Other SUVs you've owned compared to your 4runner

[28.]

As far as other SUVs go I've had....

1. 03 GMC Yukon XL 4x4 - Raised our family in this thing. Very reliable. Only routine stuff.. Really do miss it..

2. 99 Honda CRV AWD - Bought it for work after selling our Yukon. Lent my son my 4runner while he found a replacement for his GTP.. Intended to let him keep my Runner but he saw how depressed I was and asked to use the CRV and returned the 4runner to it's rightful owner:lol:.. Very reliable and great on gas .. Surprisingly capable AWD system and great in snow.. He still driving it with no issues and 200K plus miles..

3. 05 Lexus LX470 (Land Cruiser) - Our baby as my wife likes to call it.. This was my dream truck and nabbed it when I had the chance. Me and the wife use it pretty much only for our vacations since she dreads flying(She daily drives a Camry). Tough as nails and comfy as cotton. Capable, durable, reliable, and just plain fun on the trails..

Thing is I think overall my 4runner is the most well balanced. Dam near as capable and reliable as our Land Cruiser though maybe not as comfy. But I gotta say when I'm alone and bored, I go straight to my 4runner.. It's just that much more fun... And it's my daily driver..:lookout:

And just for shits and giggles..hoto:

 

[vchjchj]

Wondering what other SUVs you've owned. (no trucks) How have they compared? I've only owned a 2002 Xterra. It was solid and reliable, but rode awful, jerked all over the road and felt cheap compared to a 4runner. It was cheap to buy compared to my 4runner but not worth the savings.

 

[lunchindabox]

In regards to buying a dozen LX470's and only driving them for 29 days..

I don't get it, why drive each for only 29 days?

These cars came from dealerships and were bought for export. I drove them as long as the tags the dealership gave me (30 day temp tags) were good then I put them on a boat.

 

[Davy180]

I had a 2003 Chevy trailblazer fully loaded 4wd. I liked it because it had a lot of options but the ground clearance was terrible.

Here is a picture of it by my old motorcycle.

 

[rooost]

For about a week had a 2008 Highlander (my ladie's) and my 2007 T4R V8AWD

This is only interesting because it seemed Toyota did everything they could to make
these two vehicles exactly opposite...and how freaking much bigger an interior can be on a unibody than a real body on frame truck..

Highlander was a great Highway rig, a few pounds in the back helped the ride...but these damm FWD big cars have terrible torque steer in town

 

[JeffMerr]

Owned a 2003 Dodge Durango 4x4. Biggest piece of crap I've ever owned. I'll never buy a dodge again.

 

[montana_jeepn]

- 94 Jeep YJ 4x4 (4banger with a 4 spd)
- 03 Jeep TJ Sport 4x4 (inline 6 with a 5spd)
- 08 Jeep JK 4dr Rubicon (miss this one the most)
- 11 GMC Yukon XL 4x4 (talk about space)
- 97 4Runner 4x4 (totally rebuilt her and then found my 4th gen)
- 90's Landcruiser (Diesel with a manual) - used this beast when I was in Baghdad. I should find some pictures of it.

I think the only one I really miss is the JK......I plan on running my 4Runner into the ground, but I do intend to own another Jeep someday.....HEMI or diesel though of course.

 

[zimdba]

Wondering what other SUVs you've owned. (no trucks) How have they compared? I've only owned a 2002 Xterra. It was solid and reliable, but rode awful, jerked all over the road and felt cheap compared to a 4runner. It was cheap to buy compared to my 4runner but not worth the savings.

[/QUOTE]

I had an Xterra of the same vintage as yours as a rental car. It was a true BOF SUV. I would never consider buying one as my experience was the exact same as yours.

 

[rrflyer]

I owned a 94xj, 96TJ, 2001 XJ(totaled) then bought another 2001 XJ.

Really like them. Small, decent power, good 4wd. All started falling sort around 120,000 though.

