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I want everyone to cast there vote! I'm a die hard toyota fan having owned several 4runners, a carolla and 3 tacomas. I personally think although toyotas are great cars they just dont build them like they did in the late 90s to early 2000s. The older tacomas 96-2003 where bulletproof same as 3rd gen 4runner. They dudnt really have nussence failures and few major problems. Then came along the 2004+ tacomas. I have not owned one but know several people who claim they've had one prob after the other. Not only that toyota has just gotten cheap in materials throughout vs a limited 2000. Obviously have to cut somewhere in this economy.

On a 2nd note ive never been a fan of jeep qualit and my 1996 grand cherokee v8 along with about 20 other family or friends have had the common tranny replacement under 100k among other things going out. Supposedly the American manufacturers like dodge and jeep gave supposedly really stepped up there quality the last few years, supposably on par with toyota.

As committed as I am to toyota or at least older model toyotas I'm really digging the new grand cherokee specifically the summit air ride model. Is it me or does that thing look bad ass! Especially the front end! I've always felt the 3rd gen runner was one if the best looking suv,s despite its age but I think this new jeep has it beat. I obviously don't have the 50k to cough up but If I where buying I think I would seriously consider it despite the poor track record. I just think it looks that much better than the 5th gen runner. I'm obviously not the only one as I have seen an obsurd amount of new ones driving around prob 10 or more to every runner.

I'm sure the majority of you will not part ways with your yota but do you think Jeeps playing hardball with this new design and quality revision. If not what the heck is jeep doing to sell do many if toyotas are obviously known to be more reliable? I dont believe its price like it used to be as these jeeps are not cheap now and most im seeing are the limited or summit models at 50k!
I also work at the hospital and am seeing quite a few Doctors trading in there beamers , audis, escelades for the loaded grands. I see a new one with tags about every 2 weeks and yet to see any MD,s driving 4tunners.

On a 2nd note could toyota have really lost a good majority of there cust base? I would bet toyota isnt selling anywhere near as many 5th gens since they rolled out the new style as 3rd gens in the same timeframe. Is it the ridiculous price that's driving people away or the fact it just seems kinda blah and not really eye candy unless you go with the limited that is! ?
Or am I just way out of line here and are either blind and just never seeing them and sales are great!
Last edited by Schargedtaco; Today at 03:50 AM.

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You do bring up a good question as to which vehicle too buy. I like em both. I wish the 4Runner had a Diesel. New JGC are really nice looking, both interior and exterior. The 8 speed transmission is awesome. I don't think you'll go wrong with either one.

Honestly I have no idea where to go with your post. It seems like your saying that Toyota has lot its its edge as far as quality and reliability are concerned so your thinking about switching to Jeep - BUT everyone you know has had problems with said Jeeps. I will not be able to form my thoughts in to anything coherent, so I'm just gonna ramble for a bit:

IMHO The new GC is pretty awesome. The amount of refinement it offers coupled with its very good offload ability really put it into its own little section of the current vehicle market. Quadra Drive II is an awesome system and has many advantages over what Toyota currently offers. Not to mention the new diesel.... People buy horsepower and drive torque. SUV's prove this point. These vehicles are very heavy, handle badly (compaired to their car based friends) and get terrible millage. Diesel solves 2 of these problems immediately. Torque moves the vehicle quickly and easily at low RPM while being much more efficient (I know fuel prices vary etc..but its not really a debate - L for L diesel is far more efficient...30 cents a gallon more for diesel does not cancel this effect when avg gas prices are $3.50 or higher (less than 10% higher per gallon)- its the higher price of the engine its self, which does not exist in other countries) The 4Runner's transmission is programmed perfectly for a diesel, but the engine we get is not a good match for it. My family has owned 5 Jeeps over the years and my first vehicle was an 89 Cherokee Lerado with about 150k miles.

