Has anyone gone from Land Rover to 4Runner?

[Matteblack]

Thanks [MENTION=79556]Matteblack[/MENTION]! That's a carbon copy of what I have now. I don't know if it's my older, wiser years (I'm still < 40 though!) but I want to make that smart choice rather than the super sexy one. A nice, mildly built 4runner is really what I'm envisioning.

Like you, I will immediately be uprating the suspension if I get the '15 Trail, perhaps with the OME kit or even as basic as the 5100's to remedy the overly cushy ride and level it out.

[MENTION=68664]mattb[/MENTION]lack, please post a pic of your setup, never hurts for me to see as many setups as possible so I can select the correct one for my needs. I just hate the stock 4runner's "head down in shame" factory rake.

Here you go. This is from our forum meet up in Seattle a few months ago. Mine is the Silver one. All three of us from left to right have lifts, the last one is stock. I'm confident you would enjoy a 5th Gen. To be honest, I've never enjoyed a vehicle more than the T4R TE.


MB

 

[BigOlTater]

I drove a 2005 RR HSE, OMG the AWD system is second to none, loved all the creature comforts, however after a year the steering colum would automatically tilt all the way down while driving, air suspension would work most of the time which kinda killed the experience. Ended up trading it on for a 2008 sequoia. I love RR but I know know why smart people just lease them.

 

[CatskillsRunner]

Comparing apples to oranges but some good info in here!

As far as the douchey thing... Living in an affluent area like we do, where there are so many RRs. We are not fans of RR owners' road manners.

We don't even own a 4runner yet, but we are much more impressed by their owners/drivers. We tend to view 4runner owners as much more intelligent, practical and purposeful than any LR owner.

Not to knock all you NYC folk, but my neighborhood is made up of 50% second home owners. So on the weekends, here are the trends: everyone wears black North Face crap, you get cut off all the time, no one holds the door for you, on my county road no one waves, the farmers that need to get their tractors from one field to another and use the roads sometimes to do it get beeped at and passed in the most dangerous part of the road. Oh! And these same people are the first ones in line at the farmers' market. Go figure. They might not all be RRs, but many are.

I think the OP called the RR sexier (might not have been him) than the 4R. No f-ing way. Pretentious, yes. Sexy, no.

 

[T.Rock]

I don't necessarily mean the ride, I just don't think it's rugged enough anymore. The 4runner is for sure. And no the Land Cruiser doesn't appear to be rugged but does have that prestige factor and unbelievably compliant ride and that's what I really like about it. It also has heritage.

So I guess what I am trying to say is that the Jeep lacks the "toughness" factor but then doesn't even make up for it with any prestige - it just seems...ordinary to me. And it is way too common - I have always been a bit of a niche vehicle buyer.

Hahaha...okay. To me, the last Land Rover I would even begin to consider rugged is the old Defender. The newer ones are mall crawlers, just like every other modern SUV.

 

[T.Rock]

Detail oriented too, they made sure to include Land Rover's reknowned unreliability... also for half the price.

Not really. Land Rover has been far on the bottom of reliability rankings for many, many years now. So it would be a win-win for him...he'd GAIN reliability and still have all those luxo features he seems to like at half the price. Especially the air suspension, since he seems to like it so much.

Besides, new vehicles come with warranties. That's the beauty of it....no worries while under warranty. When the warranty is up, move on to another vehicle. That's what I plan to do. And I guess that's what he's doing too, based upon his initial comment that things are starting to go wrong with his Land Rover, so he's looking to get into something new.

 

[Dexter Morgan]

Not to knock all you NYC folk, but my neighborhood is made up of 50% second home owners. So on the weekends, here are the trends: everyone wears black North Face crap, you get cut off all the time, no one holds the door for you, on my county road no one waves, the farmers that need to get their tractors from one field to another and use the roads sometimes to do it get beeped at and passed in the most dangerous part of the road. Oh! And these same people are the first ones in line at the farmers' market. Go figure. They might not all be RRs, but many are.

I think the OP called the RR sexier (might not have been him) than the 4R. No f-ing way. Pretentious, yes. Sexy, no.

Yep I did call it the sexier choice, but you are correct it is the pretentious choice as well. Don't get me wrong, I do really appreciate the driving characteristics, the heritage and the performance. I work in an extremely affluent area of Fairfield County but I feel like just another d-head with a Range...in fact most driver's are yoga mom's who need to transport one kid from daycare to home and then head to Whole Foods for a some bean curd salad. It's the shit of real housewives.

Getting the 4runner feels more "me". Don't get me wrong, I appreciate the finer things in life but I've always been a Toyota guy with numerous trucks and suv's over the years and they never let me down.

I see a fair amount of Land Cruiser's too, and in the back of my mind sometimes I think..."THAT guy made a good choice".

