And so it begins... got the 4Runner today!

Found a low-rust 2004 that had spent most of its life in Texas, and pulled the trigger. 4.0 V6, 4x4, 191,000-some miles (which I hope were as kind to the powertrain as they appear to have been to the body). If this is to be an adventure, it has begun.

 

Welcome to the site!

 

That's a very nice Rig. Congrats.

 

Very nice!

 

Looks great. Did you keep the Prius as a daily? Where are you at with that much snow?

 

Yeah, it's as good as we'd find in this area. Might I do a bit better if I had the time and the desire to fly down south and buy from like Texas or Arizona? Maybe... but by the time I factor in the time, the cost of the plane ticket, the gas to drive home, possible lodging... probably wouldn't be worth it. Fortunately I'd already done enough research and examination to know that the 4th generation 4Runner would work for us. Sometimes you just have to pounce... and today that's what I did. (I missed out on a really nice-looking 3rd generation model yesterday, when someone "pounced" before I was able to get there to look at it.)

The Prius is still the main car... for now. When we bought it, we had no children, and we didn't think we'd ever be able to have children. Well, as of five days ago, we have a child... meaning that it's possible the Prius may prove itself unacceptably small for daily use at some point. I doubt we'd want to rely on this 4Runner as our main vehicle, if for no other reason than because our current rate of driving ~55,000 - 60,000 miles per year would wear it out very quickly... but if we like it, I wouldn't rule out trading in the Prius on a lower-mileage example of the 4th generation 4Runner should we have to upgrade. Not long ago I saw a 2009 with less than 10,000 miles... and the ad included a picture of the odometer to prove it. It was quite expensive (over $25,000), but still nowhere near the price of a new one. I'd go for something in that ballpark. Now that I've owned the most reliable car ever made (or so it seems from all evidence at least), it'd be tough to go back to something less reliable. That's one thing I liked about the 4Runner - it made Consumer Reports' best lists all around, extremely high-mileage examples seem to be all over the place, I can't recall ever seeing one on a flatbed tow truck, etc. It seems to be a good bet to give us above-average reliability.

If we did trade the Prius for another 4Runner, I would miss the 45 miles per gallon that we've been getting with the Prius... and I must say, any car will have a very high bar to clear if it's going to match the Prius's reliability. We bought it new, it has over 158,000 miles now, and it has given us no trouble at all. Oil, brakes, tires, filters, other routine maintenance... that's it. Back in the day I always bought American vehicles... but I'd say Toyota has made a believer out of me. (Not to mention how some Toyota models are the most American-made vehicles you can get these days...)

I doubt Toyota will make a hybrid 4Runner, though the fuel-economy boost that would give the 4Runner would be nice for people like me. If they hybridize any of their current vehicles, the next up should be the Sienna... though we already determined that the Sienna wouldn't work for us. We looked at the hybrid Highlander and it wasn't big enough... and even the Sequoia wasn't as accommodating of people our size as the 4Runner! (What's up with the 4Runner having a tailgate that opens up _higher_ than the larger Sequoia?! They couldn't do at least "as well" with the Sequoia?!)

As for where we are that we have that much snow - we live in the "primary snow belt" of northeast Ohio. (Hence, needing 4 wheel drive sometimes!) Two days ago we got 4 inches. Yesterday we went out car-shopping and 50 miles away, they had zero snow on the ground.

 

Welcome aboard! Great looking 4th gen runner!

 

It did well on its first long trip today. Over 200 miles, 22.6 mpg. Lots of snow driving... had to use 4x4 at one point, to pass a school bus. A SCHOOL BUS. It was snowing so hard that I didn't feel safe going above 40 in a 70 zone, and there was a SCHOOL BUS on the highway. Yes, here in northeast Ohio, we are a hearty people.

Is it well known that the fuel gauges stop working in the 4th generation 4Runners? Mine shows about 5/6 full when I fill the tank to capacity. It seems to be going down with reasonable accuracy as fuel is consumed, but it strikes me as weird that it won't show full.