That being said, I own a 4runner for a reason. It is just better in every way that matters to -ME-. Everything works, all of the time, without fail. Honestly, "transmission failures" with less than 100k are completely unacceptable in a vehicle like this. Compared the the Jeep, the transmission is very outdated, but it trades a few gears for reliability.... and when it comes down to it, anyone stranded in the middle of nowhere due to transmission problems would trade 1-2 mpg for not being stranded. The engine is actually very advanced but, because it does not have direct injection, its seen as a dinosaur. Toyota has been making DI engines for years, and they are not put into these vehicles for a reason - DI is not as reliable as standard combustion chamber engines. In the future they will be, but today they have a whole host of problems that people cant fix by then selves in a 3rd world environment. I guess that brings me to my point.....The Land Cruiser 150 (4runner or LX460 here, Prado in other palces) is sold, and trusted, all over the world to handle every condition we can come up with for an extended period of time......Jeeps are not......When my Lady is driving home through a storm in the mountains do I want her in the Jeep or the Runner?

I just bought a new 4runner and my only other choice was a grand cherokee, if the diesel had been the same price as the 4runner I would have gone jeep tbh, but as it wasn't my choice came down to 2 things, one I always like something a little different and like you say Grand Cherokee's are everywhere, the other was looking at resale the Toyota holds its money a lot better than the Jeeps I saw used

The body on frame market in general has seen declining sales. All the other mid-size BOF SUV's are gone. Toyota obviously sees it as a viable business line for the foreseeable future.

The rest is quite subjective. The Jeep looks awesome and I have always liked them but 4Runners are classic and I love the uniqueness of the look, not to mention the quality. I personally find that the older Toyota's (Tacoma, 4Runner, Sequoia, Lexus LX/GX/RX) all still look great after years on the road- even the 3rd Gens. You can't really say the same about the "domestics" after 10 years on he road.

The toyota 4runner was my first toyota. It was also my first SUV. I always knew toyota is the most reliable, just never purchased one before this.
Even though you are right about toyota building more "cheaper" vehicles then in the past, they are still the best.
I will never buy another brand vehicle again. With toyota all you need to do is change the oil and filters and it will last you forever.

On a side note, my friend has a jeep grand Cherokee, newer model, don't know the exact year. Every time he sees my SUV, he tell me "you have a real car, don't ever buy a Chrysler product"
His next car will be a toyota. Either a Tundra, sequoia or landcruiser

I had a Grand Cherokee for 6 months.... that should tell you right there

and I am a Jeep (real jeep meaning Wrangler) fanatic

Personally, I'm very impressed with the Jeep and up to about two months ago thought I'd buy one. Perfect for our uses, which would be mostly on-road in the Rockies but decent capabilities off-road for hunting/fishing/etc... stuff well beyond what I'd use our crossover for. I would have liked the air suspension, but repeatedly over the years it seems most cars using air eventually have big issues. Thought about buying a 2013, but liked the idea of the 8 speed gearbox and other 2014 upgrades. The 4R wasn't even on my radar screen.

Then I started digging into reliability. It seems that Jeep has made strides but there are significant issues with the touch screen interface which controls nearly everything other than basic movement of the car. Sounds like a disaster with lockups, failures, etc. Between that, my basic Chrysler quality skepticism, and a brand new and unproven transmission I decided to scratch it off my list, despite having been previously certain it was ideal.

The 4R surfaced as a good alternative, and I bit. I think if reliability could be assured to be equal I'd have bought the Jeep for its better overall road manners and refinement. I do like the space in the 4R, especially in the second seat.

If I leased cars for two or three year spans I might have done the Jeep, but I'm a buyer and want this one to serve for at least ten years with minimal issues. The 4R was a clear choice and after a month and over 3000 miles I have no regrets.

More ramblings...You might check the previous threads on this topic, plenty of good information with some good old fashioned fanboy flame wars thrown in.

They don't make anything like they used to.

I have owned several wranglers and grand Cherokees. They were fine vehicles for my needs and wants at the time. Unsurpassed off road performance and the removable top and doors were a blast. When the government bailed out Chrysler they closed my dealership and terminated my lifetime powertrain warranty. Shortly after I sold my jeep and likely will never go back.

