4Runner/Tacoma alternatives?

[AmmergauerTele]

I read the Ridgeline got great reviews. Curious to see how it works out for you.

I'm interested in the 2023 Chevy Colorado that is coming out. Wish you could get a six foot bed though. What do people think of this one?

[SB]

The only real replacement for a 4R or Taco is the same.

[Name Redacted]

Hilux Surf!

Same here, but I lost track of him when he moved away. I've owned a RHD car, and driven one on the euro continent, and it sucks. Maybe if there were no trucks on the road.

I owned a RHD Mazda bongo in NZ. It was a manual too. Wasn't't that bad, but sometimes I'd get caught driving on the right side of the road by accident. Usually late at night w/ no traffic

[Ted Striker]

maybe the turbo version is better but I drove the non turbo diesel Surf on a shuttle and it was seriously lacking in power so the most it could do fully loaded with boats & bodies on the hyway was 60 mph

There are lots of them up here, I think up here its only 15 yrs before they can be imported to Canada while down there its 25 ?

Yeah, he bought it in BC. That's how most of the of Hilux, Hiace, and Surfs got here.

His was the 3 liter Turbo. It had less hp than the 3VZE, but more torque. It didn't like to go too fast on the freeway either, because it had a very low redline, but it wasn't lacking for power. Pulled the same regardless of load.

[Ted Striker]

I owned a RHD Mazda bongo in NZ. It was a manual too. Wasn't't that bad, but sometimes I'd get caught driving on the right side of the road by accident. Usually late at night w/ no traffic

I meant here, and not being able to see before you try to pass, so you kinda inch over and crane your neck.

I learned to drive in England. When I went back a decade later as a tourist I was pretty cocky that it'd come right back, but yeah, late at night / no traffic or in open spaces without lines, I found I had to remind myself.

Passed someone waiting in a parking lot on the wrong side, he gave me the "peace sign" lol.

[bagtagley]

Out with the tall, in with the small.

You decide you didn’t like the slide-in?

[El Chupacabra]

You decide you didn’t like the slide-in?

Mrs C decided she wanted an indoor bathroom, so the slide in camper we had was no longer acceptable. And she vetoed my pick of a Northern Lite. So, we ended up with a travel trailer that I spent more time fixing than we spent using this year. That trailer is pretty small, so F350 was way overkill (it could tow four of them at the same time).

Stupid high pricing on Super Duty trucks still, so it made sense to dump it now.

The Ridgeline fits in the garage too, barely, which is nice.

[Bobcat Sig]

Out with the tall, in with the small.

Mrs C decided she wanted an indoor bathroom, so the slide in camper we had was no longer acceptable. And she vetoed my pick of a Northern Lite. So, we ended up with a travel trailer that I spent more time fixing than we spent using this year. That trailer is pretty small, so F350 was way overkill (it could tow four of them at the same time).

Stupid high pricing on Super Duty trucks still, so it made sense to dump it now.

The Ridgeline fits in the garage too, barely, which is nice.

The Ridgeline is great! I had one for about 18 months. The killer feature on that thing is in-bed trunk. So weird and so cool. I even put a small lift on with BFGs... the looks I got were classic. I found the 3.5L - even with the nine-speed transmission - a little wheezy, but otherwise adequate. The seats were quite comfortable.

I traded after a big vehicle reshuffle when I decided to keep my Duramax and the slide-in camper.

You'll love it.

[El Chupacabra]

It fits in the garage, just barely - it's a tight squeeze past the mirrors, but they can stay folded out. I can't even walk around the front end because there's about 75 bags of wood pellets stacked up, against the wall for winter.

I need to set up my parking guide tennis ball from the ceiling.

Skis fit diagonally in the bed - I put a pair of 193s in for a test fit.

There's a Ridgeline forum, as there is for everything, and it looks pretty easy to duplicate the Tacoma / Frontier bed wall tie-down tracks on a Ridgeline. There is a series of 3 bolts in the bed wall on each side, a little below the bed rail, and the bed wall is flat front to back. With a set of tracks on those bolts, I can mount a set of crossbars above the bed, and use a ski rack for winter, or bike racks for summer - which will be handy when towing and I can't use a hitch rack at the same time.

[Ted Striker]

That's a nice color (at least on my screen)

[hafjell]

The Ridgeline is great! I had one for about 18 months. The killer feature on that thing is in-bed trunk. So weird and so cool.

I saw that at the dealer and thought--while the salesman was a bit too proud of it--it would likely come in really handy. As in, weather is turning fast and you just want to stow something without putting in the cab.
Is the bed deep enough? Seemed really shallow. But I like the innovation.

[uglymoney]

Tacoma is just too fucking small. 4Runner has a real back seat and disc brakes on the rear axle.

Both of them are bomber and worth the price premium imo. Our 2003 4R is by far the most reliable vehicle we have ever owned, except for our Prius V, which at 230k has only needed a wheel bearing.

[XXX-er]

not too small, I used to expedited 4 large adults and ski gear

it wasn't perfect but it was way > the 1st gen tacoma

its midsized, the people I see driving them are skinny people

if you are a fat fuck get something fat-fuck-sized

which speaks to buying the right truck

[uglymoney]

I am 15 lbs overweight at 205 6'2" but even at my ideal 190 I'm not comfy in the back seat of a Tacoma. Back seat of a 4R is adult human sized with room to spare plus a dog for cross country travel.

