Do you happen to also own an electric car? Sounds like a case of range anxiety. I think in the scenario your referring to is applicable to about 3% of people, on a full tank 300 miles is pretty much a minimum for me with a V8, lift, tires, a sh*tload of armor and fully packed. In the event you would need to take on more fuel a 5 gallon jerry can adds roughly another 35~ lbs. We are really talking about a small small deviation.

When it comes down to all that if you run out of gas with 375 miles of range thats on you... take a course in navigation and route plotting.

Well... actually they are, sport utility vehicle... its in the name. By simple definition it is a car classification that combines elements of road-going passenger cars with features from off-road vehicles, such as raised ground clearance and four-wheel drive. So with that said... it is purpose built to have great capability than the passenger car. Can it be taken further with mods? Yes, of course.

MOST people don't buy trucks and SUVs to go off roading but they do buy them to have greater cargo capacity, better potential in inclement weather and there in lies that fact that they are purpose built vehicles. The crossover fad in recent years is proof of that.

Exactly this. The 4Runner's original roots were for offroad utility. Toyota stuck with that theme in the rest of the generations which differentiates with other suvs on the market. Increased ground clearance, larger tires, 4WD instead of AWD, (yes i know i have a rwd ) and a large range of modifications made easy.

No EV for me and I'm fine with navigation, we did pretty well during 400 miles of back roads and trail in Death Valley.
Since we're calling each other out I'd say there's more likely hood of you being on the next moon landing than your 4runner loaded in that configuration getting 300 miles to a tank. I've seen V8 4runners with zero gear, no lift, no armor not hitting 300 miles. My V6 with zero armor, mild lift, and 255's gets around 330 unloaded.
Maybe that's CA gas or maybe you drive a lot of flat roads. Maybe a course in navigation would help me avoid the hills around here.

KBB has been off by a mile on their 4th gen values, at least on the wet coast.

The values of SUV's, especially "cool" ones, has jumped a lot since Stay At Home and Work From Home. Everyone wants to go out to the boonies and blog or vlog or whatever and show their 'Gram and selfies of them in front of a camp fire or a dusty truck. Bay Area wealth effect may be a force multiplier on values there?? That said, yeah, seems high on that price for a salvaged ride. Could also be a result of PUA, UI, and stimulus $ sloshing around...people spending.


2WD 4Runners kick ass and make great road trip vehicles. They're great road cars...comfy, roomy, and safe. They'll also get you down most fire / forest service roads as long as mud/snow & ice, and rock climbing/technical stuff isn't on the menu. Now if you had said "I still can't understand why Toyota ever made 2wd FJC's" I'd be in agreement .

At north of $3/gallon here in Hell-A, the gas mileage expense/range thing is a bummer. I've learned to buy lower octane gas at Costco instead of Chevron Supreme when I can, and I try to keep my speed <70MPH. I did 800 miles on an Eastern Sierra road trip last month and got 15 mpg there (uphill...LA to Bridgeport), and better on the way back. I have no problem spending an extra hour on 395N

Something important to consider is replacement value on our 4th gens if totaled. Who is a good Agreed Value insurance company? USAA doesn't offer it, and I have a feeling that I'd lose $5-10k if my low-mileage '04 V8 4wd Sport was to get totaled. I imagine I could sell at $15k pretty easily, yet KBB says maybe it's worth $7k, lol. I'd hate to "lose" $8k+ if my '04 gets totaled. I imagine I'd have similar issue on our '06 LX and '06 2WD 4Runner.

I try to walk the line between decent MPG's and a capable vehicle with room inside. My old 99 Cherokee got in the 18's, the T4R seems to run in the mid 20's which I'm happy with, it's way more comfy and stable too. I don't do a ton of highway driving. Would I like the V8? Of course but that would pinch the wallet and I prefer the 4x4 system in the V6 model. The unknown is the future of gas prices, they could double in a couple years, can't tell the future. My son just switched from a Ford Ranger to a V8 F150, he didn't realize how cheap the Ranger was until he switched.

making me feel a little better about my 2wd

its been great on all the fire roads i've been to and the mpgs are pretty good as well.

Yeah I wasn't trying to bash the 2WD but it's big hit to value around here. If you look at CL there's 4WD ads in the low to mid 100K mile range at a substantial discount to that one.
I assume everyone in the 4R market is probably thinking snow trips so why worry about chains? Maybe not? I had a prerunner Frontier and it was always on my mind when off-road, sand dunes, snow. Getting stuck sucks.
Like you I worry about the replacement value if mine ever gets totalled, pretty sure AAA will honor "market value" comps.
With 3rd gens pushing $20K on Bring a Trailer it's a matter of time before if trickles up into 4th gen market. Better motors, more comfort, better 4WD system, etc.

My grandfather ( who ran 2 oldsmobile dealers from the 60s to 80s ) always told me a vehicle is only worth what someone is willing to pay for it.