I never noticed until looking at a Tacoma this weekend exploring different options for when my lease is up. (kind of for the heck of it , but I would like to drive one , but I am more for the sport model than the OR edition.

It said on the off road version VSC and Atrac in place of the standard VSC and Atrac .

Yes it did have an on/off switch , but thought it would be nice to have that on a mid size pick up since they are light weight in the back end to help with control issues that usually go along with a light ass end of a pick up.

My lease is up in Feb 09 on the 4R.

option #1. If buy out and value hit on the numbers , buy mine out , which is what I would like to do.

Option 2. Buy an 08 or 09 4R (v6 or v8 not really sure and really don't care either way). Probably another Sport package .

Option#3 Buy a 4dr crew cab short box Tacoma sport.

Option #4 Buy an FJ , but kinda small in the storage dept. in back.

Just feeling you guys out. Bottom line and cheapest would be the buyout with 55k on the odo. Dollar for dollar the cheapest way to go. These days keeping money in my pocket for half the price of a new one is a plus.

Option 1 or 2. Is whatever you're going to do be another few year vehicle or a vehicle for the long haul?

FJ with auto has only a primative part-time 4wd; same with the Taco.

A Taco is an interesting option... I have thought about that too. I believe we'll have a little diesel soon. 2011-2012 would be my guess.

Well, i would also consider 2009 4runner Trail Edition instead of the SE.

FJ is very nice, but is still suffering from fender bulge/crack issue for some reason. So, until a permanent fix is out, i would stay away from FJ.

Good points guys , thanks.

I'm hoping my values are there so I can just keep mine.

Ditto on the 09 TE , although the deals on them wouldn't be there at the beginning of the year. Well I guess if nothing is moving you never know.

I have mixed feelings on the 09/TE.

Rear locker a plus
16" wheels a plus

Thats all I can think of that would be a benefit for me.

My 06 has 52k miles on it. It will have 55k or so upon turn in. My lease was for 3 yrs 82k miles. I'll be 25-27k miles under. The truck is very well kept and maintained from day 1. This is the lowest miles I've ever had on a vehicle after 3 years . Usually at 80-90k.

According to NADA values my buyout is about $4k below retail .

TE also has LO-range only A-TRAC. Falls, you mentioned in the past how impress you are with the ATRAC in your 4runner off-road. Trust me, A-TRAC (in FJ and 2009 TE) will blow your mind! It is very aggressive and is very effective as an off-road tool.

Then, you add in the rear locker and A-TRAC synchronization...it is a very capable machine, easily the most capable 4runner ever IMHO.

I don't know anything about leasing, but if your buyout is $4k below retail, then i am not sure if it's a great deal. In today's poor economy and poor car market, i believe that you can easily get $4k off MSRP on a new 4runner (or FJ). Again, i don't know much about buyout on a lease.

So the Atrac only works in 4LO and not in 4HI ? I like how it works in 4HI alot too.Ok I agree with you on the TE. I've been very happy with the Atrac on my Sport also. its worked well for me and my needs . (plus I'll miss my damn hood scoop which add's 20 hp , not to mention my V8)

As far as buyout , if I'm in the ballpark and the price is fair at the time Feb. comes I would just assume spend less than half the cash to buy mine out if so possible and keep the cash. Yes it would always be nice to have something new , but we'll see. I'll stay with a 4R though , either mine or a new one.

Explain the more aggressive Atrac thing compared to out current 4R's .

Even though I like the Xreas , I would be fine with out it since it will be so much easier to do new coil overs.

I wish I could see build options available , dealer has jack crap . 2 things I do want is side curtain airbags and the VSC off switch. I will do this mod to mine if I keep it. It put me in danger again last night......... excellent feature !!! , just needs an disable switch so the driver can adjust for current needs and weather changes . Do you know if it has Atrac disable switch also ?? I thought the FJ has that feature where they can turn it off .

"4-LO A-TRAC" (optional on FJ and standard on 2009 TE) only works in 4-LO. Why? Because it clamps down on the spinning/slipping wheel pretty aggressively...much more so than the standard ATRAC. It will actually stop a spinning wheel for a period of time to transfer as much torque as possible to the other side...standard ATRAC only slows down the spinning wheel or only pulses the brakes. Because of this, you really do not want to have it active on the highway or even in 4-HI. This makes sense because most of the time off-road, you should be in 4-LO. (For me, i only use 4-HI if i am in between trails or have to go fast over washboards...otherwise, it's 4-LO all the way.)

With the 2009 4runner TE, i assume that you will STILL have standard ATRAC all the time, until you manually select the rear locker or "4-LO A-TRAC." So, you have your cake and eat it too!

Rear locker + "4-LO A-TRAC" = pretty damn close to ideal...ideal being fully locked front and rear. Of course, this combination (rear locker + A-TRAC) is better than fully locked in a few situations where you have to steer your way up a rock wall.

I do NOT think that there is an "ATRAC OFF" button...there will be a VSC OFF button.

Good info to know , thanks Thai.

You know we were talking about buyout possibly not being an overly great deal because of the economy , but you also have to factor in the massive depreciation hit you take buying a new one as soon as you drive off the lot and the sinking of it there after in value.

It would be nice to order one now , but I would be afraid they won't deal and won't give you incentive (if any) when you take delivery.

I do use A-trac on the road in 4HI when I need to (don't really have a choice since it's always activated) But also 4LO for me off road . One plus I really like on the 4R is the center lock/unlock diff. I've used it quite a but when pulling brush , stumps , ect... and driving on my yard with tearing up any turf.

Oh well . lots to think about over the next few months . Still in this economy I would still like to keep as much cash in my pocket as possible.

The one Toyota dealer I talked to told me they are holding the 09's until 08's are sold off.

Ahh, good points. This is why i am not a financial advisor! It is always better to keep money in your pocket.

Agreed !

So by what I understand on the OR edition must have the more aggressive version of the Atrac like the FJ and the 4R TE 09.

Looks like the sport has it also , but without the locker in the rear.

I spoke to a guy with a tacoma today who has a plow on his truck , actually it's a local city plow and they have a pretty big fleet of them , said they plow excellent. They even have some that are 15 years old and still hammering he snow. Yes small lots , drives and sidewalks. The guy invited me to stop at the at the village garage to take a look at there set ups on the trucks. Kinda interesting to me since I have multiple areas to clear during winter .

Is the ATRAC version on OR edition ONLY operational in 4-lo?? If it works in 4HI and 4LO, then it is NOT the aggressive version.

That I'm not sure of , I just noticed that a window sticker said VSC+Atrac (std) replaced by VSC+Atrac...... something,something , so thats kinda of what I figured.

So on the OR editon or TE/FJ the Atrac does not work in 4H or is it just more aggressive in 4lo than 4hi.

On the Tacoma it has to be different if it's listed that way on the window sticker I would guess .... who knows though. I'm sure asking one of the sales people would bee pretty much useless.

Unfortunate but so very true.