next car (non biased)

ar15: dont worry man! definately not going down that route. im gonna be honest and say that last month, i did take out a preapproval for 40k cause i WAS gonna get me a new tundra. in the end i could not do it because everytime i see my tacoma my eyes light up, because i love my truck and really, the truck has only 2k miles, is completely did up the way i wanted it, and was the truck and trim level i always wanted.

cmack: thanks. people love them some toyobaru around here. would be an awesome toy car/garage queen. why not wait for the trd/sti variant?

buzzard: thanks and i see what youre saying. i would love to find a used subie but its hard to find a good deal on the island o live on. either all of them are high mileage, or hashed up. i think im at that position where i dont mind paying a note for something new and reliable. trust me though, i do see the value in a good used car. i tried looking for one before i decided to just go for a new car.

 

4Runner... Its the best of both worlds.

 

mgm: i know what youre saying about 4runner man! i bought my wife a 2013 premium 4wd earlier this year. full icon suspension with 18x9 bfd and 275/65/18 duratracs. truck is bad ass.

gelo: the rav does take a few to get used to LOL. after a while its not that bad. i did look at the venza but it didnt do it for me. i dunno? the avalon is very nice though; nothing like the flagship.

 

We just went through this scenario ; I purchased my Dads Ridgeline because my wife loved everything about it until she started local commuting ( they are heavy on around town gas consumption ) BUT we dragged our feet replacing it until we agreed on what to replace it with...She loved her Camry's BUT I wanted something a little more ...Fell into a deal on an ES Lexus and she is in 2nd heaven and I kept my Tacoma.....

You know what will "Work" for you and by the numbers you have been putting up; your budget ques are right there...

 

I grew up in full sized cars... '57 Buick, '63 Falcon, '69 LeSabre, '74 Blazer...

I can't stand modern conventional cars. At 6'3", with a wife with issues with her knees and back, a pickup or an SUV is the only practical vehicle for us. Even the Camry has me feeling like my ass is on the pavement.

 

Wife drove a '90 Geo Storm GSI through the 90s. Got hurt at work in '98 and it was apparent that the sporty car wasn't going to cut it anymore, so I bought her a 2000 Echo and gave the Storm to the daughter.
The Echo had a nice seating height that worked much better for both of us than the Corolla or Camry.
She put about 60k on it, when the Storm finally gave up the ghost, so I bought her the '04 Rav4 and sold the Echo to the daughter for $8k (we made $4k over payoff on the deal).
She drives the hell out of that Rav. I'd like to upgrade her to the new model, but we can't afford it right now.

 

If you're keeping the off-road Tacoma, you don't need to duplicate the capability with the second truck.

From a fleet-management perspective, you get different vehicles to perform different functions. You have a 4x4 for challenging terrain, and you have a 4Runner. Do you need another big vehicle, or do you need something efficient for daily driving?

If you were happy with the size of the xb you will probably be able to live with the Rav4. If you liked the g35, will you need at least one smaller vehicle in your fleet to enjoy a different type of driving?

If you're looking for at least one efficient vehicle in your fleet, the Rav4 will be more efficient than the Prerunner.

And while the ability to haul family around is important - how often do you drive alone? Do you want something big to drive alone?

Personally, I wouldn't mind having a smaller vehicle, such as a Civic for a daily driver. However, I recently saw a news item about a whole family dying in a Corolla that was hit by a police cruiser. (The Corolla ran a red light.) I think I'll stick with the heavier Accord simply for the safety rating.

Good luck with your decision!

 

If you really want a Rav-4 don't bother with the AWD, its pretty useless. Look at a Subaru Forester for that.

 

this

 

w0rd! I'm from Hilo too and I now live on Oahu. I've owned 3 Tacomas. 5 Toyotas trucks total in my life. In Hilo I had an '85 4x4 and an 87 x-tra cab 4x4. Here on Oahu I owned a '93 x-tra cab 4x4, an '08 quad cab pre-runner and an '08 quad cab 4x4 Tacoma.

In the past 10 years alone I've gone through 15-20 different cars/trucks. My favorite was my '08 Tacoma 4x4 but I sold it so my son could go to a great college in Orange CA.

Currently I own a 2010 Honda Ridgeline. And while I love my Tacomas, this Ridgeline is awesome for what it is. It's not a wheeler or rock crawler, but it handles everything Hawaii has to offer with ease. It has more interior room, easy to drive and safe for my family! The storage is great and the AWD will really help in some of those down-poors we get in Hilo too.

Just my opinion, that's all!

That being said I will get myself another 4x4 Taco in the future for myself, but for me and my family it's the Ridgeline all the way,

 

If you don't off road or ever leave pavement the Ridgeline is ok but I prefer a traditional truck over Hondas attempts. BTW I love Honda's quad lineup

 

I get it, I am a Tacoma lover at heart! But seriously, my Ridgeline can do a lot more than just the pavement.

I understand the general statement and I understand that odds are that you haven't driven one, but please don't let your opinion and pride get in the way of logic.

Let's take a look at ALL Tacoma owners in general. Now these are not facts, just more or less what I have observed the past 5-10 years.

75% of Tacoma on the road (at least where I am from) are pre-runners. Of the 25% that own 4x4, maybe 10% of those actually take it on trails and serious off-roading. That being said (again, just my observations where I am from) My Ridgeline will out perform a Pre-runner 9 times out of 10 and the majority of the 4x4 owners (again, in my area) do not do any serious off-roading, so my Ridgeline still does compete with the average Tacoma 4x4 owner.

I am not here to troll, I know I currently do not own a Tacoma BUT I will again soon. But please give the Ridgeline a little more credit regardless of whether or not you like it.

 

Honda has some excellent technology - I'm quite satisfied with my Accord. I always thought the Ridgeline was an interesting design: definitely not designed to appeal to your standard truck person. The internal storage in the Ridgeline was the first thing I thought of when I saw the 2nd Gen plastic bed and all the little storage compartments. Looks like they are studying each other's designs.

Glad to see someone is quite happy with the design, and an interesting analysis to go behind it.

 

No shit.

And BTW: If you are over 5ft 8", forget the FRS.

I'm 6'3"
Sat in one today.
Legs and arms were fine on the pedals and dash... maybe a little tight.

I had less than 1/2" from the top of my head to the headliner.
Getting in and out was a PITA. I would not want to make multiple stops on a shopping trip in the thing.

 

I do not normally get claustrophobic, but the proximity of the roof really bothered me.

Now, I don't have a problem with the position of the mirror in my Tacoma, yet it seems many members complain and get the brackets to move it up.
The FRS? The mirror would be a problem, and the roof line would block traffic signals.

Obviously, the FRS is not for everyone, and back to the recommendations in this thread, definitely not for someone who needs a family vehicle and is choosing between a Tacoma and SUV.