Modern era...4runner replacing Land Cruiser? (1 Viewer)

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Not to threadjack but the mention of the venerable Toyota Corona brings me back. Had one when I was a kid in the 80's. Parts store guys would always correct you and say "corolla you mean?". "nope, Corona...look it up."
 
SoylentGreen said:
Not to threadjack but the mention of the venerable Toyota Corona brings me back. Had one when I was a kid in the 80's. Parts store guys would always correct you and say "corolla you mean?". "nope, Corona...look it up."

Awesome... Had mine in mid 90's in high school. So you can imagine what a hit I was with the ladies. Lol.
***end of illegal thread jacking***
 
mmmmmm..... Corona.

113_0603_01_z+1968_toyota_corona_unorthadox_hot_rod+front.jpg
 
I just bought a '97 4-Runner for my wife to destroy, er, drive. I towed it home behind the FJ60 on a dolly which the 60 handeled with ease. If I had to try the reverse, towing the 60 with the 4-Runner, it would never happen.
 
I'd say put a couple of 80s in mothballs and wait for that fateful day. I wish I had done that with some minis or 1st gen 4Runners. Hard to find one worth buying these days. The new Toyotas and almost all other brands are disposable plastic pieces of junk with too many options and wires to go bad on the trail. The engines are about all that the newer models have going for them but if the electronics are damaged you are stuck. All of the auto makers have learned that building a long lasting spartan 4x4 that will take a beating is a small niche market in the USA and does not profit or meet cafe standards for them. Importing a middle eastern or south American version may be your only option in 20 years. As far as a manual transmission, in 20 years no one will know what that is.
 
I just bought a '97 4-Runner for my wife to destroy, er, drive. I towed it home behind the FJ60 on a dolly which the 60 handeled with ease. If I had to try the reverse, towing the 60 with the 4-Runner, it would never happen.

Interestingly the numbers are very similar. The 4runner is about 2-400lbs lighter. Power numbers are really close. 4runner has larger front brakes, but probably the same in the back. Probably the biggest difference is spring rates and wheel base. The 4runner should tow the 60 about just as well.

I've towed my fj40 with my 3rd gen 4runner on a flatbed trailer. It was OK, but not something I'd want to do for a long trip.
 
I used my moms 06 4Runner about 8 months ago and drove from TX to Chicago pulling my 16x8 trailer then loaded a 76 FJ40 on it and towed it back to TX while doing an average of 75 the whole way and it was seriously raining the whole way back. The 4Runner has a V8, Volant cold air intake and 2.5 Gibson cat back exhaust. The thing was a beast, I wouldn't hesitate to pull anything with my 05 or my mom's 06 4Runner.

For those whole don't know the V8 model Runner (03-06) can tow 7,500lb's.
 
Well, since I have now put some miles on my wife's 4Runner and done some work on it I am more enamored than ever with my built 60. More than double the power, better ride, easier to work on, costs less to insure and overall has a beefier build (the 4Runner wins in the fuel economy category). Going from a 60 to a 4Runner is a switch I will NOT be making.
 
lehiguy said:
Well, since I have now put some miles on my wife's 4Runner and done some work on it I am more enamored than ever with my built 60. More than double the power, better ride, easier to work on, costs less to insure and overall has a beefier build (the 4Runner wins in the fuel economy category). Going from a 60 to a 4Runner is a switch I will NOT be making.

What kind of 4Runner does your wife have.
 
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I own a 60 and a 2001 4Runner LTD 4WD and I love both, but for long road trips the runner wins hands down in ride, MPG and in inclement weather, the VSC, ABS VTRAC has saved my ass many times on frozen roads. The 4Runner is build in the same Japanese factory that the Landcruiser and Lexus line is produced. Solid as a rock IMHO.
 
lehiguy said:
'97 SR5, V6 auto. Nice overall, but just not the same. She loves it, that's all that matters.

