4runner vs competition

[westwind77]

Thanks for the replies fellas.
This is interesting. What are your experiences with missing space? Like I said, I rarely use mine to its full potential but am a bit concerned I'm not comparing the sizes correctly.

A few storage things I noticed from my last SUV (99' Durango) to this 4R.

1) 2nd row seats base has to fold forward and down in order to drop the backs and level the cargo area. That may seem 'normal' but it is an annoyance from what I dealt with before (seat backs fold flat to level the cargo area). It allowed me to keep a lot of 'stuff' behind the driver and passenger seat on the floor when the seats were folded, you would be surprised how much fit there! Now all that stuff has to be moved into my already smaller cargo area.

2) The cargo area is smaller (well duh, I knew that when I bought it) but I guess it really did not realize how much until I put our two big suitcases in the back. They went from the second row seat to the tailgate! In the Durango I had room for those and a decent amount more before the tailgate. I put the stroller we have in the back and it takes up most of the room, I was a little surprised.

All that said I still am very happy with my purchase! I have taken a few trips and have not been 'out of space' yet, but I do see the difference between the two, but it was 'known' when I purchased it.

 

[Curt Sauve]

In the last 30 years I've owned or leased GJC, Blazer, Explorer, Trooper II and every one has been complete crap. I bought a used 3rd gen. T4R LTD in 2004 and have owned 3 since then, and never had a single issue. I'll never own anything other than Toyota/Lexus ever again.

 

[GreerAZ]

I just bought a 4R TE. I've been driving a '02 Tahoe for 9 years and it has 120K miles on it. I wanted better gas mileage and didn't need as much towing capacity. I do a lot of off road driving in the desert and mountains and need good ground clearance. The Tahoe has good ground clearance and plenty of storage for the "kitchen sink". My wife hated the Tahoe's uncomfortable seats and the way is sways like a ship on mtn roads.

Choices came down to JGC Overland or the 4R TE or Limited. Wife loved the JGC and I gotta agree the interior is really nice with all the cool amenities. The JGC V6 gets pretty good mileage and drives nice. I spent some time on JeepForum and most posts were about the problems everyone had that the dealerships didn't know how to fix. I spent time on this forum and most posts are about mods and stuff, not design or manufacture problems.

The hardest decision for us was the TE or the Limited. We also decided that cloth seats look better longer than leather seats, not to mention they are cooler with no leather ventilation. I love the amenities of the Limited, but decided I wanted the KDSS more.

 

[scanny]

Surprised to see even a small amount of Ford love here. We've had nothing but problems out of Ford products in my immediate and extended family. My brother in law currently has a 2011 F150 that he's pleased with but time will tell. His other experiences have been negative.

Actually I drove Fords for over 10 years before I got my T4R. From my experience Ford has about $500 issue once a year and after 100K it starts falling apart. In the matter of fact I was going to lease 2010 Explorer, but couldn't find a new one last year and 2011 Explorer is more like a minvan. But I'm glad that I found T4R for myself. I hope Toyota will still make 4Runners when I need a new one.

 

[polishpiper]

Looked @ the JGC....didn't mind the looks from front & side, but the ass of the vehicle is awful looking. I then test drove it AFTER driving a '11 SR5. Vehicle handled better but is way Too small (midsized carsize inside)! Before you pull the trigger on something; sit in the rear seat and ask yourself how much you like your friends and family members. Would you put them in the JGC 2nd seat? The answer is NO. I had more legroom in my Honda Accord. I won't buy a Govt Motors vehicle...I already paid for it once via taxes; why pay again? Looked @ Ford (I'm a Ford Fan), but hate the looks of the Exflower.

I prefer cloth to leather and the SR5 cloth seats are the best cloth seats i've driven in.
The downfall of the SR5 is the handling...gonna fix that with Bilstein shocks.

 

[453030]

I just bought a 4R TE. I've been driving a '02 Tahoe for 9 years and it has 120K miles on it. I wanted better gas mileage and didn't need as much towing capacity. I do a lot of off road driving in the desert and mountains and need good ground clearance. The Tahoe has good ground clearance and plenty of storage for the "kitchen sink". My wife hated the Tahoe's uncomfortable seats and the way is sways like a ship on mtn roads.

Choices came down to JGC Overland or the 4R TE or Limited. Wife loved the JGC and I gotta agree the interior is really nice with all the cool amenities. The JGC V6 gets pretty good mileage and drives nice. I spent some time on JeepForum and most posts were about the problems everyone had that the dealerships didn't know how to fix. I spent time on this forum and most posts are about mods and stuff, not design or manufacture problems.

The hardest decision for us was the TE or the Limited. We also decided that cloth seats look better longer than leather seats, not to mention they are cooler with no leather ventilation. I love the amenities of the Limited, but decided I wanted the KDSS more.

Excellent, congratulations!

We looked at a JGC for my wife but were not overly impressed. It's OK, but if you're buying it is too risky. On the way home from our test drive we passed a new one coming the other way with a running light out. All I could think was "same old cherokee".

This morning on the way in I was thinking how I like the feel of the TE seats. They're firm but comfortable. KDSS is probably the best option available on any of the 4Runners, and while I loosely considered the LE too, driving a KDSS Trail quickly sealed the deal.

 

[robotkiller]

I can't imagine why anyone would buy a Jeep now. Not only is it a poor long term buy, b/c of traditionally sh*tty reliability, but it's a poor short term buy b/c of poor resale value. This is not to even mention the fact that Jeep's long term survivability as a manufacturer is a very real question. Jeep residual values are probably not great, so leasing is probably out (unless the manufacturer is subsidizing the lease).

