JGC or 4 Runner?

I know I know!. My wife wants a 4 runner. I wnat a Grand Ch. Which can go farther off road? This is how I need to do the sales pitch to the wifey. The most capable vehicle wins. We will be buying a pre-owned truck. any ways. Give me the pro's and cons.

Reply to
Paul Brogren
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These days quite a few vehicles and major sub components are made in Mexico, Canada, and Japan. I'd love to buy American, but not if the quality sucks. Letting American builders slide by with ill fitting vehicles is un-American.

Back to the OPs question:

Grands are very capable but if you want to get the most of them off-road get a selec-track or command-track xfr case (something with Part Time 4WD) The Quadratrack/Quadradrive is a full time 4WD which means it doesn't lock (except maby in Low range). This is necissary if your trying to get the maximum grip. Also you will need to have front and rear lockers to get the full benefit offroading. For general purpose snow/muck/etc, the quadratrack/quadradrive with limited slip rear works well.

The I6 (the newer V6) and the V8 are all good engines.

My suggestion is test drive them both. The 4runner isn't a slouch either. Not as familiar with it as the ZJ but you might want to check out the other 4X4 newsgroups.

Off road ability is about 50% vehicle, 50% driver skill, and 10% wahooo! :)

Reply to
DougW

Approximately 8/11/03 23:22, Paul Brogren uttered for posterity:

Both will go quite a distance off road. More importantly, both will have reasonably decent odds of making it back to the road.

The Toyota is very likely to be priced well above a GC, even a Limited, for any given used year. The difference should be enough to add lift, shocks, etc. to the GC so it is likely to be capable of even *more* offroad.

Look for a cherry GC Limited with the biggest V8 you can find and let her play with it on a test drive...say against the slow-assed Toyota 4Runner in the next lane. Even the 4.0 GC is faster than the older 4Runners--they are too heavy for their engine.

The GC Limited also tends to be a lot nicer inside, and a bit nicer ride which can get even nicer with Edelbrock IAS shocks or Rancho RSX or even Rancho RS9000X with in-cab adjust.

Make sure the GC has the trailer tow package, 3.73 rear axle.

Reply to
Lon Stowell

I have some photos of some Grands from this newsgroup 'out playing'....

I could post them over on alt.binaries.pictures.autos.4x4 or email them to you. They aren't too big.

Mike

86/00 CJ7 Laredo, 33x9.5 BFG Muds, 'glass nose to tail in '00 88 Cherokee 235 BFG AT's

Paul Brogren wrote:

Reply to
Mike Romain

I compared the two before buying a new GC.

About the 4Runner. No interior dual temperature control system, meaning that heating or cooling is spotty and depending upon where you are setting. The GC limited has dual temperature control that seems to work well in all weather conditions.

4runner is difficult to get into or out of for me. The running boards help but will get your pant leg dirty if they are dirty and there is no way to avoid them and without them the 4runner may be too high for some. The GC is easy to access without running boards. They need to either lower the 4runner or include a stepping stool.

Up to this year, 4runners were underpowered but now you can get a v8, and if you do then you need to also get the five speed automatic for maximum fuel economy. There is a new one with the larger engine and five speed transmission on the lot here for under $30,000.

No compass, thermometer, mpg calculator.

The god awfullest fabric seat covers that seem to resist a good cleaning.

History of a rust problems with the back window. (But Maybe they got it taken care of.)

Don't know if they finally took care of the sagging problem with the rear end.

Spare tire is underneath the rear rather than inside.

These are a few things that bothered me.

If you look at Edmunds comparisons, you will see a higher customer satisfaction with the 4runner than the JGC. And better resale value than JGC. So you can get a very well equipped preowned GC for a lot less than a

4runner.

One of most annoying problem with toyota ownership (my experience), is that everything is ok until there is a warranty problem. Then it seems that toyota goes into denial about having any mechanical problems with their vehicle. I had a six month old muffler on a new camry rust through and needed to be replaced. It took several visits before they would replace the muffler under the new car warranty.

Larry

Reply to
Larry Greenwood

Yeah, they did that with the 1990 version when they switched to coil springs. I'd double check some of these comments based on their age... most of them apply to my 1987 4Runner, but not necessarily to a more modern

4Runner. I bought mine used about 5 or 6 years ago... 4cyl engine, 5 speed, SR5 edition (the one with the cute altimeter-inclinometer built in). It now has over 162,000 miles on it, some of it serious off-road hauling, some of it trailer towing over mountains, and some of it around town. When my boy gets done driving it (assuming he leaves it reasonably intact) I'll probably retire it to my place in the mountains as a work-truck. That thing has done everything I've asked it to do, bone stock, including hauling downed trees up muddy hillsides and along mountains roads. Aftermarket parts are available to lift them and modify them just like Jeeps and quite a few people use them rock-crawling out in Colorado and New Mexico. With good tires and lockers, they're exceptionally capable off-road, particularly due to their high clearance (at least the older ones).

Toyotas are tough vehicles, built to last. Would I buy one again? Betcherass. Would I trade my TJ for one? No way. Two different animals. I don't know the GC, but I know this... properly maintained, a Toyota will probably last twice as long.

Reply to
Mike Polo

Well said. I must admit that the new v8 and five speed auto and the under $30,000 price after dealer discounts that I am seeing should make DC stand up and take notice. All of that and attention to detail and trim makes the choice between GC and the 4runner a difficult decison. Now if Toyota would get better seat fabric and an easier way of getting in and out the GC days may be numbered. However, I think the GC is better looking from a distance.

Larry

Reply to
Larry Greenwood

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