You should drive an 03 or newer. The 03 - 06 V8 models have tons of power and can tow as much as the Tundra or LC. The 06 and up are only V6 models, but they are suppose to have more horsepower than the V8, but are limited to 5,500 lb towing capacity. Never driven a 60, but I do really like them... especially the ones fixed up expedition style!
 
You should drive an 03 or newer. The 03 - 06 V8 models have tons of power and can tow as much as the Tundra or LC. The 06 and up are only V6 models, but they are suppose to have more horsepower than the V8, but are limited to 5,500 lb towing capacity. Never driven a 60, but I do really like them... especially the ones fixed up expedition style!

You can get a V8 all the way up to 09. The new body style 10 and newer was V6 or... ack... 4 cyl. They only made the 4 cyl for one year tho and the 11 and up is V6 only. It's still a very similar design to the 4.0 that has been used since the 03 but has a little more power. On the note of power, the 4.0 V6 (1GR) has almost the same horsepower and torque of the 4.7 V8 (2UZ). The V8 has a little more tow capacity (7300lb for the 2WD model) versus the 5000lb for the V6.

As for off road ability... I think they are both very capable. I had a 97 V6 4WD Runner and I loved it. I never did any serious wheeling in it but the things I did do with it were done with ease. Steep hills in loose or slippery conditions were easy to tackle, I drove it in snow a few times and never had a problem. I currently own a 2009 V6 2WD that the :princess: drives and I was a little less impressed with it. I actually got stuck in the driveway once. So embarrasing... :mad: I have known people that have had the 4WD V6 and V8s and they are much more capable. I think it really boils down to what you want to do with it. Are you going to DD and wheel a lot? Or, just DD and only get it dirty once in a while? If it was me and I was planning on wheeling a lot I would probably look at getting an 80. They're extremely capable and fairly cheap. If I was going to DD and rarely wheel, I would get a newer Runner, V8 of course. :cheers:
 
Lowe Toyota said:
You can get a V8 all the way up to 09. The new body style 10 and newer was V6 or... ack... 4 cyl. They only made the 4 cyl for one year tho and the 11 and up is V6 only. It's still a very similar design to the 4.0 that has been used since the 03 but has a little more power. On the note of power, the 4.0 V6 (1GR) has almost the same horsepower and torque of the 4.7 V8 (2UZ). The V8 has a little more tow capacity (7300lb for the 2WD model) versus the 5000lb for the V6.

As for off road ability... I think they are both very capable. I had a 97 V6 4WD Runner and I loved it. I never did any serious wheeling in it but the things I did do with it were done with ease. Steep hills in loose or slippery conditions were easy to tackle, I drove it in snow a few times and never had a problem. I currently own a 2009 V6 2WD that the :princess: drives and I was a little less impressed with it. I actually got stuck in the driveway once. So embarrasing... :mad: I have known people that have had the 4WD V6 and V8s and they are much more capable. I think it really boils down to what you want to do with it. Are you going to DD and wheel a lot? Or, just DD and only get it dirty once in a while? If it was me and I was planning on wheeling a lot I would probably look at getting an 80. They're extremely capable and fairly cheap. If I was going to DD and rarely wheel, I would get a newer Runner, V8 of course. :cheers:

I didn't know some of that. Bummer on being stuck in the driveway...that is a bit embarrassing. What is DD?... I read that term a-lot. Showing my ignorance. :D Our rig will see a good mix of everything in HN where our company is. There's large rivers, super large rocks, mud, dirt and really, really bad roads! Oh and grande mountains with elevations ranging from mmmm...500' to 6,000'. So far I really love my Runner. It has the power of my Tundra I recently sold, a more slender body like the FJ, but much bigger. I would enjoy a slight more space inside, but you can't have it all. I also have third row seating in mine which will be very helpful.

Our rig will be a full on expedition setup. It comes pretty well setup with some very capable off road options, but to give myself the edge I'm going to put the ARB rear locker in. Keep an eye out cause well probably be there for good sometime in 2013 and I'll post how the Runner holds up.

~Daniel
 

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