Do you have the 2 wd 4runner?

Not to offend or to upset anyone (as I often do), but I just don't get the 2WD. The price differential isn't that great, and with 2WD you give up a tremendous amount of functionality--the 4Runner essentially becomes a very expensive station wagon.

And I don't buy the "mechanical simplicity" angle, either.
 
the 4Runner essentially becomes a very expensive station wagon.

And I don't buy the "mechanical simplicity" angle, either.

The wife's 2WD 4R was cheaper or nearly cheaper than the less than reliable domestic counterparts. As stated already in this thread, other options were not as palatable for some.

It isn't an expensive station wagon, just a bigger station wagon that is a bit simpler to work on up front and underneath.

All that aside, it comes down to What Do You WANT and NOT what someone else thinks you should be driving.
 
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I'm sure the majority up here has a 4wd. 2wd 4runner is like having a jeep with no 4 wd. So how many of you are content with your 2wd?

bsa nc

My buddy has a TRDOR Tacoma 2x4 with locking rear and crawl control. He got a killer deal on it because the dealer said it had been sitting forever and wasn’t selling for months. We pretty much make fun of him on a daily basis.
 
My buddy has a TRDOR Tacoma 2x4 with locking rear and crawl control. He got a killer deal on it because the dealer said it had been sitting forever and wasn’t selling for months. We pretty much make fun of him on a daily basis.

He has a 4x2 with Crawl Control?
 
When my GX was waiting on a takata airbag replacement I had a couple 2WD 4runner loaners, and they were really nice. If I was looking for a relatively inexpensive new SUV, I'd consider a 2WD runner. In my market you generally have to go out of the way to find a 4WD, though these days with the enthusiast market they're a little more plentiful.

Why I like a SUV is for the size, safety and the horrible pavement we have here in nola. Will I ever go down something worse than a shell road? Probably not.

Right now I'm looking at Expeditions and Yukons for my wife, and spending the extra few grand on 4WD feels like a total waste of money, hardly even a consideration. It would literally be a just-because type of expense, or just-in-case we ever have to ford a river or some BS that will never happen over the course of our ownership. In addition to the cost on the front end, I'm going to be filling it up more often, which really tips me over the edge. If she can get one more day out of the 2wd over the 4wd, that makes my life easier.

You also don't really get any benefit in the rain with 4WD unless you've got full-time 4wd. Even then it's debatable how much it's really helping out for regular driving. If I lived in the snow, or had a rough road to my fishing camp, etc. then it would make more sense.
 
I’ve owned a 1986 4-Runner 4WD, a 2004 2WD, a 2008 4WD, and now we have a 2015 Trail and a 2018 SR5 4WD.

When we decided to trade in the 2008 on a new one I told the salesman that I was fine with a 2WD this time since we still own the Trail. Then when he told me that the 2WD SR5 doesn’t have navigation, I changed my mind and got the 4WD for about $2,000 more just for the navigation and now my husband can use either truck to off-road in.

We’re not serious off-roaders, we go out a couple of times a year and scratch up our trucks. I have noticed that the Kinetic suspension is a lot smoother ride on the highway and wish it was in the SR5 also.

Anyway, I think I’m just trying to say that 2WD 4-Runners are very capable vehicles with great dependability and a certain rugged appeal for those of us who don’t necessarily make 4wheeling a way of life.
 
2wd for me is kinda a drag because sometimes you dont see that small mud pile and you get stuck and cant to anything about it because you cannot switch to 4wd. 2wd is still fun and you can still go exciting places, but 4wd is always handy for those little things.
 
If I was looking at 2WD options, I honestly don’t think I would have bought a 4Runner. I feel there are better options out there if one wasn’t shopping for a 4WD; unless you really just wanted a body on frame truck for some other reason, like towing, but I still feel there are better 2WD option for that too.

I own / have owned multiple trucks and over the years I found owning a 4WD really helps resale and the speed of sale. People seem to really fight over Toyota trucks that have 4WD and the resale market shows it. The 4WD variant of the truck will hold better resale over time. Just look at the used 4th Gen 4WD V8 market, the cost of those trucks are insanely high.

That said, the 2WD is a solid reliable truck, but you just don’t get the full benefit and experience of what these things are really about. At the end of the day, with these types of trucks, it’s better to have it and not need it, than need it and not have it.

Everyone has different needs and requirements, I don’t have anything against the 2WD, buy what works for you, but I love the lifestyle these things allow me to have and the 4WD capability is very much a part of that conversation.
 
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I have a 2wd, and can honestly say love it. I don't have a use for 4wd living where we don't really get a lot of snow or anything and I don't go off road.

My wife drives our 2WD 2014 4R. Lives on pavement.

She likes the height and feel of the 4R and has no use for 4WD. The Highlander did not appeal to her.

I too, did not like the look of the Highlanders. My boyfriend has made fun of me because until recently I drove little cars. But having been without wheels for a bit, when a '96 4runner falls in your lap you take it! First 5 minutes behind the wheel and I'm in love. Now he's jealous because he rides around in a Neon while he works on his Tahoe and I'm cruising to work in my beautiful baby! :D
 
I'd rather have 4wd, but it was given to me as my first vehicle and it's gotten me most places I've wanted to go. I think in the end learning to offroad with 2wd is going to serve me better when I do end up getting a new vehicle. The hard lessons are a lot harder when you can't shift into 4wd to get unstuck!
 

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