Had someone reach out via PM and ask about my Prado experience. They had no posts here on the forum, they read my response, never responded to me, and then never came back? Thought that was rude, but also thought others could maybe benefit, so here's a copy and paste of what I sent them.
Sure, glad to share some insights.
Head replacement is a fact of ownership, plan for it when buying because it's going to happen. If you don't want to turn wrenches yourself, there are shops in the(our) area who are familiar with them. When mine went, it gave lots of warning and drove perfectly up to the end, I only knew it was going because I was keeping a close eye on everything and was expecting it. Didn't leave me stranded, drove it to the shop. Not sure if that's normal or fine fine fine boom is more standard. Taking road trips to Cali, long hours at freeway speeds, strongly consider having the head done proactively, even if it seems perfectly fine. You might treat it like a Subaru when buying, head not done = $4k off the asking price or walk away.
(If you're considering a shop in Portland to do it, PM me first. Not happy with my experience and don't want you going through the same thing. Just found more things they goofed up when upgrading my fan this morning, grrrr...........)
If the head is replaced correctly, on an intercooled engine, it's usually a one time for life job. Non-intercooled motors cook themselves and pop heads regularly, including replacements. Non-intercooled = deal breaker. Walk away.
'Worth it' is a very personal decision that I can't answer for you.
Emotionally, I absolutely love it. I've wanted basically this form factor of vehicle since I was a little kid, since before I was interested in girls. Even tried to build something similar myself as a young adult(see username). I have pretty strong opinions about new vehicles and refuse to own one. When a 1990's Toyota popped up with 84k miles for a steal, I jumped on it. For me, it's well worth the hassles. It's ordinary enough that most people ignore it entirely among a sea of other older SUVs, and when someone notices they're usually an enthusiast and it's a fun interaction.
On one hand, it's incredibly practical. AWD, all weather daily driver, plenty of room for people + gear when camping or shooting, tows a utility trailer, acceptable MPG for my 50 mile/day commute, back seats for the less than once per year I need them, equally comfortable crawling up trails in 4 way low or cruising at 75mph on the highway. Power is acceptable, scoots around town fine, no problems merging on the freeway, builds boost and climbs hills just fine. Only time I wish it had more power is passing on rural 2 lane country roads. Other than the engine, mechanical bits are 4Runner, parts readily available. Even engine stuff is surprisingly easy(to source) and inexpensive from Amayama, Partsouq, Yoshiparts, etc.
On the other hand, they are not practical. With only a little shopping I could have found an AWD SUV with similar miles on it, for half the price, that gets better MPG on cheaper fuel, that has cheaper maintenance, no head issues, no RHD to get used to, etc. Insert generic transportation appliance here. Boring.
I hate new cars, I hate car payments, I don't want to drive a toaster oven, a car I enjoy turns every trip into a miniature vacation instead of a chore. I love it. Maybe my favorite vehicle I've ever owned. Just passed 100k miles, planning on dailying it for maybe another decade.
That got long, but I hope it helps.
