Potential owner..decisions

[GiantsWSC]

Hello all,

Don't post much here but about ready to bite the bullet on a '14 T4R. There were a couple other cars I had considered as competitors like the Forester XT and Outback.

I don't go off-roading much but will make trips to tahoe and stuff and enjoy the room the car provides to carry my mountain bike and what not. Also the streets where I live are horrendous with potholes everywhere (bent rims on my current daily driver twice!) One of the important points for me was solid reliability/durability, roominess, ride height, easy to work on, some off road.

So the truck won't be a daily driver maybe driven 30-40% of the time with my current car (Honda accord 4cyl) as the daily driver. The only drawback I see with the T4R is fuel economy. I get about 27mpg overall with the accord so not to bad. Do you guys also have economical secondary/primary cars?

Thanks for any advice

 

[M1911]

Hello all,

Don't post much here but about ready to bite the bullet on a '14 T4R. There were a couple other cars I had considered as competitors like the Forester XT and Outback.

Those are not competitors. Those are unibody crossovers not meant for offroad.

The 4Runner is a body-on-frame, solid-rear-axle truck with a 2-speed transfer case. It rides pretty good, for a truck. It handles pretty good, for a truck. It stops pretty good, for a truck. But you will never mistake it for anything other than a body-on-frame, solid-rear-axle truck. Fuel economy is poor. If you need a truck, the 4Runner is a pretty darn good one. But if you need an AWD station wagon (whether tall or not), the 4Runner comes with some drawbacks. It isn't a car and it doesn't drive like one.

If you don't need to go offroad or tow, a crossover may well be a better vehicle for you.

 

[GiantsWSC]

Well to give a little background I used to own an R50 Pathfinder which was a great truck, body on frame. Yeah the ride was a bit jouncy and poor acceleration (it had the 3.3 v6 which was a slug) but I used to haul tons of stuff in that thing and when I went to Tahoe or gun range where it was 5 miles of trails trails before you git the actual range.

I'm just not a fan of the looks of the subarus or any other SUV for that matter. Since looks are fairly important in the decision process.

Thanks for the input M1911

 

[rigtec]

"...The only drawback I see with the T4R is fuel economy. I get about 27mpg overall with the accord so not to bad. Do you guys also have economical secondary/primary cars?"

Hi Giants..'

First of all, "congratulations" on your "not too far off", new 4Runner!:hatsoff: I know you're gonna love the 5'th gen 4Runner but it denies being compared to any other truck of this kind as it is in a class "all it's own"! And may I say... you don't buy a truck like this and then Prayray2: at the gas pump. Like so many others e.g., Escalade, Navigator, Yucon, it's a large vehical, capable of carrying/pulling a lot of weight and (imo), really CAN get out of it's own way! Yes, it does have a lot of stellar qualities, but gas mileage... JUST ISN'T ONE OF THEM!

It is, however, a lot less expensive than let's say, the 'Land cruiser', Range Rover, Lexus 470 blah, blah, blah... and has a reputation (regarding performance and reliability) that "at least", rivals that of those others! If great economy is your goal than you might be better suited for one of the 'x-overs' like Explorer, Pathfinder, even the 'Rav-4'. But if you want to be in a tough truck... Then it's a 4Runner! (just my own opinion) best to you!

 

[Sac State]

Those two Subaru's are perfect for the Bay Area. 4Runner is much bigger and harder to find a parking spot, not to mention the gridlock. If you are looking at mpg as the main deciding factor, I'd choose that turbo Subie. My wife has said her Forester was her favorite vehicle to have ever owned.

 

[M1911]

Those Subies would be just fine on a dirt road, and with snow tires would do as well (or better) in the snow than the 4Runner.

 

[GiantsWSC]

Hi Giants..'

First of all, "congratulations" on your "not too far off", new 4Runner!:hatsoff: I know you're gonna love the 5'th gen 4Runner but it denies being compared to any other truck of this kind as it is in a class "all it's own"! And may I say... you don't buy a truck like this and then Prayray2: at the gas pump. Like so many others e.g., Escalade, Navigator, Yucon, it's a large vehical, capable of carrying/pulling a lot of weight and (imo), really CAN get out of it's own way! Yes, it does have a lot of stellar qualities, but gas mileage... JUST ISN'T ONE OF THEM!

