After 7.5 Years, Moving On

[AZ Craig]

Hey folks, so after 7.5 years, 2 5th Gen 4Runners, a bunch of playing around, some good adventures and about 110K miles, I made a change. I wasn't overly enamored with the 2.4T IMAX in the 2024 Land Cruiser when I drove one and started to ask myself if I could make a Bronco or Jeep work for me figuring the 2025 4Runner was going to disappoint in this regard (and I already had concerns over the hybrid battery eating into cargo space and overall early model year reliability given Toyotas recent missteps).

Ultimately ended up falling in love with the Bronco Raptor and was able to get a great deal on one a few days ago. Yes, it may not be as reliable as a 4Runner, and probably not quite as utilitarian, but I think it'll rank high on the smiles per mile ranking and I expect it to be a okay for "family" usage now that we don't need to cart strollers and other baby crap around anymore with our youngest 3 years old.

It's been fun. I may hang out some on the Bronco 6G forum but will probably not be around here much moving forward.

 

[thatoneguy]

It sounds like you decided reliability wasn't that important in the package; rather than worry about next-gen Toyota reliability, just going for maximum fun vehicle (Bronco), and to hell with reliability (there's no way a Bronco will be more reliable than any new Toyota 4x4)

I respect that! That Bronco will definitely be more fun than any 4WD Toyota in the pipeline. Enjoy it! Those Raptor Broncos are monsters.

 

[AZ Craig]

It sounds like you decided reliability wasn't that important in the package; rather than worry about next-gen Toyota reliability, just going for maximum fun vehicle (Bronco), and to hell with reliability (there's no way a Bronco will be more reliable than any new Toyota 4x4)

I respect that! That Bronco will definitely be more fun than any 4WD Toyota in the pipeline. Enjoy it! Those Raptor Broncos are monsters.

Thanks . I did get a pretty good deal on a 7 year, 100K mile warranty to go with it. It'll be interesting to see what (if anything) breaks on it, but as long as it doesn't strand me somewhere crazy it will likely end up being more an inconvenience than anything.

The attention to detail on overall engineering and styling with the Bronco Raptor just blew me away compared to anything else on the market right now (especially the Jeep Wrangler 392) and it'll be nice to be back in a vehicle that has more capability than I'm almost ever going to even consider using (one thing I missed from my Jeep was that I always worried more about getting hung up or smacking body panels on my 4Runner when on more advanced trails).

 

[thatoneguy]

Thanks . I did get a pretty good deal on a 7 year, 100K mile warranty to go with it. It'll be interesting to see what (if anything) breaks on it, but as long as it doesn't strand me somewhere crazy it will likely end up being more an inconvenience than anything.

The attention to detail on overall engineering and styling with the Bronco Raptor just blew me away compared to anything else on the market right now (especially the Jeep Wrangler 392) and it'll be nice to be back in a vehicle that has more capability than I'm almost ever going to even consider using (one thing I missed from my Jeep was that I always worried more about getting hung up or smacking body panels on my 4Runner when on more advanced trails).

Enjoy! That Wrangler 392 is a riot. I drove my friends' when he bought one, and it was just a nonstop smile and laughter machine.

 

[AZ Craig]

Enjoy! That Wrangler 392 is a riot. I drove my friends' when he bought one, and it was just a nonstop smile and laughter machine.

Yes, the 392 is amazing whenever you step on the gas and quite frankly drove better than any Wrangler has business doing. My main hangup was that for the huge MSRP increase over a standard Rubicon, the interior was pretty much left the same as a Rubicon X package except for the red leather. Stellantis kind of blew it on the 2024 refresh I think as the vehicle is starting to really feel dated regardless of the bigger display.

The nominally bigger cargo space in the Bronco also helped push me over to that decision ultimately.

 

[thatoneguy]

Yes, the 392 is amazing whenever you step on the gas and quite frankly drove better than any Wrangler has business doing. My main hangup was that for the huge MSRP increase over a standard Rubicon, the interior was pretty much left the same as a Rubicon X package except for the red leather. Stellantis kind of blew it on the 2024 refresh I think as the vehicle is starting to really feel dated regardless of the bigger display.

The nominally bigger cargo space in the Bronco also helped push me over to that decision ultimately.

Yeah, the JL Wrangler makes less sense the more you spend on it.

Friend 2 bought an early 2024 JL Wrangler, 2dr base soft-top around the same time as I bought my 2023 4Runner. His only option is automatic transmission and the black Willy's grille. MSRP w/destination was like $37,000. It made a LOT more sense at that price than a Rubicon 392 does at double that. I quite like the 2024 screen in it.... and it contrasts with the crank windows lmao (and 2024 is the last year for that!)

 

[fkheath]

Hey folks, so after 7.5 years, 2 5th Gen 4Runners, a bunch of playing around, some good adventures and about 110K miles, I made a change. I wasn't overly enamored with the 2.4T IMAX in the 2024 Land Cruiser when I drove one and started to ask myself if I could make a Bronco or Jeep work for me figuring the 2025 4Runner was going to disappoint in this regard (and I already had concerns over the hybrid battery eating into cargo space and overall early model year reliability given Toyotas recent missteps).

Ultimately ended up falling in love with the Bronco Raptor and was able to get a great deal on one a few days ago. Yes, it may not be as reliable as a 4Runner, and probably not quite as utilitarian, but I think it'll rank high on the smiles per mile ranking and I expect it to be a okay for "family" usage now that we don't need to cart strollers and other baby crap around anymore with our youngest 3 years old.

It's been fun. I may hang out some on the Bronco 6G forum but will probably not be around here much moving forward.

Sounds like you made a wise choice. Hope all goes well for and the new ride.

Toyota just showed off their new mini Land Rover at the Paris auto show recently. Obviously a direct competitor to the Bronco Sport. They plan to start selling them as a 2025 model in Europe, and the rumors have it, that it will be a 2026 in the USA. Rumored starting price is only $35K. Now, that I could go for!

 

[honda250xtitan]

nice upgrade dude. enjoy. perfect weather to rip it through the endless desert trails we have available to us out here.

 

[AZ Craig]

nice upgrade dude. enjoy. perfect weather to rip it through the endless desert trails we have available to us out here.

Thank you, if you ever see a white with code orange rolling around it's probably me . I honestly can't wait to get this thing out some. Bronco Raptors don't make a whole hell of a lot of sense in most of the country, but living in Arizona, Utah or Colorado is perfect for having one.

 

[Bmnorm2]

I don’t blame you on wanting to avoid the new 4Runners. I hope you don’t experience the Ford horror stories. Bronco Raptor is a seriously fun commitment with a completely different driving experience. You should stop in periodically to see what happens with the 6th gen’s. Best of luck!

 

[phillyd2]

Appreciate the 7 years and maybe we will see you again. Good luck!

 

[AZ Craig]

I don’t blame you on wanting to avoid the new 4Runners. I hope you don’t experience the Ford horror stories. Bronco Raptor is a seriously fun commitment with a completely different driving experience. You should stop in periodically to see what happens with the 6th gen’s. Best of luck!

I honestly hope Toyota gets stuff straightened out with all the pain lately as multiple manufacturers building good offroad vehicles is ultimately going to be the best thing for all of us who enjoy these cars for recreation and the specific lifestyle that they enable. I'm really curious to see how the Scout revival gets pulled off too at this point in tandem with the upcoming Rivian R2. It's an exciting time to be into offroad capable SUVs quite frankly.

I was behind a Land Cruiser 1st edition running Schnebly Hill into Sedona today. It did pretty damn well honestly; I definitely see how the ground clearance can be a bit of an Achilles' heel, but watching it flex and go through rocks was pretty neat. I ended up passing the guy on I17 later and he was hanging out his window giving me the thumbs up for my Raptor .

 

[honda250xtitan]

I honestly hope Toyota gets stuff straightened out with all the pain lately as multiple manufacturers building good offroad vehicles is ultimately going to be the best thing for all of us who enjoy these cars for recreation and the specific lifestyle that they enable. I'm really curious to see how the Scout revival gets pulled off too at this point in tandem with the upcoming Rivian R2. It's an exciting time to be into offroad capable SUVs quite frankly.

I was behind a Land Cruiser 1st edition running Schnebly Hill into Sedona today. It did pretty damn well honestly; I definitely see how the ground clearance can be a bit of an Achilles' heel, but watching it flex and go through rocks was pretty neat. I ended up passing the guy on I17 later and he was hanging out his window giving me the thumbs up for my Raptor .

thats one bumpy road my friend

 

[AZ Craig]

thats one bumpy road my friend

Haha, yes it is. It's hard to believe how much it has fallen apart in the last 10 years. I remember when I first moved out here around 2009 you could literally take a regular car through most of it (I remember passing a Honda Civic back in maybe 2011). It didn't mean it was a good idea back then, but was definitely possible.

Now you really have no business on it without low range and probably at least 8 to 10 inchs of clearance and it just beats you up.

 

[srsrogerissrs]

Was in a similar situation as you and ended up getting an f150 raptor. You couldn't pay me to go back to my 5th gen after living with a raptor.