Dang we got it good compared to some

[Falls]

Today was my Mom's 69th bday. we went to their house and took them out to dinner in my Mom's Trailblazer . ( i posted something about my Dad test driving one a while back ) Anyway Mom loves her TB 4x4 4.2L v6. I was the driver today so I had good rural driving and city driving. It's an 05 w/19k on the clock . My 4R is a v8 with 38k on the clock.
I got a lot of seat time in it today and after we got back to their house , hopped into the 4R and headed home , both me and the wife looked at each other as we started driving and said holy crap is this thing smooth , solid , quiet , Xreas was never appreciated so much. The 4R rode a lot stiffer (like a truck) but so much smoother . I could not believe how loud the v6 was , the rattle , the loose steering , the body roll , simply amazing the difference !!!

She really loves that little truck , so I kept my mouth shut , but first chance I can get her to drive my 4R I will let her .

 

[pat161]

The Trailblazer does not have a V6, they come w/ an Inline 6.

 

[BTLFED]

You act like this is a suprise to you LOL!

4Runner > All :biggrin2:

 

[charlier180]

About a month ago I had a brand new Chevy Suburban as a rental for work. Lets just say the ride and handling of that beast left a LOT to be desired.
Talk about a noisy, rough ride compared to my 4Runner. After a couple of days with that beast, I was SO glad to get home to my 4Runner.
Too bad the local car rental places do not have 4Runners. If they did, I know what vehicle I would rent in the future.

 

[slyangel9]

Sorry to hijack this tread, but Charlie, can you tell me which year that Suburban was. My 4runner seems to be getting smaller since I have 3 kids and no 3rd row.

 

[p nut]

I know all about this. I had a 98 4Runner that got totalled. Then I thought I'd try out a Jeep. Got a 5.9L V8 Grand Cherokee. It had gobs of power and was actually pretty fun to drive. But everything felt so cheap and was always afraid that it would break down at any second. Sold it 5 months later and got another 4Runner. Feels so good to be back in a Toyota.

 

[charlier180]

Sorry to hijack this tread, but Charlie, can you tell me which year that Suburban was. My 4runner seems to be getting smaller since I have 3 kids and no 3rd row.

I believe it was a 2008 model. We rented it around December 15th and it had very low miles.
If you need SPACE I have to admit it is BIG inside. We took out the 3rd row seat and folded the seconr row seats flat.
It does haul a whole lot of computer equipment.

Funny aside. This Suburban had a tow hitch installed on it.
When I asked the Enterprise Rental agent about it he said towing with an Enterprise vehicle is a NOT ALLOWED.
What makes this funny to me is all the times I see people on-line posting "you don't need an SUV, if you need to tow,
just rent a vehicle". Other than a U-Haul or maybe a Penske unit, there are not many vehicle rental places that allow towing.

 

[josh220]

You think that's a huge difference, I drove my mom's 07 Ford Escape about an hour and 45 minutes north to Oxnard and back, and the engine basically sounds like it's constantly farting the whole way, it's so loud and obnoxious for how little power it has. When I got back into my 4runner later that night it was like, "ahhh my baby."

 

[Mountaineer]

On my drive home tonight I was thinking about how smooth and solid my Runner felt. Makes me gald I bought it instead of a GMC Envoy 3 years ago. Then again, the choice was really easy when I compared the two.

 

[Falls]

You think that's a huge difference, I drove my mom's 07 Ford Escape about an hour and 45 minutes north to Oxnard and back, and the engine basically sounds like it's constantly farting the whole way, it's so loud and obnoxious for how little power it has. When I got back into my 4runner later that night it was like, "ahhh my baby."

Im know what you mean about the Ford Escape , even though it's 3 years older , same chit different year.

 

[armybass]

IN the past several years I have had a Blazer, Cherokee and a Honda Passport. None of them even compare to my 4Runner. I still get a charge out of saying "my" 4Runner.

 

[jharris2]

Today was my Mom's 69th bday.

Tell her happy birthday from all of us at T4R.org!!

:happy bda

She really loves that little truck , so I kept my mouth shut , but first chance I can get her to drive my 4R I will let her .

Very smart move, especially on her birthday.

 

[statman24]

I've driven the Honda Pilot (I believe it was previously the Passport). I was considering it, but decided on the 4runner. No complaints with the Pilot... it's really nice, just different.

I don't think the Trailblazer is as bad as you guys are making it out to be. I rented one recently and I thought it was a nice vehicle. None of the problems mentioned above.

 

[Methodical]

If I needed a strictly on-road SUV, it'd be a pilot. They are damned nice, ride is awesome, drivetrain is fantastic, mileage is good too.

But they are unibody and can't do much in the way of off-road, and I happen to think the front end reminds me of ass.

 

[Dbone]

If I needed a strictly on-road SUV, it'd be a pilot. They are damned nice, ride is awesome, drivetrain is fantastic, mileage is good too.

But they are unibody and can't do much in the way of off-road, and I happen to think the front end reminds me of ass.

I looked at a pilot before buying our v8 4runner...I just found the road noise worse in the pilot...It drove nice enough but it just didn't seem to have as refined a ride as the runner...at least for me...

To each their own I guess...

Cheers

 

[BTLFED]

I've driven the Honda Pilot (I believe it was previously the Passport). I was considering it, but decided on the 4runner. No complaints with the Pilot... it's really nice, just different.

Actually no, they are two completely vehicles. The Passport was manufactured by Isuzu. It is the exact same as a Rodeo. It was a joint effort between Honda and Isuzu. In return Honda produced the Isuzu Oasis which is a Honda Odessey with Isuzu emblems.

 

[JB.]

Interesting remarks about the Pilot. It's such a completely different animal than the 4runner. I don't even see how both could compete for the same buyer's attention.

What would make a Pilot more useful than an AWD mini-van?

 

[Dbone]

Interesting remarks about the Pilot. It's such a completely different animal than the 4runner. I don't even see how both could compete for the same buyer's attention.

What would make a Pilot more useful than an AWD mini-van?

The reality is the average joe SUV buyer probably would not appreciate the true difference....you are so right though...they are so vastly different it's not even funny...

Cheers

 

[JB.]

What would make a Pilot more useful than an AWD mini-van?

I was a little quick with the question. Pilot would be tougher, better clearance. Able to get into the dirt a bit. It just seems odd to me to go to the trouble of making something a bit off-roadable and not include low range gearing. Gotta be a marketing thing.

 

[Dbone]

I was a little quick with the question. Pilot would be tougher, better clearance. Able to get into the dirt a bit. It just seems odd to me to go to the trouble of making something a bit off-roadable and not include low range gearing. Gotta be a marketing thing.

Quite the contrary....it is just purely smart business...Honda has basically taken a minivan and made it look like an SUV and then started charging a large price for it...more or less...at least this is the way I see it...

Having said this, I have driven one and like them quite a bit...obviously if I had to choose between the pilot and the odyssey I would take the Pilot.,..

Cheers