It is, however, a lot less expensive than let's say, the 'Land cruiser', Range Rover, Lexus 470 blah, blah, blah... and has a reputation (regarding performance and reliability) that "at least", rivals those others! If great economy is your goal than you might be better suited for one of the 'x-overs' like Explorer, Pathfinder, even the 'Rav-4'. But if you want to be in a tough truck... Then it's a 4Runner! (just my own opinion) best to you!

Hi rigtec, yeah I'm not a fan of those other crossovers, both looks and the reliability of the new pathfinder and explorer are horrible. Yeah I realize gas mileage is not a selling point or a deal breaker for me. But I agree the 4runner is the best lookign SUV IMO.

In addition I don't like the whole luxury SUV thing, paying to much for creature comforts is not necessary for me. I actually want a stripped down 4x4 SR5 with just running boards and cargo cover, don't need softex vinyl, don't need navi etc.

 

[GiantsWSC]

Those Subies would be just fine on a dirt road, and with snow tires would do as well (or better) in the snow than the 4Runner.

Oh no doubt subies can hold their own, the car I recently sold was a WRX which was great but a bit small.

 

[GiantsWSC]

Those two Subaru's are perfect for the Bay Area. 4Runner is much bigger and harder to find a parking spot, not to mention the gridlock. If you are looking at mpg as the main deciding factor, I'd choose that turbo Subie. My wife has said her Forester was her favorite vehicle to have ever owned.

Actually my accord is 4 inches longer than the new T4R.

 

[KevinAB]

Do you guys also have economical secondary/primary cars?

My wife drives a 4-cylinder BMW 318i stick that seems to get about 1,000 mpg. The mpg and the fact that the BMW keeps her out of the 4Runner makes me happy.

Some of the things you state remind me of when I was looking around for a new vehicle. I wanted something that would handle about anything, and wanted it to be very utilitarian - stripped down, no bells and whistles, etc. I am a bit picky about looks, and am not a fan at all of the "luxury SUV/Crossover with well-appointed seats" , which seems to encompass most other choices out there. I bought the SR5 while basically disregarding the gas mileage, and do not regret that decision one bit. My appreciation of all the other aspects of the 4Runner far outweigh that one negative.

 

[Bad_Influence]

The best thing imo about these 4runners is the resale potential. I looked at a 2014 trail at the dealership recently and almost pulled the trigger. When negotiating with the salesman, we went over the trade-in value for my 2011 4runner, at the time it had 29K miles, was almost 3 years old and had a couple minor door dings and very minor scratches that are barely visible. Although it is a limited Edition with all the extras, they still offered me $31,500 as the trade in value.

I say go ahead and purchase one of these fine specimens. Worst case you can trade it in for 80% of it's original value after a 2 years. Can't do that with a ford explorer or a chevy tahoe... anyway, just my .02

 

[GiantsWSC]

My wife drives a 4-cylinder BMW 318i stick that seems to get about 1,000 mpg. The mpg and the fact that the BMW keeps her out of the 4Runner makes me happy.

Some of the things you state remind me of when I was looking around for a new vehicle. I wanted something that would handle about anything, and wanted it to be very utilitarian - stripped down, no bells and whistles, etc. I am a bit picky about looks, and am not a fan at all of the "luxury SUV/Crossover with well-appointed seats" , which seems to encompass most other choices out there. I bought the SR5 while basically disregarding the gas mileage, and do not regret that decision one bit. My appreciation of all the other aspects of the 4Runner far outweigh that one negative.

I agree wholeheartedly!!

 

[GiantsWSC]

The best thing imo about these 4runners is the resale potential. I looked at a 2014 trail at the dealership recently and almost pulled the trigger. When negotiating with the salesman, we went over the trade-in value for my 2011 4runner, at the time it had 29K miles, was almost 3 years old and had a couple minor door dings and very minor scratches that are barely visible. Although it is a limited Edition with all the extras, they still offered me $31,500 as the trade in value.

I say go ahead and purchase one of these fine specimens. Worst case you can trade it in for 80% of it's value after a 2 years. Can't do that with a ford explorer or a chevy tahoe... anyway, just my .02

Yeah, I usually buy used but buying new gives me peace of mind and I plan on keeping the truck for a long time if I do get it. Resale value, reliability, good looks are among the many positives this vehicle has!

 

[M1911]

The best thing imo about these 4runners is the resale potential.

Resale is only important if you're going to sell it.

I've put 145k on my '03. I don't see any reason to sell it. I'm hoping to get well over 200k out of it.

