3rd Going to 4th..

[progress4m]

... I love my X-REAS especially cornering @ 40mph w/o rolling over my 4R.

After Airlift in the rear my SR5 does 40 mph turn w/o rolling over either...

I am not trying to bash x-reas just was giving some info and my point of view to original poster.

 

[progress4m]

... I will be taking this truck off road so capability was my main concern when switching from 3rd to 4th...

Starting 2005 all 4-runners are the same drive train wise (same engines and trany for both V8 and V6 models). Here are only two differences that I am aware of: starting 2008 VSC switch was added and 2009 may have an optional rear diff lock.
Rear diff lock is a great option for off road, but you will need to look for 2009 model to get one.
VSC switch can be added as a mod (this mod works closer to factory setup on V8 4x4 vs V6 models).
If you do not want to mess with VSC switch mod, you can always turn off VSC by locking central diff on any 4Runner.
Overall IMHO with very minor lift (2” front and 1” rear or similar) 4-th gen is more capable off road vs 3-rd gen: because of superior ATRAC and more power with low end torque (especially V8 models:thumb3.

:cheers: