Midsize 4wd/awd SUV grocery getter ?

[1976gmc20]

Originally Posted by davischevy

My brother bought a base model, just for that reason. It's simple, it's new and has a warranty. The dealer had new Rubicon (larger tires) wheels and tires, and he made that part of the deal, for more ground clearance.

Well, I would love a Rubicon for that matter, but besides the extra $10K-$15K in purchase price it comes with all this extra electronic crap that's likely to break the day after the warranty expires. I don't understand why lockers, bigger tires, and better shocks has to come with more fancy interior, etc. My understanding is that to order a Rubicon you must also order several other option packages.

All I really need/want is real 4x4, A/T, and A/C. Plus of course a fairly big cargo area under cover and easily accessible from sides and rear. In our car we have the back seats folded flat 99% of the time.

The appeal of the Wrangler is solid axles front and rear to slop through the boggy roads that we have to deal with most of the year. I had to replace the front axles in my old pickup but who knows how many miles were on them (maybe original?). It will be interesting to see how the front axles on the 2016 pickup hold out, but it does have a heck of a lot of ground clearance

Our ranch neighbors "two doors down" (about five miles ) have a 4Runner now. The road is even worse up their way.

[67C10Step]

Originally Posted by 1976gmc20

So you got that new?

I just can't quite justify $45K or so just for her to run to church and the grocery store. Trouble is that the used ones with less than 100K miles are still in the mid-thirties.

We won't be doing in off road stuff in it except our mud bog county road, and our driveway. The pickup and topper will be our travel and exploration vehicle.

The bummer is that any decent 4x4 these days has been turned into a luxury vehicle


Edit: just to be clear, her church run is about a 60 mile round trip, and a shopping trip is about 120 mile round trip not counting all the driving around in town.

I did buy new and this one listed for $45K but I didn't pay that. Also, I use this as my company vehicle so my work actually ends up paying for whatever I drive in the long run. I put a lot of miles on a vehicle but its cost doesn't really come out of my income.

Jeeps are fun but they don't have the ride quality for my taste. Don't get me wrong, for off road and tooling around they are great but my nephew just got rid of a 2016 Willy's edition because he got tired of a 45 minute one way trip to work in it.

2020 Rav4 XLE AWD for $27K in my area. That machine would run for you for a very long time.

[1976gmc20]

2020 Rav4 XLE AWD for $27K in my area. That machine would run for you for a very long time.

I've thought about those. We need to go to Toyota dealer and just look at different stuff.

[1976gmc20]

Of course, right now I'm in the middle of selling a house in Colorado, and buying 20 acres next door to us here. Plus "must do before winter" stuff. So actually car shopping isn't rising to the top of the stack.

[tim71]

My wife has a 2019 Mazda CX-5. I've been super impressed with the performance of this SUV. It's comfortable, handles great and it's power is terrific. We bought this 2019 with 2500 miles on it over a 2020 model because the 2019 has a turbo charged engine. And it is AWD. It probably is one tick down from midsize however.

[1976gmc20]

Originally Posted by tim71

My wife has a 2019 Mazda CX-5. I've been super impressed with the performance of this SUV. It's comfortable, handles great and it's power is terrific. We bought this 2019 with 2500 miles on it over a 2020 model because the 2019 has a turbo charged engine. And it is AWD. It probably is one tick down from midsize however.

We're definitely looking for something more on the utility side of SUV.

And /65 tires are the absolute minimum. I went out and bought junkyard 15" steel wheels to replace the 17" factory aluminum wheels on our HHR. I almost started liking the car after that

[dmjlambert]

Hmm, what website have I stumbled upon here? I recommend a 1969 pickup with a tonneau cover or a Blazer. Nothing 1970 or newer. Grocery getter. :-)

[1976gmc20]

Well anyways I signed the papers on that 2011 4Runner today.

Gonna clean out the car tomorrow and go back down Friday with the title and checkbook and get it.