 

[Range]

Current 2004 Limited 4th Gen - Had it since 2005

1. 2009-2011 Range Rover - Comfy, fast, always a pleasure dropping it off for service, great for rap videos.
2. 1998-2005 Jeep Grand Cherokee - pretty solid to be honest until I got into the six figure mileage. V8 engine, great off-roading, fast. All stock.
3. 1993-1998 - Subaru Outback - college years, great little car, amazing in the snow, manual blazing through the Colorado Rockies (Steamboat Springs then Boulder)

 

[Cat100]

Currently rocking a 1st and 2nd gen 4runner, and a 2013 FJ. Love them all, and i defintely love the headroom in the FJ that seems to be the biggest plus.

 

[Timberland]

Just purchased my 07 Limited with the 4.7 and 200,000 kms about a month ago. To be honest I have a bit of buyer's remorse due to the problems I need to fix immediately after purchasing, but I'm warming up to it. I considered selling it right away and just keeping the Jeep, but I've decided to fix/build it and hopefully it proves to be a rock solid vehicle from that point on.

My 03 Jeep Grand Cherokee: Loaded Limited with 4.7HO V8 in black. 180,000 kms, owned for the last 10 years. Not the most reliable vehicles but really not bad if they're cared for properly. No major failures, just small stuff.

Positives:
- Solid axles and Quadra drive are much better off road
- Better ground clearance (especially approach and departure angles)
- 4.7HO V8 sounds great with a 3" exhaust and has more power down low than the Toyota 4.7. No timing belt is nice as well.
- Seating position is a bit better for me at 6'3
- I prefer the metallic black on dark grey color combo on this over the Shadow gray and light gray carpets of the 4runner
- No body rust even after 13 salty Canadian winters. Underbody is clean as well (4runner has rust bubbles on the hatch despite being 4 years newer and spending it's whole life up north with no road salt)
- Resale if you're buying. I believe these are a better value due to the 4runners being so overpriced in the used market.

Negatives:
- Doesn't carry the legendary reputation the Toyota trucks have (although I'm dealing with a cracked manifold and leaking RAS right out of the gate... didn't have expensive problems like that in 10 years with the Jeep)
- Overall not as well designed or engineered as the Toyota
- Not as smooth on the highway
- Less higher end power than the vvti V8
- Headlights are much worse than the oem 4runner projectors even with an HID kit
- Steering has much more slop, even with a brand new steering box
- Infinity audio is no match for the JBL
- Worse turning radius than the 4runner, also the AWD system binds in tight turns much more
- So far the 4runner seems less thirsty but it's too early to tell for sure
- Rear window doesn't go down, although it does open separately from the hatch at least
- Resale value if you're selling. These are worth a fraction of a similar 4runner and the market moves much slower as well

Aside from these things I'm actually surprised at how similar these are to each other. Either Jeep got lucky when they designed the WJ or these 4runners are a bit over rated. So far in my experience neither one of them live up to their reputation. The Jeep is fairly reliable and the Toyota is costing me $$$$ to repair already. I don't mind though, I got the 4runner for a good enough deal to justify it. It's also got a full service history at a Toyota dealer. Hopefully once I have the issues sorted out I'll be happier with it.

 

[roverdisco]

My 04 LandRover disco was great. It was very needy with regard to maintance so i was always tinkering with it. It was a beast off road and if the lockers were engaged it would get up any obstical. Had a little more space than my 4Runner worse milage and super comfy seats.

My 4runner is less needy, slightly less capable and more fuel efficient. Overall very happy with the 4runner, but I miss my rover.

I had the Disco when they came out in '95. I couldn't agree with your statement more. I miss mine too (just look at my user name hwell.

 

[Stuffman]

03 tacoma with the 3.4L V6 4x4 - no power, very light, rough riding, always started, cant tow crap, highly reliable. Hit Black ice and it ended up in the cement barrier.
05 blazer 4.3L V6, love the thing except for the fuel pump failures and ball joints, engine very reliable all the accessories not so much. towing ability so much better.
06 S10, same as above.
08 Rav4 limited almost fully loaded with V6, fastest little SUV I every owned. Highly reliable, easy on gas...ex wife took it after split.
05 T4R, V8 limited, you guys already know this is a nice cruiser. Mixed feelings on towing. The heaviest I every towed was 1200 lb tractor, extra with trailer, the 4 runner have trouble stopping. So, i'm always worried when I have to move the tractor. Light stuff under 800 lbs, no issues at all.

