I had a '97 3rd Gen 4Runner, bought new (used ones were WAY overpriced then, just like now). It was the most reliable vehicle I had experienced up to that point. I drove it for 210k miles / 13 years but paid off the loan in 4. That meant 9 years of reliable payment free driving. Eventually the s***tiness of South Florida caught up to me when an A-hole kid rear ended me and totalled the 4Runner.
When I moved to L.A. I had a full time job and didn't need to haul gear (cameras for movie shoots), so I scratched the BMW itch (see sig). I owned 3 of the best driver's cars they ever made: The E39 528i, E46 323i Wagon and E92 335i. All were Sport Package cars, all but the E46 (a craigslist special) were manual trans.
Greatly enjoyed the engines, ergonomics and handling of those BMW's. And they were GREAT road trip cars. But they were all PITA for maintenance, usually due to what I called "Infinite Teutonic Wisdom" of using cheap plastic parts in critical areas, ruining otherwise great engineering.
Every once in a while when I would get frustrated with my German cars, I would do a search on "most reliable and durable cars". Land Cruisers always came up. And I had been eyeing them even before I got the 4Runner (considered 62's and 80's).
I sold the E39 and E92 at good prices. I was down to my 19 year old E46 3-Series Sport Wagon. Did a ton of work on the thing, replacing lots of parts including a plastic coolant pipe brilliantly located under the intake manifold...
Huge job. Then one day I shift into reverse and.... and... nothing.
Turns out the '99, '00 and '01 3-Series auto trans had an inherent defect: The reverse clutch drum fractures. $100 part, but $2500 job. If my 3 Series Wagon had been a manual it would have been worth about $4.5 - $6k (It only had 100k miles). But an auto with a bad trans, no matter how good the rest of the chassis and engine were, was worth just above scrap value.
That's when thoughts of Land Cruiser turned into action. I was already planning to leave L.A. (SO glad I did) so the cost of fuel would not be a major issue. Despite my weakened financial condition (due to the financially extractive nature of life in SoCal) I managed to stretch when I found a 2006 L.C. The P.O. was a good guy... he had the maintenance history and even agreed to take my 3 Series Wagon as a trade-in (project car for his son).
So far I've put almost 24,000 miles on my 100, including the 3300 mile trip from L.A. to Portland, ME. I've done nothing but routine maintenance on it. Still working my way through the "baseline maintenance list".
To sum it up for the '06-'07 100 Series:
PRO:
Exceptional durability: 25 year vehicle design life, at least 300k miles.
I plan to drive indefinitely.
2UZ-FE engine is known for durability
VVT-i version has adequate power for the LC's weight
IFS makes it as road-friendly as the 4Runner
AHC turns out to be useful - I haven't had problems with it yet (fingers crossed)
Confidence inspiring in bad weather driving
Smooth and mostly noise/vibration free. Doesn't tire you out out on long drives.
Excellent cargo capacity
Good towing capacity
I really like the motorized rear vent windows.
Reasonable fuel economy (I get 15 MPG overall, pushing 17 on highway driving).
Brakes are much better than the 80. I have a neighbor with a nice '96. He keeps having problems with his brakes.
CON:
Ergonomics are no where near as good as the Germans. The climate control drives me crazy, some buttons are real, others are "virtual".
Toyota could have tuned this engine for around 315 HP without any compromise in durability
Wish they hadn't eliminated the rear Diff limited-slip or locking
Wish the truck was lighter
Wish the suspension would control body roll better (heard this is an AHC issue).
Wish I had HID projectors (all my BMW's had them), although the LC halogens are adequate
I do love it, sort of pine for a solid front axle, but in reality it suits me an my family well. We have derg and 2 two kids plus pop up camper, it's our swiss army knife on wheels. 