[67C10Step]

Photos or it didn’t happen.....

[Stocker]

Originally Posted by 1976gmc20

Well anyways I signed the papers on that 2011 4Runner today.

Gonna clean out the car tomorrow and go back down Friday with the title and checkbook and get it.

Congrats! Remember that old saying about Rolls-Royce? "The quality will remain long after the price is forgotten". I think the same could be said for your new-to-you 4Runner.

[1976gmc20]

Originally Posted by Stocker

Congrats! Remember that old saying about Rolls-Royce? "The quality will remain long after the price is forgotten". I think the same could be said for your new-to-you 4Runner.

Thanks! I hope it works out. It bothers me to pay so much for something with 20K more miles, but I did talk them into a 2 yr drive train warranty. Salesman asked me what deal would make me buy it and I said a warranty and/or a certain price difference. In effect they came down to my price and then tacked the warranty back on, so I got it for what they were asking with the warranty.

It does drive really nice. We took it up the highway and off a ways onto a gravel road and tried out the 4wd, but it just about sold me within a few blocks around town. The day started out with "we should stop in and just look at these."


Edit: at least she can take off to town in the winter without me worrying. Next week or so plan to take the old Jeep into the Slowest Mechanic in the West and see if we can get the lifter problem sorted out.

[Stocker]

Originally Posted by 1976gmc20

It does drive really nice. We took it up the highway and off a ways onto a gravel road and tried out the 4wd, but it just about sold me within a few blocks around town. The day started out with "we should stop in and just look at these."

Sounds like us in early 1995. We wanted to trade our Astro van for a 4WD SUV, so we test-drove a new little Blazer. It was OK but not really. On a whim we stopped by the Jeep dealer before leaving town. They handed us the keys to a new 5.2L Grand Cherokee, a vehicle that wasn't even on our radar. That thing was magnificent, so much nicer than the Blazer! Made a deal and drove it home, and enjoyed it for 10 years before getting a new 2005 Tacoma.

[leddzepp]

Originally Posted by 1976gmc20

Well anyways I signed the papers on that 2011 4Runner today.

Gonna clean out the car tomorrow and go back down Friday with the title and checkbook and get it.

[1976gmc20]

Originally Posted by Stocker

Sounds like us in early 1995. We wanted to trade our Astro van for a 4WD SUV, so we test-drove a new little Blazer. It was OK but not really. On a whim we stopped by the Jeep dealer before leaving town. They handed us the keys to a new 5.2L Grand Cherokee, a vehicle that wasn't even on our radar. That thing was magnificent, so much nicer than the Blazer! Made a deal and drove it home, and enjoyed it for 10 years before getting a new 2005 Tacoma.

We have a 1988 XJ with low miles but after five years it hasn't been confidence inspiring with all the various little problems. But of course nicer than an S-10 Blazer is a pretty low bar

As far as getting through the snow, the little Cherokee is amazing. We're planning to keep it for all those cold starts and running back and forth to the barn all winter.

[Bigdav160]

Why midsize? Their fuel economy is the same as full size with less utility.

Give me a Suburban any day.

[1976gmc20]

Originally Posted by Bigdav160

Why midsize? Their fuel economy is the same as full size with less utility.

Give me a Suburban any day.

Parking! This is for my wife to drive to town and run around for shopping and errands. Damn parking lots are getting tighter and tighter for a full size vehicle. Not to mention that a new Suburban is maybe $80K so by the time they get down to what I'm willing to pay they are worn out. We had two Suburbans over a period of 20 years. Traded off the second one for a 2016 K2500HD. The 4Runner replaces a little FWD Chevy HHR.

And honestly, as much as I liked the Suburbans, they never drove as nice as this Toyota.

