Why I Drive A Toyota 4Runner SUV (Page 1)
I am very tired of the constant SUV bashing that goes on in the media these days. It seems that SUV and truck owners really can’t catch a break.
So why do I drive one? Well my previous vehicle was a Saturn (1992) and I got rid of it last September because it was starting to fall apart. I’d bought it used and it was a very good vehicle but a 15 year old Saturn just can’t last forever.
I looked around at different vehicles but decided I didn’t want to get a small vehicle. I like to hunt so sometimes I go up really crappy dirt roads or a bit off-road and you simply can’t do that with a small car. They will either get stuck or get damaged because they don’t have the clearance necessary on the underside of the vehicle.
When I started looking at SUVs I had to figure out which one worked best for me. I wanted something that was capable off-road but also comfortable to drive on road. I also wanted something that was reliable and that would not constantly end up in the shop to be fixed.
I looked online and considered many different models. Edmunds was one of the sites I used as they have a lot of good information as well as driver reviews of vehicles. Ultimately I decided to get a Toyota 4Runner. Here’s a good review of the 2004 Toyota 4Runner and also some driver reviews of the 4Runner at Edmunds.
It was the perfect blend of what I needed:
1. Good off road capability: 4Runners are built on truck frame, they are not “car based” SUVs. You can take them off-road and they will perform very well. They are robust vehicles and will not fall apart if you need to take them into rough places.
2. Comfortable to drive on-road. My friend Derek drove my 4runner and noted that it felt more like driving a car than his Toyota Tacoma. I’ve found it to be a very comfortable vehicle.
3. Reasonable gas mileage: My 4Runner gets about 22 – 23 MPG on the highway and around 19 in city driving. While that doesn’t challenge a Prius’ MPG, the Prius can’t do nearly what a 4Runner can do nor does it have the same space. For an SUV, the 4Runner gets pretty good gas mileage.
4. 4 Wheel Drive: My 4Runner is simply awesome in the snow. Living in NH means that you have to be able to deal with winter weather and my 4Runner handles it very well. I would not want to drive a vehicle without 4 wheel drive in New Hampshire.
5. Comfort: I got the Limited version so it has heated leather seats, a sun roof and other creature comforts. It’s a nice vehicle and I really do enjoy driving it.
6. Space: I need to carry hunting equipment around with me (as well as a couple of fishing poles and a tackle box) so it’s important to have a bit of space. I’d have a tough time with a smaller vehicle if I wanted to carry all this stuff with me.
7. Safety: This is something that the anti-SUV people lie about all the time. They say that a vehicle like a 4Runner is “more likely to tip over” and that sort of thing. That simply isn’t true as so much of any vehicle’s safety is in how it is driven and I drive my 4Runner conservatively.
Related posts:
- Stupid People Selling Their SUVs and Buying Small Cars
- Snow Fleas and Ice Worms? Four Wheel Drive or Four Wheel Slide?
[...] one thing that annoys me is that people like Charlie don’t seem to understand that some people really need to have SUV type vehicles. I wonder what Charlie would think if the SUVs he hates were able to get 500 miles per gallon? Is [...]
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