I see more pristine old gen 4runners than any car on the road. That's the greatest testament to 4runner reliability than anything else.

IMO - this one is a no brainer.

 

[Gasdoc]

To the OP:

I was in your position just a few months ago. I wanted a tough, off-road capable, yet nice mid sized SUV. I use mine for hunting, fishing and driving around a larger city so the mid size is perfect for my needs. Like you, I was looking for a vehicle that I could drive for at least 10 years as I am a cheap ass and do not like having a car payment nor losing money on trading in a car.

I looked at everything out there, was coming from an old Xterra. There aren't many real SUVs left out there. Most are cross/over car type vehicles that happen to have 4WD. It came down to the JGC, Land Rover LR4 and Toyota 4 runner.

1. I checked out the Land Rover and thought that it seemed kind of plain for the price tag. Also, every Land Rover owner I know has had major problems with them. A good friend of mine has a LR4 and told me that he likes it but it is an expensive vehicle to own and maintain. If you've got the means and patience, it would be a great truck. For me, I'm too cheap to keep paying that much to fix problems that in my opinion should not exist on such an expenisve truck. Also, reliability was very high on my list so that pretty much killed this option.

2. The JGC (overland summit) was nice on the inside but kind of reminded me of a cross over type vehicle and didn't feel like a truck. It seemed like you got a good bang for the buck but as I was driving it all I could think about was all of this fancy stuff falling apart. I especially didn't trust their new air suspension. So, I did some searches on the jeep forums and it seemed every other thread was about a new JGC having major problems. Do some searching and you'll see what I'm talking about. Another big problem I had was that I didn't want an American car. I just don't like all of the knobs, interior, windows, etc breaking. Also, like someone posted above, the Chrystler Corp. has a good chance of dying in the future. I have several friends with 10 y/o+ 4 runners that are running strong/problem free with only general maintainence. One guy I work with has 250K miles on his and he said, "it's just now getting broken in".

3. I ended up getting a Mag Grey, Limited 4x4, Nav, sliding tray, roof rack cross bars. It took a while to find this exact setup but after 1 month of searching I found one and have been driving it for the past 2 weeks. I love this truck. It is as luxurious as I would want it to be without all of the wooden type fixtures in it. Sure, there is alot of plastic but it looks good and the fit/finish is absolutely perfect. The power is a bit less than the V8 of the JGC/LR4 but it has plenty for my applications. It easily cruses at 80mph on the highway and still has plenty of power for passing at this speed. It handles like a truck and not like a car but coming from a Tahoe you are probably used to that.

 

[muddyYota]

Bingo! And the Explorer is now a Taurus wagon so they no longer make a midsize SUV.

can't wait to quote this verbatim to one of my co-workers monday. They bought one. Even after riding / driving mine and seeing what he could have had.

insanity

 

[KCcarguy]

can't wait to quote this verbatim to one of my co-workers monday. They bought one. Even after riding / driving mine and seeing what he could have had.

insanity

Some people don't want/ need a real truck.

 

[Gasdoc]

The only thing that I do not like about my new 4R is the tires/rims. I do not care for the 20s with low profile tires. I know this is the trend and I understand why Toyota put them on the Limited but they are not for me. I tend to drive through some seriously muddy and rocky areas when hunting and am not sure these tires are up for the job.

I'm looking for a rim/tire combo that will not screw up my odo readings. Any suggestions?

 

[Quentin]

The only thing that I do not like about my new 4R is the tires/rims. I do not care for the 20s with low profile tires. I know this is the trend and I understand why Toyota put them on the Limited but they are not for me. I tend to drive through some seriously muddy and rocky areas when hunting and am not sure these tires are up for the job.

I'm looking for a rim/tire combo that will not screw up my odo readings. Any suggestions?

I like the look of OEM wheels, so I'd suggest some 6 spoke FJ Cruiser wheels and 265/70-17 tires.

 

[Balcs1]

I have had them all, Jeeps, Dodges, Chevy, Toyota. For a long term rig get a TOYOTA. I have a suburban and a dodge club cab but have a good friend as my mechanic for those rigs. They have brake calipers stick, fuel pumps fail, auto windows fail, they will nickle and dime you over time. Toyotas are Japanese and just like my Yamaha, as Reliable as it can get. The JGC is to nice inside to be considered a Rig for off road plus its a Unibody. I looked at those and bought the 4Runner. I am glad I did, just replace the Tires Imediately, they wander and they Suck.

 

[DDM4]

Went and took a better look at a TE. Definitely giving up more space than I realized, coming from the tahoe. I don't doubt it would be adequate enough in most circumstances but I would have to consider space available before I left the house for certain things.

Jury is still out... for me, at least.

 

[homeyclaus]

You always have the option of going with a Sequoia if you need something Tahoe-sized. Like the Tahoe, you're trading off-road capability (because of size) for room (because of size). What you're keeping are those Toyota -ilities.

I like the older Sequoia models, they're basically huge 4Runners. The new ones have much improved road manners, but to me feel significantly larger than they actually are.

 

[M1911]

The only thing that I do not like about my new 4R is the tires/rims. I do not care for the 20s with low profile tires. I know this is the trend and I understand why Toyota put them on the Limited but they are not for me. I tend to drive through some seriously muddy and rocky areas when hunting and am not sure these tires are up for the job.

I'm looking for a rim/tire combo that will not screw up my odo readings. Any suggestions?

Trade them to someone who owns a 5th Gen SR5 or TE -- they'll probably give you some money in the process. And the diameter of the tire will be the same, so no change in odo readings.