Trying to decide b/w Tacoma & 4Runner

My empty Taco is AWESOME in the snow here in New Hampshire. Of course, we are used to driving in snow, ice, freezing rain every winter. I ski/coach every weekend and drove through some awesome skiing weather and the Taco is solid. I have had it on un-plowed roads over 8" of snow going to calls or had to help rescue a friend in a 2015/2016 1500GMC (she was nervous). Took it easy in 3rd gear or so because I had NO visibility, but as mentioned the truck was solid!! As for shoveling snow out, I have a tonneau cover, problem solved.

 

Ice is more of the problem in CA. Snow melts and freezes everyday. Snow gets good traction.

 

Fit a 60" in my Honda Element flat..

 

Both are crazy expensive to me. If is was buying a new one I'd probably get the 4Runner as I understand they still have the 4.0 in them. Maybe I'm mistaken? The 4Runner we had before made me feel like I was sitting much higher than in my Tacoma. It was perfect for my wife though. I think the 4Runner rides a little better for a daily driver. Hell the more I think about it I'm confused myself. Maybe if you picture yourself having a truck with a shell that is impossible to remove and that idea doesn't work for you then get the Tacoma so you can have a truck bed when you need it?

 

Tacomas "suck dick" in snow.
Wow. I guess I'll respect your "opinion" but say that to someone who actually knows what hard winters are. It's pretty laughable

 

guys where I bought it said to keep it upright if I could so we left the left passenger seat up

 

That's fine. I was just clarifying because "suck in snow" was misunderstood.

I've owned both. 4runner gets much better traction than the tacoma did in icy/snow conditions we have here in Mammoth and Big Bear. They are by no means as harsh as the middle of the country or up north that has real winters, just giving my personal experience.

If it makes people feel better, I won't say that they suck. They are not as good in snow/ice conditions. There is my PG answer.

However, you can improve the Tacoma's traction by weighing down the rear like I said.

 

Did you just apologize for not having problems with your truck?

The fact that the used 2nd Gen was only $1,500 less than your new 3rd Gen is telling. LoL

 

Good. That's how a new vehicle should be.

 

To bad Elements suck. They are no longer made for a reason.

 

What do you mean suck? Suck in? Or bad?

 

I kinda dig em

 

We had two. They were underpowered, poor at gas mileage, and not fun when you have to drive very far. They were decent in town utility vehicles, but little else. And only seat belts for four.

 

I had 2. Didnt think they were that bad for what they were. Vinyl interior, waterproof seats, a pretty good camping car/suv. Notice how I didnt say truck.

You could take it mildly off of a paved road. Mine is the 3rd one below.

 

None of which has anything to do with purchasing a Tacoma or 4Runner. The Element is no longer made so all points about it are moot.

 

Because used cars do not exist? Elements are excellent vehicles if you're not doing any serious offroading. Better in the snow (on the street) than my 4runner and Tacoma, for sure.

 

Ps. Did not read the whole thread, so if used cars are out, excuse my response.

Also, if this is going to be a second or third vehicle just used for recreation you should get a 3rd or 4th gen 4runner or a 2nd gen Tacoma. Save some money but get the same capability and arguably more reliability, all while being able to beat on it and get it dirty without feeling guilty.

 

There you have it folks, quintessential evidence that the Element outperforms the 4runner and Tacoma in snow!

 

Dude I had an element too! I love elements. Super useful for everything not offroad. Basically a fullsized truckbed in the back too. honestly.

 

Dude all people can offer are their experiences. If you have driven any of the other vehicles discussed, you can't really comment. Never did he say that he ran tests and found that it is better in snow. Just from his experience driving all 3, it performed the best. The 4Runner could still perform great in his opinion, the tacoma could still perform fantastically, just that one was the best to him.

I can only offer my experience of driving 5 cars in the snow. BMW 530i was the worst of them, then tacoma, then 4runner, then Yukon, then Outback. Now the only car I would not take to the snow out of those 5 would be the BMW. The rest would be fine. I just noticed that some are better than others. I can't comment on elements, but if it's all wheel drive, I would assume it would be close to where the GMC and Subaru were on that list with the right tires.