It's ok being an outlier sometimes...look at Warren Buffet, he just got rid of his '06 Cadillac DTS! And of course we all know the story of how he still lives in his first house in Omaha, NE. HE should be the inspiration, not material things...why am I lecturing myself?? :tape2:

 

[Mtn.Rush]

I had a 2006 Range Rover sport before I traded it in for a 2008 4Runner limited, I never looked back. I'll never consider owning another one (RR) unless they get there shit together service/mechanically wise, absolutely terrible. Tranny flash 2x, sunroof drains cloged, memory seats and mirrors stopped working 2x, air suspension recalibration 2x, front bushings changed 2x, radio display would just go blank for no reason. I had enough and got ride of it, not only because the crappy mechanical issues but like you stated the RR just wasn't me. It was the fastest/well handling SUV I have ever driven but probably never again.
I have since left the 4Runners for my current Toyota Land Cruiser. And to be honest, it has been the best vehicle I have ever owned (I've had 4 - 4runners., 1994, 1996, 2008, 2010) I would take my land cruiser over a Range Rover any day in any crappy condition I could get myself in. I love just getting in it, staring it and NEVER worrying that it's going to leave me stranded.

 

[Dario]

I'll chime in as I currently own both. I have an LR3, a Disco II, have previously had a 90s RR, and have spent a lot of time driving an LR2. Also learned to off-road in a Series LR. I like all the LRs I have had. (I don't have much interest in the new RRs.)

I think you need to get into a 4Runner and drive it for a while. Try to get your brain past the new-car feeling and consider how it rides and handles relative to the LR.

The wife has a 2015 Limited. When we went looking for a new truck for her I said "no Rovers." We needed one vehicle that would be rock-solid reliable. The Rover isn't it. While none of them have ever stranded me, they've all needed significant work except the RR. Went 220K mile on that with no issues.

I have not off-roaded in the wife's LE. I haven't really done so in the LR3, but it seems capable. The Disco is quite good. Point is, I can't compare off-road ability between them.

On road they are very different vehicles. The Rovers have V8s and drive like it. I've learned to drive for better mileage and have lost my lead foot. For this reason the power difference is less noticeable. But it's there.

The cockpit of the 4Runner is completely different than a Rover. Not worse, just different. My preference is LR3, 4Runner, Disco in that order. But I could easily drive all day in the 4Runner and be happy with it.

They all drive like trucks. The 4Runner with X-REAS is better to drive than the Rovers. Winding roads just don't throw you around at all. I'm sure a new Range Rover or a Lexus has a nicer ride. Regardless, I think the 4Runner drives great. I probably prefer to drive the LR3 but the 4Runner actually handles better on the road.

Overall the LR3 feels a little nicer inside. A new RR would be much nicer inside. The 4Runner is perfectly nice. It's not a luxury car, but it's a very nice one.

The Rovers have great visibility. (Not sure about the new RRs with the lower roof lines.) The 4Runner feels more closed in. I tend to not notice it after driving for a while. Going from the Land Rover to the 4Runner it initially feels like a there is a lot more car around you and a lot less glass. You need to see if you can live with that.

The wife picked the 4Runner after looking at most 4x4s and has never looked back. We did not look at the LandCruiser or the Lexus. Excepting those two, the 4Runner is the only other 4x4 I would wan to drive other than an LR. The wife [fixed] doesn't even like driving the Rovers now and seems to have turned into a T4R snob.

[MENTION=117561]drsus[/MENTION], nice post and great pics of your Disco in action.

 

[philsey]

..... The wide doesn't even like driving the Rovers now and seems to have turned into a T4R snob.....

Typo?

 

[Dario]

Typo?

Yikes! While not skinny, I wouldn't call her wide. Much better looking than me. As I get older and uglier we get the "why is she what that guy" stare sometimes. I'll take it.

 

[bythehour]

The cockpit of the 4Runner is completely different than a Rover. Not worse, just different. My preference is LR3, 4Runner, Disco in that order. But I could easily drive all day in the 4Runner and be happy with it.

They all drive like trucks. The 4Runner with X-REAS is better to drive than the Rovers. Winding roads just don't throw you around at all. I'm sure a new Range Rover or a Lexus has a nicer ride. Regardless, I think the 4Runner drives great. I probably prefer to drive the LR3 but the 4Runner actually handles better on the road.

I had an '08 LR3 and am a surprised you rank the LR3 interior over the 4R. The LR3 was very utilitarian with all hard plastic surfaces and low-tech LCD displays with uneven incandescent backlighting. I think the current 4R, especially redesigned in '14 and later in LE trim is much nicer. Now, the LR4 on the other hand....no contest. The LR4 is a damn fine place to spend some time.

I think the only thing I will miss from the LR3 is the heated windshield.

