff + snow = smiles

but after i decided to look for something different (newer) i went back to a 4R in 2014 (3.6R was a 2010)

 

But 99% of 4Runner drivers I see are moms going to soccer or baseball.
I agree with you on the reliability of the 5th gen. It’s got to be one of the best if not the best vehicles you can currently buy in terms of reliability. I’m pretty skeptical about the 6th gen though.

 

yeah the engine is great in the 5th gen, but man its a complete slug when its under 3500-4000 rpm. it cant get out of its own way fast enough unless you mash the pedal to the floor.

i look forward to the new hv engine myself. and as long as it sits around 1800-2100 rpm for highway cruising, i will be happy since thats usually the sweet spot for mpg in most toyota models (ideal cruising speed)

not 55mph where you get your best mpg in real testing.

 

That’s being very kind….the engine was/is a disaster.

 

I have no problem passing, accelerating or moving around with the 4Runner at all. What you’re referring to isn’t a problem of the engine, is the transmission gearing.

That said, it’s a matter of getting used to how to drive it. I can easily anticipate circumstances that are tougher to the car, and use the manual shift gate proactively to overcome that before it’s an issue in the highway.

I enjoy the car making me work for the reward.

 

Hopefully it wasn’t a eco diesel.

 

I don’t notice ours being underpowered. It’s definitely slower that the Forester XT that it replaced. It cruises at 80-85mph pretty effortlessly. I rarely rev it over 3K either but I’m not racing from stop light to stop light.

 

lol each person is different. i personally dont feel i need to work for my vehicle. if that was the case, i would have bought a manual. also on trips, trying to plan a pass 10-15 sec in the future in a busy city interstate is not what i call stress free driving.

ive gotten use to the 4R limitations, but it still doesnt help it needs help in this day and age with that 5th gen trans. and most people will agree, when you constantly have to mash the pedal to get that thing to merge or anything (especially in big city driving) its tiresome.

i am lucky since i live in ND and the worst traffic i get is driving to work/home on a divided 4 lane at 70 mph (2 lanes each side). city wise, the highest mph is 40 since we only have like 7 miles one end of town to the other (longest distance)

when i visit ATL or other big cities, its a chore at times to get to traffic flow

 

You should be fine with any FWD or AWD vehicle on the market with dedicated snow tires.

 

true. but our town elevation is stupid. 70-80% of the town is NOT flat. so majority of your time is trying to go up an incline during winter at stop lights/signs which means iced over intersections due to exhausts dripping water onto the ground and freezing.

fwd/awd will get you going but a center lock diff helps a lot from a stand still.

the center of town is in a valley going east/west about a mile wide, then its uphill (north/south) on either side for about 2-3 miles from the center of the valley.

funny photo during one winter, you get the gist of the idea and this road goes up for about 1/3 mile. there is a stoplight at the bottom of the hill and then another stoplight about 500 ft up the hill from that light. makes for interesting navigating during winter trying to get momentum going up. and its like this all over town to varying degree's

 

You need the locker for ice an snow? The center on the full time 4WD versions is already a Torsen limited slip + in 4H you traction control that will try to slow the spinning wheels. If that's not enough to get you going on paved roads maybe time to wait for the plows to go by....

My wife's car is a Honda Pilot and I have a set of Michelin Cross climates on it. Other than driving though a foot of unplowed powder it basically will drive circles around my part time 4WD 4Runner in winter street driving...

 

i am talking about iced intersections where you have to start from a stopped light/sign and its iced under your wheels.

you will be surprised how many awd (and some never even get 10ft during a green light) and even 4wd trucks just slowly move from a stop intersection and its iced.

you have to take into account they are trying to go up and incline on top of this.

 

Nah, I would not be surprised at all. People think bald all seasons are fine because they have AWD. See it around here all the time. Most common vehicle you see in a ditch in a snowstorm is a 4wd truck or Jeep.

In the end, the two most important things are tires and driver. I know I can get where I am going in my 4runner and it only has part time 4wd...but I'd take a Subaru with snow tires over my 4Runner in ice.

 

FWD? That’ll get someone to believe 4WD/AWD is underrated, and get stuck in snow. But to each their own.

I’ve gotten stuck with FWD and it’s not fun.

 

$42K for a SR5 seems like an ok price.

 

I’d take front wheel drive with snow tires over 4WD with crap tires any day.

 

yeah reason i start looking for replacements at 1/4 tread life. but ND winters pretty much dictate true tire lifespan due to traction, not longevity.

yeah i remember that happening to me. had a mazda protege and got sucked into a field during spring slush season. also had a hyundai sonata that i couldnt get up the drive way with the ice and the incline of the driveway

i dont use snow tires in the winter up here. just 30+ years of driving in the winters up here have given me a lot of experience to navigate w/o them (i first learn to drive in winters up here in ND with a rwd cressida for a few years, that was fun, not). if its to the point i need them, i just turn around and go back home and take a pto day (i have the luxury of being USAF civil service so i have plety of pto i earn each year).

plus getting good tires with decent tread depth and making sure i dont neglect them make for easy travels to/from work.

drive to the tires and road condition. right now my tires are not ideal so i drive way more conservative vs the tires i had on before. but had to get rid of them since they became dangerous with only about 1/4 tread left. (i took the old 2018 tundra oem tires and put them on the 4runner last summer, we swapped the 2018 tundra oem for duratracs after about 500 miles)