 

[Gobius]

My other economical car is my wife's Outback. It gets about the same mpg as your Accord, and that thing is magical in the snow. If I didn't tow trailers, negotiate boat ramps, and cover some nasty terrain getting to hunting spots, I would be fine with the Subie as my daily driver.

But the 4runner is much more badass. And there's something to be said for badassness.

 

[raaze14]

I bought my '14 TE Premium because my '06 Honda Ridgeline RTL was getting a little long in the tooth, and had developed a serious oil leak at the rear main seal. It was also starting to rust, and I figured now was the time to make a change.

I love the looks of the 4Runner, and I had a '95 that we loved too, so this was the only Sport Utility we seriously considered. There are only a couple creature comforts missing from my Ridgeline (automatic climate control is the only thing I miss), so overall I'm very happy with my decision. Gas mileage on the Ridgeline was horrible, I'm talking 15.5 city/highway, so even though the 4Runner's mileage numbers aren't great they're still an improvement.

Oh, and my other "ride" is a 2014 BMW R1200GSA wethead, which gets about 41mpg average. :thumb:

 

[NoDak]

coming from a 2010 Subaru legacy (sedan version of the outback) it was great as long as I didn't get into anything mild or worse.

the outback would be great for very mild off road and snow season.

if you comparing forester and outback then you need to be looking at either a Rav4 (forester) or a highlander/venza (outback).

but just be aware that the awd versions of Toyota's don't usually compare directly to the Subaru awd systems. I would consider the Toyota awd system inferior to the Subaru's.

coming from the legacy my avg was around 21-24 mpg and 19 if I was bad on the gas pedal.

on the 4runner LE I have, I avg around 15-16 with a few tanks up in the 17-18's. I haven't really taken any decently long trips with it yet so I haven't seen real highway mpg yet.

attached is the stats I have so far on my 4runner.

.

 

[F1scher]

I came into my current '14 Trail, from a '13 WRX Hatchback, and a family of Subaru owners. I think my WRX was my family's 12th Subaru (mostly Outbacks). If you are looking for a family friendly wagon, with room for a dog/cargo, and moderate cabin space, the Outback would be a great choice. MPG is ok, but it is full time AWD, and I have yet to ever drive a car that trumps a Subaru in the snow and I live in Buffalo NY. We know about snow here.

If your not doing any serious off roading, it should also be fine for anything you might run into in terms of poor road conditions. While they dont hold their value like a 4Runner, Subaru's are still very reliable, and were just recently ranked the top mfg in terms of customer satisfaction of any major car brand. The Forester does share many of the positive characteristics that the Outback has, but IMO, it looks like shit. However; you did note the availability of the XT version - 2.5l (might be a 2.0l DI (?) now) 4 cyl turbo is a quick little engine and puts down good power for a small SUV. Gas milage isnt brilliant as a result however, and the CVT transmission isnt the most exciting.

If thats what you see yourself using the vehicle for, and you think something smaller than a 4Runner would be convenient for your daily needs/size requirement, that would probably be a solid choice.

However, as pretty much everyone has noted, the 4Runner isnt really a comparable to either of the Subarus. This is a manly man, body on frame SUV, and rides like a truck (albeit a comfortable one). The interior of the new '14's is defiantly a big step up from the '13s, the ride (esp. with KDSS) is pretty decent, and its obviously one of the most capable off roaders from the lot. Its much larger than either of the Subarus, and would defiantly be more comfortable if you forsee larger people in the backseat, or need more cargo space than a wagon. You can do some moderate towing, the 4WD is great, and it is overall a super solid, tried and true truck. People piss and moan about the v6 and the old 5 spd auto, but they put down reasonable figures, and last forever. MPG does blow as a result (5k lbs truck and 5 spd tran), especially if you load it down with tires/skids/etc.

Each vehicle you listed has a million positive attributes, and some negatives as well - you just need to think about what you want to spend, and why.

 

[Sac State]

My brother actually pulled a Jeep Wrangler out of a snow bank with his Subaru Impreza.

Haha, the Jeep was lifted and had macho tires too.

 

[Sac State]

Resale is only important if you're going to sell it.

I've put 145k on my '03. I don't see any reason to sell it. I'm hoping to get well over 200k out of it.

There is one guy who just topped 500K on his 4th gen. You should be fine with maintenance.

My '03 V8 Sport was a tank.