Done with my 4runner: lack of originality, room and HP.

[Inked]

Anyone else just bored with their 4runner? Everywhere I look here in the PNW, everyone has one that's modified and tricked out with similar accessories. I'm probably going to sell my 2010, tastefully modified, low mileage 4runner. The final straw was taking my fiancé, two kids, dog and off-road trailer, camping to the Marble mountains in NoCal. The lack of power, head/leg room and storage is getting to me.

I've owned this for 6 years now and it's been a great rig for overlanding and camping, but I'm recently engaged and am going to be a step dad to 2 young kiddos who are only going to get bigger and a second dog coming in August.

I'm seriously considering an older Land Rover LR3 or maybe an older Land Cruiser. Really need that additional power and space. The LR3 appeals to me in many ways...power, towing capacity, comfort, lot's of room and not many modified versions on the road. The LC is just a staple, hard working, dependable, larger version of the 4runner in my opinion. More of these on the road that are modded, but much less common than the 4runner.

Anyone else tired of staring at their 4runner doppelgänger every time you get on the road? The dated motor and transmission is a topic of content here so that's already clear.

 

[MAST4R]

I have got no issues with mine and I have 2 kids and one German Shepherd.

You are kidding yourself if you think that the interior volume of an LR3 or an LC will change anything in terms of cargo volume. We use a lightweight trailer to get to basecamp.

The rest are wants, not needs. If you are bored; you are bored, so it goes. Get whatever you like but both of those will cost money that you can use otherwise and the LR3 is not something I have faith in (though I love the design).

 

[Inked]

Huh, you're right. I just looked up the volume capacity and all 3 are eerily similar. I had a friend with an LR3 and it seemed much more roomy, loved the off road capabilities and comfort. The real knock for me is the underwhelming performance of my 4runner's towing capacity. My off road trailer is probably 2200 lbs fully loaded and the 4runner really struggles when getting over the passes.

 

[aaronw910]

I'm saving up for a 2.7L Bronco

 

[MAST4R]

Huh, you're right. I just looked up the volume capacity and all 3 are eerily similar. I had a friend with an LR3 and it seemed much more roomy, loved the off road capabilities and comfort. The real knock for me is the underwhelming performance of my 4runner's towing capacity. My off road trailer is probably 2200 lbs fully loaded and the 4runner really struggles when getting over the passes.

I agree that the LR3 is beautiful. I was tempted by one at a local dealer years ago but ultimately reason prevailed.

The 80 series was a classic. But the 200 has never ever caused any excitement on my end. I felt that they should have ended the LC in the US with the 100.

It is all very personal, of course. Just my take.

 

[2021nightshade4x4]

Be sure to visit the Land Rover forums before buying [emoji23][emoji23][emoji23]


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[johnnygraphic]

Be sure to visit the Land Rover forums before buying [emoji23][emoji23][emoji23]


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And get familiar with the parts dept guy and keep AAA on speed dial. If you decide to fix it on your own, be prepared to see it on google street and satellite views of your house!!!


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[Thai]

I agree that the LR3 is beautiful. I was tempted by one at a local dealer years ago but ultimately reason prevailed.

The 80 series was a classic. But the 200 has never ever caused any excitement on my end. I felt that they should have ended the LC in the US with the 100.

It is all very personal, of course. Just my take.

For me, the 100 series was the worst one by far. Soft boring styling. Nothing really special off-road. The 100 was kind of caught between the mechanical phase (80 series with lockers) and the electronic/fancy doodads phase (200 series with KDSS and CRAWL and much stronger components).

Granted, the early 200 series styling suck…but at least Toyota made amends in 2016 in that regards.

 

[ahtoxa11]

Sounds like you're just bored of the rig, OP. That's understandable.

Just comes down to what you want and value most, whether it's ruggedness, reliability, power, space, etc. The 4runner is "OG" to "good" in most areas, which makes it so popular. Generally speaking, if you want drastic improvement in one area, you'll have to sacrifice somewhere else. If you want significantly more power, you might trade off some reliability or offroad capability or something else.

No wrong answer here -- just have to decide what aspects matter most to you and then buy accordingly.

 

[Inked]

Land Rovers are a little like small town gossip. One local gal decides to have a fling and suddenly the whole town calls her a clown whore, has the clap laced with herpes, and aborted her meth baby. Point is, not all is true with the Land Rover...the Disco 2 was the classic abomination from my understanding, kind of like the "town whore" but LR did things right with the LR3 and LR4...but her reputation is forever tainted with her previous outing.

As far as the 100 series, I'd agree with the styling. Pretty boring lines, but the newer LC's modern styling is too much mall crawl for me, just my opinion. A sacrifice of some dependability for more comfort and power seems like backwards thinking and I might regret that in the future...much like sleeping with the clown whore. :banana:

 

[rdruss]

Get a Sequoia, more room, power and is just as capable as 4Runner unless you are on very tight trails.

 

[HOJeepster]

Anyone else just bored with their 4runner? Everywhere I look here in the PNW, everyone has one that's modified and tricked out with similar accessories. I'm probably going to sell my 2010, tastefully modified, low mileage 4runner. The final straw was taking my fiancé, two kids, dog and off-road trailer, camping to the Marble mountains in NoCal. The lack of power, head/leg room and storage is getting to me.

I've owned this for 6 years now and it's been a great rig for overlanding and camping, but I'm recently engaged and am going to be a step dad to 2 young kiddos who are only going to get bigger and a second dog coming in August.

