Your thread prompted me to share my experience on how I ended up choosing a 100 series over a 4 Runner... and also joined IH8MUD. I hope my post is not out of place and if it is I will move it. Please let me know if you think it is.
I must disclose that I work at a Lexus dealership in sales, and that over the years I have come to realize that Toyota makes a superior product in terms of build quality and reliability, compared to many competitors.
I believe the 4 Runner to be an awesome truck... thats probably why it hasn't chaged that much over the years.
I recently decided I would love to own a 100 series but realistically (mainly because of budget) I was going to settle for a gen 3 or gen 4, 4 Runner. I did alot of research on gens of4 Runners and had a really tough time deciding between the two.
Ultimately I stumbled on a 100 series at the right price before I found the right 4 Runner, and Im glad I did because I bought it absolutely love it after 3 months.
Land cruiser / LX is a "special" car.
Rewind a few years.... I was / am a BMW guy. Had some 80s era BMWs growing up and drove an E46 M3 on the street a long time until I turned it into a dedicated track day car.. When I eventually wanted a second car I wanted an suv that was very capable off road because I believe that if I was going have an suv, it wasn't going to be a crossover. When I started looking for one about 6 years ago, my first choice was an 80 series Land Cruiser because of what I had learned of its legendary reliability and my perception of its "special" car status (after searching the FOR SALE ads on I H8TMUD.COM of course), but I quickly realized it would be tough to find one that fit my budget (about 5k) that also fit my criteria (well maintained and under 100,000 miles).
I settled for a used 98 Jeep ZJ Limited (Grand Cherokee) with a V8. I found one with 58k on the clock that was well cared for. It served me well and was a beast off road with its live axles, but I had to replace so many parts and do so much maintenance within 2.5 years of ownership that is was ridiculous. Easily spent 5k in parts (doing my own work) replacing wear items that went bad.. brake calipers, water pump, rubber seals, fuel pump, bearings, hubs, suspension, exhaust system, etc...... and it always leaked oil and trans fluid and water into the cabin....
Got sick of it, sold it to a friend and got an all weather sports car (Mitsu EVO X) which lasted a few months until the wife said she had had enough of its noise and impracticality, and we decided we wanted a capable SUV in the stable again. I was hoping for something more reliable than the Jeep and I had and set my sights back on an inexpensive 4 Runner (around $5k). After searching the used market for both 3rd gen and 4th gen 4runners, searching for a candidate that tickled my fancy, I found a low mileage (72k) 2003 LX 470 priced right and while higher than my budget, still made sense and I pulled the trigger.
Its a little harder to park in the city and a little bigger to maneuver than a 4 Runner, and perhaps I'm brainwashed of the fact that its a "special" car because of it worldwide reputation for reliability, durability and performance. It will not be as capable as my old Jeep ZJ crawling rocks at Raush Creek the 2 times per year that I go, or sounding as mean as it did with the Jeeps pushroad 5.2 with a flowmaster, but after a few months of ownership it is obvious to me that this is a "special" vehicle.
I still have the impression that the 4 Runner is also built with a very high standard of quality and is a great, more affordable and probably more capable choice for off road and on road use than the 100 series (maybe?) because of its size and relative simplicity, but there is no doubt that the 100 series is more comfortable and for those who spend less time off road than on road, more practical (relative to space and need to accommodate additional passengers).
It will certainly require a greater level of investment to get into a good 100 series. It will consume more and be be more expensive to maintain, but it will be worth more once it comes time to sell because of its more limited production and relative high demand.
My impressions after the first few months of ownership are that is doesn't feel as big and difficult to maneuver around the city as I thought. It's still very big. This LX drives very precisely and smoothly, and has a comfortable and controlled ride which I attribute to the AHC system on this one. Yes, the system is a more common point of failure and of cost for additional maintenance but it makes the 100 series ride so well for a big body on frame SUV. The truck seems to be built with very high quality materials and well put together compared to many other vehicles. I also think the 4 Runner is very well built, but not engineered to be as well rounded as the 100 series. The ride quality, excellent fit and finish are at a higher level than that of the 4 Runner. I have not taken it wheeling yet (aside from plowing through the 25 inches of snow we recently had in NYC) and dont expect it to be as capable crawling rocks as my live axle ZJ, but it is much more comfortable and stable on the street. A worthy tradeoff for my use.
Ultimately I think you need to determine what the primary use of the vehicle is.. If you are going off road often and doing a lot of rock crawling, navigating small tight trails, willing to sacrifice a bit of comfort and staying on a tighter budget, then the 4 Runner may be the better choice. But if you want a more versatile, comfortable vehicle, with capacity for more passengers a 100 series may be a better investment.
Either way they are both great trucks.