Pint sized humans fine. Get the Taco and live happily ever after.

Honestly I like both vehicles a lot and I always shrug when people write them off because they spec like the dinosaurs they are. Went forest service roading this summer with our besties on the way to a relatively remote San Juan trailhead, them in their Taco and us in our 4R and all of us were happy as clams bouncing down the road with our Bilsteins no fucks given. I'm not a truck guy so my preference is definitely biased towards the more wagon like SUV. I like stuff that just works every time mostly..

[Hopeless Sinner]

I am 15 lbs overweight at 205 6'2" but even at my ideal 190 I'm not comfy in the back seat of a Tacoma. Back seat of a 4R is adult human sized with room to spare plus a dog for cross country travel.

Pint sized humans fine. Get the Taco and live happily ever after.

Honestly I like both vehicles a lot and I always shrug when people write them off because they spec like the dinosaurs they are. Went forest service roading this summer with our besties on the way to a relatively remote San Juan trailhead, them in their Taco and us in our 4R and all of us were happy as clams bouncing down the road with our Bilsteins no fucks given. I'm not a truck guy so my preference is definitely biased towards the more wagon like SUV. I like stuff that just works every time mostly..

Never liked the laid out driving positions in either Tacoma or 4RNR. Owned the 4RNR (~1998MY), but never could quite get myself to buy a Tacoma. I do own a 2013 Tundra now, and love that thing.

[Ted Striker]

The 4R v Taco argument can be summed up as: if you need a pickup, it's the Taco, but for literally everything else, the 4R is the superior vehicle. And if you really need a pickup: Tundra

[Name Redacted]

My crew cab tacoma is basically relegated to dog duty now. 80 lb black lab that thinks he's too good to ride in the bed. We have one of those taco seat cover things to protect my fine Italian seat covers from him. He loves it. I think he would live in my truck if I let him.

But I still need a damn truck bed for everything else anyway. Beer cans, kegs, coolers, skis, poles, bikes, dirt bike gear, trash, recycling, camping gear, paddling gear, etc. Can't imagine throwing that stuff into the cab of a fancy 4R and smelling it all the way home. No thanks.

And yeah, I shoulda bought a Tundra.

[Foggy_Goggles]

Yeah, but you only need a truck 14% of the time. You should get a RAV4 and a utility trailer. It would be so much more practical.

[Name Redacted]

Yeah, but you only need a truck 14% of the time. You should get a RAV4 and a utility trailer. It would be so much more practical.

Yeah, we have a hybrid Rav4, it is pretty sweet for travel, flooring it over the pass, going 90, and it still gets 40+ mpg. I also have an AWD Chevy Express and a Nissan NV200 for work.

[Foggy_Goggles]

Nice, one for all occasions...like shoes. I laugh when I see the culture war being waged by proxy in choice of vehicle. Hopefully lifed Platimum F150 guy can get along with Telsa guy when they are knocking back martinis laughing at little people out at Devil's Thumb.

[Ted Striker]

That's the funniest part to me. Fully loaded full sized domestic pickups are luxury vehicles. Add fuel cost, and you're easily in "do you have any grey poupon?" territory.

[hafjell]

The 4R v Taco argument can be summed up as: if you need a pickup, it's the Taco, but for literally everything else, the 4R is the superior vehicle. And if you really need a pickup: Tundra

That settles it for me.

[Ted Striker]

And yeah, I shoulda bought a Tundra.

I tried. But in the PNW in 2018/19 it was nearly impossible to buy a good used first gen (or T100). And the Toyota tax was huge on the few I saw. Wife vetoed the idea of a new Tundra.

[Ted Striker]

That settles it for me.

Ha! If that isn't sarcasm, here are some observations from someone who's owned both of the current generation.

The 4R is quieter (but still much louder than something like a Highlander), more comfortable, and has much better forward visibility (though the top of the windshield is still low). The Tacoma developed interior rattles almost immediately after driving it off the lot (in all of the usual places according to the folks on tacomaworld). The 4R has none at 30somethingK miles, but does have "the whistle" (as discussed on both 4R forums).

The 4.0 in the fifth gen 4R is indisputably a better engine than the 3.5 in the Tacoma.

The 3.5 varies the timing to run in a part-time Atkinson cycle, to increase mpg at the expense of the torque curve. I found myself flooring the tacoma a lot in 2nd, and sometimes 3rd gear (6MT), whereas I can drive the 4R with a very light foot, and consistently get better mileage than I ever got in the Taco.

Oil changes on both are a PITA.

Dog preferred shotgun position in the Tacoma. The seat was more 'buckety'. It had better headlights too. The 4R interior is dated in that the cup holders are on the small size, and there's nowhere to put your giant phone. Both will interface with a phone or classic ipod flawlessly.

[MagnificentUnicorn]

I tried. But in the PNW in 2018/19 it was nearly impossible to buy a good used first gen (or T100). And the Toyota tax was huge on the few I saw. Wife vetoed the idea of a new Tundra.

There’s a really nice T100 with 110k for sale on Wenatchee CL. $7000


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