I'm seriously considering an older Land Rover LR3 or maybe an older Land Cruiser. Really need that additional power and space. The LR3 appeals to me in many ways...power, towing capacity, comfort, lot's of room and not many modified versions on the road. The LC is just a staple, hard working, dependable, larger version of the 4runner in my opinion. More of these on the road that are modded, but much less common than the 4runner.

Anyone else tired of staring at their 4runner doppelgänger every time you get on the road? The dated motor and transmission is a topic of content here so that's already clear.

This will become a more common sentiment. I too grew tired of seeing 20% of the cars in Colorado being wanna be overland Toyota's or gear junkie'd out posers. 4 years ago my 4th Gen would still be considered a unique ride, now I feel like I'm unintentially trying to fit in with a 'trend', even though I've had it built out since 2014. I sold my 4runner last week - too tired of 'scene' that it's all become.

 

[Too Stroked]

You might want to do a little research on Land Rovers before you pull the trigger. You know how the 4Runner is the most reliable vehicle (according to Consumer Reports) for 13 years running? Land Rover products hold down the other end of that scale quite handsomely.

 

[shadow247]

Good luck out there.

You'll be back after your LR3 is in the shop 6x in 20k and you are making payments on a vehicle you can't drive. I have several customers making monthly payments on Range Rovers, that are sitting at the body shop waiting on parts. Range Rover will not tell them when they can get the parts, and refuses to cover their rental.

 

[Inked]

You might want to do a little research on Land Rovers before you pull the trigger. You know how the 4Runner is the most reliable vehicle (according to Consumer Reports) for 13 years running? Land Rover products hold down the other end of that scale quite handsomely.

I understand LR's have a lot of reliability issues with their vehicles but the '07 and '08 LR3's and '09-'13 LR4's are rated quite favorably. Doing a little research on a variety of forums, most people love them. Most of their quirks can be resolved with a Gap Diagnostic Tool. I'll be clear, I'm not suggesting by any means the LR is on par with the 4runner, but certain rovers are much better than their reputation suggest.

Good luck out there.

You'll be back after your LR3 is in the shop 6x in 20k and you are making payments on a vehicle you can't drive. I have several customers making monthly payments on Range Rovers, that are sitting at the body shop waiting on parts. Range Rover will not tell them when they can get the parts, and refuses to cover their rental.

I'm paying cash for this new toy...so this topic is a moot point. I also have other vehicles so it's not my daily driver...strictly for overland/camping adventures.

 

[dride]

I’m in a similar spot. I have 2 step daughters and a dog. I would like the possibility to have space for an additional human to comfortably ride. More power would be great. Something different. But if I do sell, I am going tundra.


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[bob3dsf]

Anyone else just bored with their 4runner? Everywhere I look here in the PNW, everyone has one that's modified and tricked out with similar accessories. I'm probably going to sell my 2010, tastefully modified, low mileage 4runner. The final straw was taking my fiancé, two kids, dog and off-road trailer, camping to the Marble mountains in NoCal. The lack of power, head/leg room and storage is getting to me.

I've owned this for 6 years now and it's been a great rig for overlanding and camping, but I'm recently engaged and am going to be a step dad to 2 young kiddos who are only going to get bigger and a second dog coming in August.

I'm seriously considering an older Land Rover LR3 or maybe an older Land Cruiser. Really need that additional power and space. The LR3 appeals to me in many ways...power, towing capacity, comfort, lot's of room and not many modified versions on the road. The LC is just a staple, hard working, dependable, larger version of the 4runner in my opinion. More of these on the road that are modded, but much less common than the 4runner.

Anyone else tired of staring at their 4runner doppelgänger every time you get on the road? The dated motor and transmission is a topic of content here so that's already clear.

LOL, he said Land Rover! The Brits can't do reliability. The lack of such is a WELL worn trail of tears, because you'll be walking.

 

[twitchee2]

this should solve the power problem.

Toyota 4Runner/FJ Cruiser 4.0L Roller Rocker

 

[4Reak Show]

The real knock for me is the underwhelming performance of my 4runner's towing capacity. My off road trailer is probably 2200 lbs fully loaded and the 4runner really struggles when getting over the passes.

We tow a travel trailer with our 2016. Weighs in around 3500 probably with all the nonsense loaded in for campground camping. Add to that my wife, our 5 and 1 year old kids (both in bulky car seats) and the ice chest full of the weekend’s beverages and yeah I can see it’s crammed.

As for power: drop down to S (standard) mode and then you have waaaay more control of the gears. I tow in 4th all day long, and when a hill comes up I drop it to 3rd, maybe 2nd. Let the RPM’s climb and make the engine work. Redlines at like 6K doesn’t it?

Basically, it’s NEVER gonna win any races. But it WILL get you there. Just gonna walk up the hill, not sprint. Personally a fair trade off for consistent longevity numbers of these rides.

But if you’re bored, you’re bored. Or maybe you like the IDEA of overlanding more than the actual journey of what overlanding represents. Or maybe I’m just full of horse shit.

 

[85GT-79FJ40]

If you're done you're done. And that's fine. It does make me laugh how it seems a lot of people complain about power in these rigs. Many of you have never done the same things we do with 4th and 5th gen 4Runners with a first gen. Talk about lack of power! I had many many older Toyota trucks with 22R's and 22RE's. Even one with a 22RET that wasn't anything great compared to what we have now. But I loved them and I love my 5th gen. I'll admit I did test drive a 2.7 Tacoma a few years back (and I had bought one new in 05 and loved it) and didn't buy it because it was just too damn slow. We get spoiled.