Trying to decide b/w Tacoma & 4Runner

I think we need to clarify. Slippery conditions are much much different from snow and accumulation. Let's point that out. Any vehicle, especially heavy ones, will not do well on slippery conditions ice etc. If we are talking about ACCUMULATION and lots of snow on the road the truck and 4runner will DESTROY any Element in snow. SNOW. I'm not talking about slippery hazardous conditions. Lets see a Element go through 2+feet of snow without winter studs. It's not happening.

 

How often does Denver really see 2ft of snow on the roads? I've been there during storms and it's nicely plowed immediately after.

I think most people are talking about slippery conditions. It is easy to get traction in deeper snow. In that case, you are right, trucks will do much better.

I'm talking about snowy areas. Around here, that mostly means places that are plowed and salted. Roads get icy after they melt in the sun and freeze overnight.

 

You're right alot of people have no idea what snow is and are referring to slippery conditions. Being a native of 30+ years in Co I have seen more days like that than I can even remember. Denver of recent; not a lot though. IN DENVER. The mountains always get pounded so your point is not valid. They are not running Honda Elements in the hills I can assure you that.

 

Also just noticed that op is from SF and these points don't really matter haha.

Sorry for the clutter op.

 

WTF is wrong with this forum man!?

It's a Tacoma forum and more than half the goons on here are recommending a 4Runner...

This truck is badass! I test drove both the 2016 4Runner and the 2016 Tacoma and the Taco actually seemed faster to me. Once you learn how to get the most out of the throttle this thing hauls with ECT on. I chirp the tires unintentionally occasionally. The Taco also has way better pickup at highway speeds for passing... this is actually one of the benefits of having the power band where it's at!

The interior on the Taco is much nicer. Gas mileage is better (albeit negligibly). As for wheeling I've had this fucker on some of the nastiest passes and 4WD roads in Colorado and it's performed flawlessly. And I just really didn't want to be another yuppie prick driving my 4Runner around town.

 

I'm just saying people need to differentiate between snow and wet, icey, slippery conditions. These generalizations are so terribly wrong that the Tacoma and 4runner don't preform in SNOW. People come here for information and don't need this uneducated, unexpierenced, clutter. @SixthSnail You on the other hand participated in getting the correct info across. More members need to be like you!

 

Dude it's so bad all the 4runners

 

I like being a yuppie prick driving my 4Runner around town. I do miss my tacoma at times though.

 

No. Just measured it out, lol. If/ when I do, it will be on a tarp, but more likely on a trailer

 

I still want a 4runner.

 

I still want a tacoma. I'll probably go back to one after this. Or a tundra if I don't live in LA anymore. I have to fit in parking lots

 

^^i still like the Tacoma too, but I will wait until some more bugs get ironed out to get another. It will definitely be a manual transmission though.

 

i thought that's what we Pro owners were. at least to half the non-Pro owners on TW lol

 

Oh you are... there's a reason I didn't get a pro 4Runner and it's because I can't afford it

 

Again both great vehicles! Sorry about the black and regular wheels. Was plasti dipping them and when I got to the last one it became super windy so I had to stop and haven't had time to finish hahaha

 

I like the silver! Part of me regrets white. I was the opposite.

 

Similar tastes lol

 

Reread my post. Notice I said "on the street"? I live in Cleveland, Ohio, I know what snow is. Denver and Cleveland have very similar average annual snowfall and I have lived here for over 20 years.

I have had a Tacoma, 4runner, and Element. I know how they all perform. On the street with a few inches or less of snow? The Element's AWD system out performs both my trucks (regardless of tire type - I've had several different AT's and MTs). Snowy rock crawling or hill climbs? Obviously not for the Element.

 

Actually just to add, I've taken an Element through over a foot of snow (not 2 feet, though), and it did great. Again, AWD. My 2016 WRX was also better in the snow than my 4runner and Tacoma. That being said, the 4runner and Tacoma have never left me stranded or had a particularly difficult time in any snowy conditions either.

The only limitation to both the Element and WRX is ground clearance. Otherwise, they're golden.

 

Thanks, that's a very good data point!