i had a 2ND GEN 4X4 PU THAT THING WENT ANYWHERE I POINTED IT WITH OUT A PROB MY RUNNER THE SAME WAY

5th gen. Trail Edition w/KDSS, multi-terrain select, crawl control, Hill assist, and a locking rear differential.

Just an opinion, shouldn't matter to everyone else. A friend of mine has a 99' 4WD and there good looking, it has the classic Runner look but, more modernerated, if thats a word? It performs its duties pretty well off road dirt, snow, rain, mud, you name it. Dont get me wrong 4th gen is b
****in'. Then again, I think all Runners have that capability. Toppin it all off I think they all have their ups and downs. No need to say which one is better and puke on each other.

Well, I currently wheel my 1st gen. mostly on rocks ( hard to find in Fla. but a quick trip to the mountians solves that problem )

I cannot really say about the wheeling abilities of the other years.

I have either owned or currently owned 1st, 2nd & 3rd gens.

I find myself driving the 1st gen. most of the time. I like the "wind in my hair" feel, hence the screen name and I have a choice of driving any one of 6 vehicles....
67 Impala convertible, 79 El Camino, 87 4Runner, 92 Stanza, 95 T100, 97 4Runner.
Not to mention the company truck....

That may change if I get that 99 4x4 limited supercharged 4Runner I have my eye on....

Attached Images

 

I'd have to say the 1st or 2nd gen. my 90 hasnt failed me yet. good solid frame

My vote goes to 1st gen for rocks. Especially the 84-85. I'd say any 4wd runner is capable of decent general offroading.

3RD GEN DOWN, have no knowledge of 5th gens but i don't like gimmicks like "crawl control" and all of this electronically controlled b.s., give me any vehicle locked and with a good tranny and it'll go forever, the 5th gens haven;t been proven yet by any means. As well as motor size, that don't mean squat (having owned a 5.9L jeep before the runner) it's all about the driver.......


really i say 3rd gen down just cause the other haven't been proven yet, and imo it takes at least 10 years to be proven in the field, so all of that fancy traction control crap means nothign to me at this point, also didn't we used to call traction control, throttle control? if your spinning the tires let up off the gas!!!

meh, learn how to drive first then see how much more benefit you get from all of those systems. i doubt it will be noticeable, easier yes (read idiot ready) but not any more beneficial for slow off road trail driving.

just my opinion and not slamming anyone , just saying is all ;-)

It all depends on the driver.You can have someone that cant drive and tear stuff up evertime they go out and then put someone in the same vehicle and they can go threw the same terrain and make it look easy and not break anything.DEPENDS ON THE DRIVER!

Supposing the same good driver tested out all the gens, there's a huge difference still. I think it's nice that the 3rd gens are winning in the poll especially since I own one, but it's not true. The 1st gen (but only '84-85) kills all other gens off road, no question. Anyone who wheels more than just fire and logging roads knows the value of a solid front axle. Plus the 1st gens have a convertible top which makes adding a full roll cage much easier (another very important component of a true off roader).

You also have a lot more options with a 1st gen as far as how much lift you can put on to accomodate big tires like 37-42"ers, manual hubs to accomodate a spool in the front (which isn't a viable option with ADD unless you convert and that's $$). All that fancy smancy traction control crap on the new 5th gen trail ain't shit compared to a '84 or '85 1st gen that's locked in the front and rear. Just the ground clearance that is possible alone puts any other gen to shame.

The only disadvantage of the 1st gen is the 4 banger, but honestly my old 22R '86 yota PU had noticeably more torque than my 3.4 3rd gen in 4lo so off road, the 4 banger isn't a problem. Get dual t-cases and you'll rip the tires off.

I agree completely. I love my 3rd gen, but I have also driven a slightly modified '85, and it would blow my truck's socks off on harsh terrain. They are just so light, nimble, SFA, and bullet proof.

Now, for the type of off roading I do nowadays... long distance unsupported trips... the 3rd gen definitely takes the cake as far as a balance of weight carrying capacity, space, off road ability, and repairability. Best gen for Overlanding, IMO.

For sure, the 3rd gen is a perfect combo for all those things and the little bit it lacks in off road capability compared to the 1st gen, it more than makes up for in everything else so it suits my needs perfectly. I guess that's why I've had mine for almost a decade now.

I don't think the 4th or 5th gens are too far behind in off roading, but being bigger and wider, they're a little harder to maneuver on tight trails. Although the 2nd gen isn't bad, the power to weight ratio is a little too far off and IMO that gen was more of a stepping stone to the 3rd.

Stock: '99 with the e-locker, hands down.
Modified: '85 w/22RE, hands down.

I think that if you are looking at bone stock rigs the '99 with the locker model is going to out wheel the other generations. It's smaller than all the newer models and not too much bigger than the earlier ones. The front is what it is, but the back flexes pretty good stock and the locker is what really makes the difference.
If you're talking modified then it's really up to your wallet, but the older trucks are way less expensive to modify from stock to extreme. For every sick 3rd Gen there's probably 25 1st Gens that are just as cool if not cooler.

yeah. pre-ifs(86-87&some88)

I agree with Brian2sun the 1st gen for extreme offroad they win. Just because of their solid axles and clearance alone makes them top choice for many hard core offroaders. But then again I am quite happy with my 3rd gen takes me to a lot of fun trails.

I would say if you are talking of minimally Modded, changing nothing but tires I would have to go with 3rd gen with factory e-locker how ever I do agree that a 22r 1st gen with solid axles is very capable. I wold like to run each with 32" AT tires and see. would bee a fun challenge. Do we have any takers?