Most suv's today are just big cars based on minivan platforms. I hate them, they have no soul. The 4runner and xterra are the last remaining real suv's, they make no apologies for what they are. I want a midsize body on frame vehicle that will last over 200k miles. I don't need 450 hp or want to worry about damaging the cameras in the side view mirrors or useless electronic gizmos my toddlers might destroy with goldfish or cheerios. That is why I am here learning about the 4runner.

Lots of people clamor for diesels on forums but never purchase them. Diesel is taxed 25% higher than gas at production. Epa regulations will ensure that old trusted diesel engine turns in to a maintenance nightmare. Pay money for a catalyst fluid (essentially urine) that the vehicle won't run without? No thanks, I don't agree with any of it and will not support it with my money. They should be deregulated and available in the US like they are in every other country. Go look at the product offerings on the Toyota of Australia website if you want to get angry at our political fight against diesel. For example, it might not win a stoplight race but the mpg of the hilux is insane. RIP common sense.

I have rented the new body grand Cherokees for business travel, they are very solid feeling and the Mercedes influence is very apparent. For my needs and most of my wants the 4runner is the best choice. It is your money, buy what you want and you will not be disappointed.

I am an MD and this is the third 4runner I've owned, (2 third gens, an FJ and a 5th gen). Love these vehicles and have no complaints with one exception - they are anemic. All my prior vehicles were supercharged with smaller pulleys and fuel upgrades. The 5th gen has a bit more pep but if TRD does not release a supercharger for this model I will trade in for a 14 jeep srt as I do not go offroad as frequently. If you haven't test driven one of the new srt's you should get out there and take a look. Not what I expected from jeep. Feels like you're driving the damn batmobile down the road with 470hp and AWD in over 5000 lbs.

Peace of mind. IMO, I would go with the Runner every day of the week.. This is my first 4runner/SUV and I could not be happier.

I'm just stuck in a rut. I've bought toyota's since my first land cruiser in 1974. They have been very reliable over the years although, I agree the reliability factor has gone down a notch or two over that time. That said tho, IMO they are still more reliable than just about anything else out there. I've never been stranded in any Toyota yet. I keep them about ten years and they'd probably do another ten , no problem, but I always seem to get the upgrade bug.

Apples to oranges. The 4Runner is more of a throwback utilitarian SUV and the JGC is slowly evolving into a crossover mom-mobile mall crawler. There is still some good tech to be had in the jeep and it can hold its own on the trail, however.

Quality is another issue with American vehicles in general. It seems anything built by UAW (including my Tundra) just doesn't have the reliability of Japanese-built vehicles.

That being said, I did consider an SRT Cherokee when shopping for a new vehicle - I liked it and it went like a raped ape, but I decided the off road prowess of the 4runner was more important to me though.

i just bought a 4runner trail but seriously considered the JGC. Im a toyota guy like you but it was hard to not look at the hemi with 8 speed. The interior of the jeep is beautiful and the power was awesome. In the end I decided on the 4runner for a few reasons.

1- long term ownership- Take a look at JGC's on the road that are 5, 6, 7 years old. They look dated and drive horribly....color is faded, everything rattles, engine whines and makes odd noises, body gaps are all off. If you are going to lease a jeep for 3 years this may be a better option but if you want to buy and drive for 10 years+ toyota all the way.

2- Resale Value- JGC's dont hold their value like the 4runner. I wouldn't bring this up if you were considering a wrangler as they are on par (or maybe better) with resale value but the JGC resale value just suck (see reason 1)

3- Im a toyota guy! It just didnt feel right test driving the jeep. As soon as I sat in the 4runner I knew it was the truck for me. It felt right even though the interior wasnt as nice as the JGC and it only has a 5 speed auto V6.

In the end, the 4runner is like an old friend who you trust and can count on and the jeep is the hot new girl who will treat you badly and look ridiculous in a few years.