The reality is that we are talking about used 4Runners here as one would have to purchase a Lexus to get the V8 in the Prado/Hilux/4Runner platform today.

I may be in a unique position because I ordered and waited 6 months to get my V8 4Runner from one of the two Japanese assembly lines.

If the 5th generation of 4Runner appealed more, I'd switch. Thing is that I like the V8. Slow revving and quiet with gobs of torque. If the Lexus had opening rear window and no stupid 3rd row seat, maybe then.

As for bird watching.... it's great fun. Try it.

Cool birds on the Rubicon Trail.



Great bird watching in Moab too.



All sorts of birds in the Ozarks too.

What will be interesting is whether Toyota ditches the body on frame for the 6th generation 4Runner. Many think so, but a local expert says no way because of the rugged reliability Toyota is after for the 3rd World market. When you are in the middle of nowhere you can rely on Toyota to get you to paved roads.

Most here select a PU for their off-road vehicle. Funny because with the very low break-over angle between the huge PU wheelbase prevents going where my 4Runner easily goes. Gigantic PUs just don't fit where I like to go.

A V8 will get less gas mileage than a V6 because of the engine size difference and the number of pistons. While the V8 is closer to the ideal 500cc combustion area size than the V6, it still has more mass to rotate.

For the next 5 years Saudi's say we will have "discounted" gas prices because of their willingness to pump sufficient oil to hold down oil prices. So, during this period gas mileage won't be as important.

If gas mileage is really that important, there will be a whole lot of options coming. Light weight and efficient CUVs to look like you go off-road, without the gas mileage penalty a heavy vehicle offers.

I'm happy with my V6 and have seen as high as 22 - 23 MPG, although that was under pretty ideal conditions. 17 -19 is more common when not pulling a trailer and 15 - 17 is the norm when the trailer is behind me.

Even though I'm not crazy about full time 4wd and its effect on fuel economy, I have to admit I like the fact that it's a simpler 4wd system. No vacuum operated ADD to worry about. Of course, having said that, I've owned 3 Toyotas with vacuum operated ADD, an '04 Taco, a '99 4runner and my current '07 4runner, and the wife's '95 YJ also has a vacuum operated ADD and we've never had problems with any of them.

Permanent 4 wheel drive with the V8 is an excellent distinction between how Toyota configured the V6 and V8.

The ability to disengage the front wheels should provide additional gas mileage.

Depending on the year manufactured, there were a number of differences Toyota used to distinguish the V8 from the V6. Somewhere I have an internal Toyota document where their perspective on the 4Runner are discussed. Maybe I'll look for it.

I found it. 4mb University of Toyota PDF. If you want it PM with email address and I will send the document.

V8, lifted, AT tires: Made hunting trip this weekend, temp around 32, average speed on hwy 75 mph, average mileage for the trip 17.9 mpg; making Chevy with durmax eat my dust while climbing 1.5 mile long hill (6 % grade) priceless!

P.S. I normally do not do things like racing… but to my defense: Idiot in the Chevy had empty 16 Ft trailer and decide to pass me on the right… his diesel screamed as he downshifted next to my truck, but did not pull at all… just a lot of noise… LOL… I put the pressure on the skinny pedal and was about half of mile ahead of him by the time I was on the top of the hill going 95 MPh in the third…. V8 sounded great and pulled like a beast… as I said priceless!

I wish I would record it…

I'm late to this party but...

04' V8 2WD. I'm averaging around 17.5 MPG, with a 50/50 mix of street driving and highway. We live in an area where everybody is either driving 61 MPH on the highways and 32 MPH on the street (mainly Canadian's (eh!) or snow birds) or drives a jacked up F250/350 with 22" chromed wheels and it would be a cold day in hell if they (he... it's always a ****ing he!) will let you merge or exit, so I use all the power the V8 has available. I also tow a few jetski's and quads...

FWIW, I can push near 20 MPG on trips on flat grounds (or steady, gradual climbs) if I keep her near 70 MPH.

My wife drives a '06 SR5 V8 4WD we bought new and now has almost 180,000 mi. The computer says 17.5 MPG, but hand calculated it's 15-16 around town. We get 19-20 hand calculated on the highway on our annual trip to Florida. The 4.7 is a great engine, my '04 Tundra had 345,000 on it when I sold it and I never put a drop of oil in it.

There are many other parameters to consider when determining gas mileage. There are many examples from other manufacturers were a V8 or a bigger V6 replaced a smaller V6 in the same vehicle and the gas mileage improved (sometimes significantly).

What happens is the V6 is too small for the vehicle so when traveling on any type of hill a lower gear must be used. The bigger V6 or V8 has more then enough torque so it can stay in the higher gear(s) for better gas mileage.

I thought I'd chime. I currently have a 2007 4Runner V6 4wd. I just picked up another 2007 4Runner V8 awd for my wife. Same color, year, even same Michelin tires (V8 front tires looked like they should be replaced in a few month), everything lol. We had to drive about 2.5 hrs to go get it. I had spent a couple of hours on this forum and stared at Excel spreadsheet trying to figure out how much more in gas we'd be spending since we have no need for a V8. It just happened to be a rust free and well maintained truck in my rustbelt state. So, on the way back, i thought it would be a great opportunity to test the real difference in mpg. I told me wife to follow me so that it was apples-to-apples driving style as much as possible. We drove 130 miles back. It was all highway. I stayed right at 70 mph. My v6 got 22.5 and her V8 got 20.96. Now, this is hand calculated. Both cars' dash computer was 1.5 - 1.7 mpg optimistic. It's funny, we both filled up our cars right after we bought hers. Then filled up again at our house after 130 mile trip. The difference was $1.10 lol. I am pretty happy! I do have to note, that that's the best mpg i got in my v6 in the past two years. But, the point i am trying to make is the difference between the two was 1.5 mpg on a highway. The difference might be greater during city driving.

If I were concerned about mpg, had no plans to go off-road and didn't need the extra space in the 4runner, I'd look into getting a RAV4.

We tested drove 4.3 Gen Rav4 (2012) and 4.4 Gen (2015). I actually liked 2012 better, because it felt way more solid overall, but interior was extremely boring. 2015 is a big step up in interior IMO, but the one we drove felt flimsy and had a lot of rattles surprisingly. Wife wanted 4Runner lol.

My 2006 V6 2WD gets about 19-20mpg. It's at 155K miles.

It has plenty of power to pass and get up hills. After 4yrs of ownership, I've been very happy with this SUV.