I found that the 4R drove bette around corners than my LR3. It just felt tighter. However, the 4R definitely has noticeable nosedive that I didn't really notice ever in the LR3.

 

[Dario]

lol all I saw there was :

manually and/or automatic air suspension (3-5k fix), leather covered dash (1k fix), panoramic sunroof (2k fix), bi-xenon HIDs (500 fix), terrain settings (750 fix), a V8 engine (4500 fix), 8-speed automatic transmission (4k fix), configurable thin-film transistor dashboard display (2k fix) etc..

Agree. If they were aiming for a Land Rover they missed by a mile, except on the reliability issues.

 

[Dario]

I had an '08 LR3 and am a surprised you rank the LR3 interior over the 4R. The LR3 was very utilitarian with all hard plastic surfaces and low-tech LCD displays with uneven incandescent backlighting. I think the current 4R, especially redesigned in '14 and later in LE trim is much nicer. Now, the LR4 on the other hand....no contest. The LR4 is a damn fine place to spend some time.

I think the only thing I will miss from the LR3 is the heated windshield.

I found that the 4R drove bette around corners than my LR3. It just felt tighter. However, the 4R definitely has noticeable nosedive that I didn't really notice ever in the LR3.

I think it's more a preference for Rovers. I've driven them for 20 yeas. They have a different feel. Also see my comment about all the glass.

No question the 4Runner drives better on pavement. Tighter is a good description. No nose dive on the Limited. The truck is rock solid around corners. It doesn't lean or dive.

 

[Renegad44]

I think the only thing I will miss from the LR3 is the heated windshield.

I found that the 4R drove bette around corners than my LR3. It just felt tighter. However, the 4R definitely has noticeable nosedive that I didn't really notice ever in the LR3.

Seems my Limited has a heated windshield, well not the windshield, but the windshield wiper heater. And the X-REAS shock system seems to rectify nose-dive and cornering. I'm actually amazed at the level-ness the vehicle retains around some curves I take on the interstate.

Dario... I just corrected my statement to read "windshield wiper heater," which is located at the bottom of the windshield where the wipers rest.

 

[Dario]

Seems my Limited has a heated windshield.

Not so in my 2015. The Rovers have tiny, almost imperceptible wires running through the windshield. They heat up and defrost the windshield completely and quickly. All my Rovers have had this. Don't know why other car makers don't do this.

Edit: got it - heated wipers, not windshield.

 

[Jayhawk5G]

Not really. Land Rover has been far on the bottom of reliability rankings for many, many years now. So it would be a win-win for him...he'd GAIN reliability and still have all those luxo features he seems to like at half the price. Especially the air suspension, since he seems to like it so much.

Besides, new vehicles come with warranties. That's the beauty of it....no worries while under warranty. When the warranty is up, move on to another vehicle. That's what I plan to do. And I guess that's what he's doing too, based upon his initial comment that things are starting to go wrong with his Land Rover, so he's looking to get into something new.

I would still worry, I buy my vehicles to use them not so they can sit in a dealership service bay having warranty repairs done. The only thing the warranty does is cover your financial responsability for parts that break while covered.

 

[Mtn.Rush]

Yeah my warranty was awesome as I spent as much time in a loaner vehicle while mine was getting "warranty fixes". No doubt the trucks are very attractive but the headache wasn't worth it for me.

 

[Dexter Morgan]

I thank everyone for their feedback on this topic, I did not think I would get such a response. It seems the consensus is all the same - when its working, there's nothing better, but that won't be the case and you'll end up hating it. I'm getting there...

I currently have the following issues to deal with:

Driver's heated seat not working
Tilt function not working (currently fuse is pulled so it doesn't move erratically...this also prevents any driver's seat movement). F'n honda civic type hack.
CD changer is not working
TPMS light going on and off randomly...probably due to age.

I dare not add up what it would cost to get this fixed. I'm one of those "everything has to be working" type guy so even though the heated seat is nearly worthless to me, the fact that it isn't working bugs the hell out of me.

So I think the evidence is overwhelmingly there...I need to move on to a '15 4runner Trail and build it with a 2.5/1.5 lift, Spidertrax and some good OEM size A/T tires. I want a good, solid, modern DD that would ever so occasionally go off road and handle like a champ in the snow. And I no longer want someone else's junk, which is why I'm going brand new.

 

[bythehour]

One of my tpms sensors went out. It was ~$100 from the dealer, who quoted about $200 installed. But, my SA said they always recommend doing all four for $800!!! He said that included programming. I laughed. I ordered the parts on line for $50/each and had my tire guy install them. No reprogramming needed...the LR3 is self programming! Lol

I also had a windshield chip. Good thing that was covered by insurance.

I knew I had a major service, brakes and alignment coming up. That would have been good for a couple grand. I just wanted out.

 

[PNTRDPROO]

What about the 2014+ LR2?

Reliability-wise, that is