Request for infor and opinions

[Soren]

Hello everyone, new guy here.

I'm considering a T4R as my next vehicle.

I've had toyota trucks in the past and have been very happy with them. At this point in my life (new baby) and with my current activities (motorcycle racing), what I really need is a mini-van, unfortunately, the mini-van I need doesn't exist, and the T4R is looking very good: truck suspension, reliable engine, reasonable fuel economy.

What I need to enough suspension to carry 3+ people and several hundred pounds of stuff, and pull a small (say 2000#) trailer. The only mini-van that fits is the chevy astro, and I really don't want either the auto-trans or the 4.3 liter engine (good engine, just want something smaller).

Decent gas mileage, a race weekend is 150-500 miles depending on the track. Top speed isn't that critical.

I'm quite fond of the 22RE and I know the early 3.0(?) V6 engines had some problems (head gaskets, iirc). Any info/opinions about these engines would be appreciated.

So, what I'm looking for is:

2wd or 4wd, 2wd probably preferred, I'm not skiing any more, and I use motorcycle off-road.
4cylinder preferred, V6 okay.
manual trans. required.
Air conditioning required.
4 door requited.

So, what specific years and engines do you all recommend?

Also, why do you recommend them?

I realize it will be fairly gutless with the 22RE, but unless there's only a small fuel ecomony advantage, I can probably live with the gutless aspect.


Thanks in advance,
--Soren

 

[cornbreadlion]

Here is the EPA estimates for a 1993 4runner 4wd

city hwy



Toyota 4Runner 4WD
4 cyl, 2.4 L, Man(5), (FFS), Regular 19 22 $1785 9.1 NA


Toyota 4Runner 4WD
4 cyl, 2.4 L, Auto(4), (FFS), Regular 18 19 $1985 9.8 NA


Toyota 4Runner 4WD
6 cyl, 2.9 L, Man(5), (FFS), Regular 14 18 $2231 11.6 NA


Toyota 4Runner 4WD
6 cyl, 2.9 L, Auto(4), (FFS), Regular 14 16 $2381 12.7 NA

and for 2wd:


Toyota 4Runner 2WD
4 cyl, 2.4 L, Auto(4), (FFS), Regular 19 20 $1878 9.4 NA


Toyota 4Runner 2WD
6 cyl, 2.9 L, Auto(4), (FFS), Regular 17 21 $1985 10.3 NA

 

[korbster69]

Welcome...I'm new too

Actually, this is my first post. I just bought a 1985 4WD AT for many of the reasons you mentioned.

It's gutless, but it will only keep me from getting tickets. I bought it in SoCal and it did OK over the grapevine, although not with enthusiasm (63mph on the steep spots). I was surprised that on it's first tank of gas, which included the grapevine, it achieved 21mpg.

Personally, I considered the 4 cylinder an advantage just because I couldn't afford a low mileage SUV and the V6's just don't seem to go as long and aren't as worthwhile to rebuild. I have a Tercel and a 1982 SR5 pickup with 4 cylinders that seem as though they'll go on forever. I'm told that, if they ever do quit, it's fairly inexpensive to rebuild them. And the older systems seem much simpler in design, making repairs/diagnosis within my limited mechanical expertise.

Still, if I could afford to buy, maintain and put gas in a V6, I would opt for the V6. There's just no such thing as enough horsepower, is there?