 

[randomtask16]

The 4Runner has PLENTY of features the Q didn't have, not gonna compare, just the things that stood out about it...

1999 Infiniti QX4 4X4 w/230k miles

-Low HP
-Marginal Torque
-Towing a boat felt like a near death experience due to spongy suspension
-Death wobble if you didn't replace rear bushings every 50k or go poly.
-Sensitive O2/Knock sensors - constantly got CEL even after replacement
-Very 90's electronics, displays failed on HVAC/Radio
-No "AC" option, auto or nothing
-Horrid resale value

Plus Side:
-230k and still going when I sold it
-Got it for $800 (mech special) and easily fixed (distributor)
-All electronics worked till 230k when sold
-For $800 I didn't worry about tearing it up
-Easy to find in junk yards for parts

 

[docboy]

03 tacoma with the 3.4L V6 4x4 - no power, very light, rough riding, always started, cant tow crap, highly reliable. Hit Black ice and it ended up in the cement barrier.
05 blazer 4.3L V6, love the thing except for the fuel pump failures and ball joints, engine very reliable all the accessories not so much. towing ability so much better.
06 S10, same as above.
08 Rav4 limited almost fully loaded with V6, fastest little SUV I every owned. Highly reliable, easy on gas...ex wife took it after split.
05 T4R, V8 limited, you guys already know this is a nice cruiser. Mixed feelings on towing. The heaviest I every towed was 1200 lb tractor, extra with trailer, the 4 runner have trouble stopping. So, i'm always worried when I have to move the tractor. Light stuff under 800 lbs, no issues at all.

Curious to know, between the Rav4 and 4R, if you had to choose one, which would it be?

 

[mizak82]

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Ruthven13]

OK, in order:

'78 K5 with the 305. First vehicle and only cost me $700 in '95. It was in pretty rough shape, but it had a fully carpeted interior and 33's. Not too bad for a HS junior

'78 Bronco. Had a 460, 4spd man trans, np 205 t-case, 8-lug Dana 44 front and Dana 60 rear, and 39.5" Super Swampers. Hell of a fun truck and pretty quick with about 400 hp. Did me well during my years in Maine exploring logging trails that would have swallowed a smaller truck and was very helpful on the unplowed back roads in the winter

'91 full size Jimmy with 350. Not too bad, pretty much the perfect truck for me at the time and is still my favorite body style (notice a trend?).

'98 Cherokee Sport, 4.0 I-6. Needed something quick since my KLR was my only vehicle at the time and riding in the snow to work was starting to get annoying.

'03 4Runner Limited V8 (current): Did some research this time since I don't really know much about "modern" trucks. Liked the full frame and the V8. What really sold me though was the roll down rear window (weird selling point?). Only things I don't like so far are the lack of adequate power outlets and probably too many options (all of them I think). Not looking forward to fixing the factory rear air susp when something goes wrong. V8's seem to be hard to come by around here so choices were pretty limited. Love it otherwise.

 

[pliance04]

First suv for me was a jeep cherokee 4.0ho I6 with the death wobble issue. rebuilt the front end 2-3 times same issue. Put her in a 7ft deep ditch, tried 4lo, but was to far on her side. 2nd suv was a ford escape v6 2002, fairly quick for what it was. it was a road suv, never saw a dirt road. Now i have a 2004 Runner sport v8 awd. love it thus far

 

[metramm]

First suv is my current suv.

2006 Toyota 4runner Limited v6 4x4.

Loving it so far! Runs great, tows the boat without issues (1984 Baja Sunsport 164 w/ 125 hp Yamaha outboard)

Comfy on the highway. All stock except Xenon Depot HID kit and the cig kit for the dual outlets and weathertech's to keep the floor nice.