Ford or Chevy fanboy? Seems to me that guys here have been generally fairly objective, but what do I know? But yes, there's plenty of Kool-Aid out there to go around, enjoy.
Great SUV, perfect city size, reliable, nimble and smooth in stock form. Pull a trailer to the dump in the morning, and for the evening wash it and have the valet at the FourSeasons hold it by the lobby till you come out. Pull a light MC trailer to Algonquin for a weekend of riding and sleep inside stretching 6'2". The 5 SPEED makes it a fun drive, the thousands paid in rustproofing over the years (since new) keep it looking clean... although often dirty to keep the oils working. Keep on top the issues (2 or 3) others have found on their higher milage 4Runners and do PM instead of repairs. Easy to do when having only 150,000 Kms since 1999. Highly recommend the Gen3 4Runners, excellent value!
Somebody else that wants to compare a 8,000lb "1/2" ton, to a 5,000lb "1/2" ton... Rating = GVWR - Curb weight... So how much a truck weighs directly corresponds to its rating. Some of us like to go on trouble-free for hundreds of thousands of miles, and not have to sink a private oil well to do it.. Oh, but that means we can't pull a bobcat on a 6k trailer once every 80,000 miles so we can take pics to show our friends and heckle "jap" truck threads... darn!
For the record, people buy Nissans (which are fine trucks) because their too cheap to spend the extra for the Toyota... You get what you pay for.
They're and Mostly true for my decision to buy an Xterra. I got an 07 S (4x4 but without some of the goodies) in 09 with just over 30K on it for $17K. The only Toyota I could find for $17K had twice the mileage on it and was not in factory fresh condition as the Xterra was. Oh yeah, lets not forget that the V6 in the Xterra kicks the shit out of the V6 in the 4runner and tacoma.
Yeah, Toyota really represent the high water make in each respective genre. I mean, just look at the Camry - a tan on tan, steel wheels with hubcaps, I-4, automatic really brings the green. Just kidding! Where in the hell do you live where a Toyota still brings a premium as compared to it's similarly-equipped competition? India? Toyota has become what the US automakers were in the 1980's - producers of disposable transportation appliances designed for the lowest common driving denominator. They may - and I emphasize may - still have a slight reliability advantage, but the modern Toyota Corp produces the most dull, vanilla, and boring vehicles on the market today. If you have a pulse when sitting behind the wheel of your vehicle, you're most likely not sporting a Toyota.
When I was shopping for a new (to me) 4x4 I did look at Brand New Nissan and Toyota trucks for $25K (2011) you could get a 4x4 4door V6 Frontier for that same money in a 'yota you only got a 4cyl extended cab. Granted the Nissan had crank windows and no cruise but hey you're getting a lot more truck for the money. The biggest difference in price is in the Used Market, Tacomas hold their value better than nearly anything on the road!
I've owned from new (or close to it) '81, '91 and '94 Toyota's, and an '88 Nissan. I like my '09 Taco better than all of 'em. I like my '09 Taco better than my Dad's '03 Taco. According to some in this thread, that makes me dull and wrong...Excellent!
^ No way are you wrong! I've had 2 different 1st Gen Tacos and while I haven't had a 2nd Gen Taco I had a 4th Gen 4runner and I loved it way more than the old Tacomas. Only Reason I didn't get a 2nd Gen Taco was they just cost too much.
Oh Hell Yes!! That's sweet! I just found your earlier posts and pics in this thread...drool!!! Mine's a standard cab 4x4 4-Banger, Bone stock...same color though! I'll spare you the pics.
Just a general observation, but old Camry V6's had MORE power than the trucks! Some of the old Camry's had 190hp! And (back then) all the cars had twin cams, and all the trucks had single! I'd still rather go slow, for a long time, and with less fuel... Than go fast, not as long and use more fuel tho,,, But to each his own. I've got a RTE and a LWB SA frame waiting in the wings to become something like this; Here's me at my house
That's nice...what's an "RTE"? There's no doubt I wish I still had my '81 regular cab 4x4 20r 4 speed...but as an even swap for my '09? Not a chance. The '81 I bought brand new. Looking back fondly requires wearing rose colored glasses.