4Runner OR vs Bronco Heritage- which to buy?
 

I've had a couple of 4Runners and obviously love them. Recently test drove a 24 Bronco Heritage with the 2.7 twin turbo. Very impressive.
I know this is a Toyota forum but still looking for opinions and see if anyone recommends the Bronco.

The Heritage is in Azure grey, white removable hard top, 2.7 335 hp/415 torque. Front locker, AWD mode, 35 inch tires, 12 inch screen but no heated steering wheel, fabric manual seats. The idea of the different sections of the roof coming off and doors is great where I live next to a beach we drive on.

In Canada the 4Runners are still mainly order in but found a black off-road. In Canada they come standard as a US premium but with dual zone climate.

I would put TRD Pro rims on, black it out and put the heritage grill on the front to start.

Leaning towards the Bronco for the fun factor.

Thoughts?

might want to wait a few days, the 6th gen will be announced tomorrow.

I know, the hybrid would be decent for power but I don't want to wait that long. Supposed to be revealed Tuesday morning.

As you said, this is probably the wrong forum to ask this question. I've beena Ford guy for ever. Although not really prejudice. I've owned plenty of others, GM, Jeeps, and a few Mopars. I think in 300K miles the 4Runner will be a bit more trouble free. The Ford may bring more smiles with a bit more frustration.
The 4 Runner has more utility. probably more comfort. Either will serve you well if you treat it well.

I used to own a 1973 Bronco so when Ford announced they were coming out with one that could compete with the Wrangler I waited in eager anticipation. After spending a lot of time on the Bronco forums and reading about all the problems, I changed my mind. I want something to drive, not something I need to work on. Multiple electrical problems, plus a fragile front end that breaks when stress is put on it. Those of you who watch Matt's Off-Road recovery videos know that, despite not many Broncos out there yet, he's had to tow many of them, each with broken front end components.

Some of the screen shots I took off the Bronco forums. How'd you like to be in some gnarly remote location and have your vehicle tell you that it detected a problem and disabled your 4wd?

Hard to argue with Toyota reliability. I do like the 2 door bronco though!

Any reason the Wrangler Unlimited isn't in the mix for you then?

I think it comes down to what you ultimately want. Bronco probably (that's likely bieng too generous) will not be as reliable as a 4Runner, but does have the daily driver advantages of IFS versus a Jeep Wrangler.

The 5th gen 4Runner is a freaking dinosaur though with a dog of a powertrain. There's a lot of things I like about it and I was happy enough to jump in November 2019 to an updated 5th gen (from my original 2016 Trail), but I'd definitely move onto something more modern at this point if I was going to replace it.

Assuming you posted a similar question on the Bronco forums, you’ll surely get responses as expected.

I think the Bronco is probably a fine vehicle and if it meets your needs, go for it. I’m a Ford fan in general.

I wanted the reliability, history, and personality of the Toyota. It’s my opinion the current 4Runner is the closest thing to the old Land Cruiser in both spirit and execution, which is why I bought one.

I spent a week driving a new Sahara Jeep in Mexico last year and it was ok but the Bronco is a lot better in every way

My brain says get a 4Runner but the heart says Bronco. It would be a daily driver so I’m concerned about it having issues that will have it in the shop a lot.

I think you are comparing two different vehicles, the Bronco should be compared to the Jeep Wrangler, two vehicles that compare well together. The 4 Runner is in a different class and yes, it does have many of the mechanical qualities of the Jeep and Bronco, but much more an upscale vehicle like the Lexus GX 460 and the new GX 550. Just because the 4 Runner is sold as an off road vehicle if you want to use it that way, I would say 95% of 4 Runners never see dirt, mud, or rocks.

I haven't spent really any time in a Bronco, so I don't have a good first hand impression of it versus a JL Wrangler. Ford definitely has done a number on Jeep's sales though which says a lot.

Honestly, I'd probably just go for the Bronco but maybe splurge for an extended warranty if you want to keep it around for awhile. Probably the right "CYA" activity with one of those vehicles if you want to have 5 or 6 worry free years (at least). Most warranty repair aren't going to take it off the road for more than a few days I imagine.

It makes no sense to me to buy a new vehicle and then have to buy an extended warranty just because you may, or not need it in the future. Spending another $2000/$3000 added to the vehicle you are spending money for something that shouldn't needed to be done to a vehicle produced today, but if you want a Jeep, or Bronce you probably should buy one, you will most likely need it. I never purchased an extended warranty and never needed one for repairs, but then I only drive Toyota and Honda products and usually sell, or trade them in the 50/60,000 mile range, or five years of ownership. You do what works for you, I do.

I have owned 6 different 4Runners (1984, 1989, 1997(x2), 2003 and 2010) and I still have the 2003 and my daughter drives the 2010. I purchased a 2022 Bronco Badlands 2-door and have put 23,000 miles on it trouble-free. I drove it 1,200 miles to Moab, did Hell's Revenge, Fins&Things, Onion Creek and Top of the World and drove it back home 1,200 miles without issue. I rock crawl the Bronco at the GRDA Disney, OK. off-road area at least every month and have never broken anything. My Bronco will get me to places no 4Runner ever did. My 2003 is a V8 that I've added 4.88 gears and ARB air lockers f&r, lifted and cut up to run 35's. It is no longer reliable for hard trail riding because I just break CV axles trying to go over most obstacles (I know I probably jacked it up too much myself, but fixing the suspension will cost $$ at this point). I use the Bronco as my daily and trail rig now and keep the 4Runner for sentimental value and hauling dirt for the wife's garden. Will the Bronco last 300,000 miles like a typical 4Runner?? Heck No. Will I keep it that long to find out?? No again. The 4Runner design is excellent and will always be coveted because it is capable and reliable, but these new Bronco's actually add FUN back to the equation which the 4Runner is sorely lacking.

All depends on your use case, vehicle manufacturer and specific vehicle warranties, along with long term anticipated plans.

Ultimately all an extended warranty is is a type of insurance to cushion you from a severe economic impact in the later stages of ownership of a vehicle. If having the extra few grand rolled into your payments or you have the money to put down for piece of mind, I don't think it's a negative thing. This is especially true for vehicles that only carry a 3 year/36K mile bumper to bumper warranty (like Toyota).

I've had mixed history with extended warranties. I got one for my 2020 4Runner since I planned on keeping it for at least 5 to 6 years and it only cost me around $1500. So far I do have one repair for around $500 on it (blower motor replacement) and think it may still end up paying for itself.

I had a 2016 VW Golf R that had a full computer module failure at around 50K miles (and the car only had a 36K mile bumper to bumper on it). The repair ended up being more than the cost of the extended warranty (around $2K if I remembe right) for a REFURBISHED part. A new module would have been nearly $6000. When I got the VW to me it was worth having piece of mind since the cars are prone to weird failures and not as reliable as something like a Toyota. That being said, I still loved the vehicle and mainly traded it in since we needed a larger car with a second kid on the way back in 2020.

Well I decided to play it safe. The Ford dealer were dicks to deal with and the Bronco would be $16,000 more overall.

In Canada you cannot find a TRD Off-Road but found one 12 hours away. Either wait 4+ months out east here or try to find one further west. Hopefully will pick it up end of next week. Bronco was more fun to drive but it's never a good idea to marry a stripper.