Trading 3rd Gen for a 2nd?

I had a brief stint with a new 4runner recently. Everyone makes the 4runner seem like the greatest vehicle because of the 4.0 5speed. It was nice for sure as SUVs go, but shockingly I preferred the 3.5 6 speed. I found the 5 speed pretty clunky and the gearing too spread out for my taste. I was also getting like 12 mpg in town. The 2nd gen is a nice truck, but i still think 3rd gen is better. Nice ones are also still going for quite a bit too. You might not come out as well as you think.

 

I will echo this.
My wife has a 5th gen TRD pro 4runner.
If you read internet anecdotes you will be made to believe the 4runner is like a Raptor or something.

its slow, it gear hunts in mountain passes just like the 3rd gen and falls on its face way harder at higher Revs.

 

I have a 3rd gen Tacoma, and my GF has a 5th gen 4R. We both drive them both, and often back to back. The 4R is a very nice truck. I agree though,,, the 4.0/5 spd combo does not walk on water as perpetuated by the internet booger eaters. It works well, don't get me wrong.
My GF drives like a teenaged boy and prefers my Tacoma because of the power. Now, I put a bed topper on and she will no longer drive it, unless she has to,,, says it's "old man shit".

I'll count that as a win!

 

The second gen is simply divine ! The 4 liter has more power than a Cummins in your local peterbilt. And it can pull the earth itself off it’s axis so do exercise caution.

A simple thought about passing another vehicle is executed by the luxurious 5 speed designed by Yamamoto himself in the secret Japanese layer post WW2 and unmatched ever since.

And then you have the interior. Designed to outlive cockroaches after we get hit by a tactical nuke strike from Iran and its allies.

nothing simply nothing is better than a second gen.

Do it and don’t look back as only gods chariot itself may offer a glimpse of what’s it’s like to have a 20 year old built to a budget Tacoma

 

4.0 nut swingers are almost as bad as the LS guys. At least the LS guys actually have a case...

 

I’ve driven a 4.0 4Runner for a few days. It works well enough, but I’d still say it’s anemic just like the 3.5. With an automatic, it’s a boring powertrain as well just like the 3.5.

If you want power just size up to a V8 full size truck.

 

I'd try a 4th gen before I'd go back to a 2nd, but if money is an issue do what you need to do.

 

The fastest way to pay down debt is to stop buying more Toyotas and/or to ramp up payments on the Toyotas that you already bought.


I don't think that swapping a high milage 3rd gen against a low milage 2nd gen will save any money. Especially if we are comparing 2021 lending rates against now.

 

First Gen, Best Gen.



woot! woot!