[FleetsidePaul]

Originally Posted by 1976gmc20

Parking! This is for my wife to drive to town and run around for shopping and errands. Damn parking lots are getting tighter and tighter for a full size vehicle. Not to mention that a new Suburban is maybe $80K so by the time they get down to what I'm willing to pay they are worn out. We had two Suburbans over a period of 20 years. Traded off the second one for a 2016 K2500HD. The 4Runner replaces a little FWD Chevy HHR.

And honestly, as much as I liked the Suburbans, they never drove as nice as this Toyota.

I get you with the parking. We had a fleet of F150's and Rangers. I'd grab a Ranger every time. Even though the F150's were a much nicer ride.But I worked in the city. And parking the was a pain in the larger truck. Whoever thought up those tiny parking spaces should be shot.

Congratulations on the new ride.

[1976gmc20]

2020 Rav4 XLE AWD for $27K in my area. That machine would run for you for a very long time.

We looked at a Highlander and an RAV4 yesterday. The latter is almost as big as the 4runner on the outside but it's all curves of useless sheet metal so the inside is much smaller. Plus it's not as tough underneath. The Highlander if anything is bigger than a 4runner and even has a little third row which is the last thing we needed. 99% of the time our rear seats are folded down flat.

The 4runner that we're getting has some sort of off road package on it. It should have no trouble conquering our county road even at the worst mud and snow (well, some parts sometimes drift totally shut so nothing can get through).

[Stocker]

FWIW -- and with my limited knowledge, it ain't worth a lot -- 4Runner is Tacoma-based, and Highlander is Camry-based. So you're getting something that's more truck than car, instead of the opposite. Not sure about yours specifically, but some Toyota off-road packages include locking rear differentials.

[DeadheadNM]

My wife drives a 2020 4runner and I have an '08 4runner. We've been happy with both.

Here are some old school mud flaps to jazz yours up a bit : https://www.ebay.com/itm/NOS-1980s-1...UAAOSwHr9eUqGg

[TwoFiftyShifter]

You bought the best possible vehicle. My wife may be getting a used Highlander soon but we dont see much gravel or snow.

[1976gmc20]

Originally Posted by Stocker

FWIW -- and with my limited knowledge, it ain't worth a lot -- 4Runner is Tacoma-based, and Highlander is Camry-based. So you're getting something that's more truck than car, instead of the opposite. Not sure about yours specifically, but some Toyota off-road packages include locking rear differentials.

Yeah, there's apparently a switch above the windshield for it. And a crawl control knob and something else knob. Lots of reading the manual coming up.

Might have to take it up some of my firewood trails around our property

[67C10Step]

Originally Posted by 1976gmc20

We looked at a Highlander and an RAV4 yesterday. The latter is almost as big as the 4runner on the outside but it's all curves of useless sheet metal so the inside is much smaller. Plus it's not as tough underneath. The Highlander if anything is bigger than a 4runner and even has a little third row which is the last thing we needed. 99% of the time our rear seats are folded down flat.

The 4runner that we're getting has some sort of off road package on it. It should have no trouble conquering our county road even at the worst mud and snow (well, some parts sometimes drift totally shut so nothing can get through).

My wife has a 2014 Highlander and actually likes the way my 4Runner rides better. I have been in one spot with my 4Runner where I wished I had the locking differential but I am one of those that takes mine further than just gravel roads. It's not a year old and has crossed creeks and such getting to my favorite places to catch smallmouth bass.

You will probably enjoy your decision even more in the time to come. I had my first 4Runner nine years and wasn't even considering something else when it was murdered by a log truck.

[1976gmc20]

The only bad things I've ever heard about the 4Runner were from self described hard core rock crawlers who complained that they don't have a 24" lift and 48" tires!

[Palf70Step]

Originally Posted by 1976gmc20

The only bad things I've ever heard about the 4Runner were from self described hard core rock crawlers who complained that they don't have a 24" lift and 48" tires!

Like the Tacoma, the seats are not super supportive from long drives. New ones are a bit better, but overall they tend to lack support if you drive a lot of long distance.