I always try to warn people what they’re getting into with the 4Runner, which is to say, a time machine that takes you back to the era of keyed ignitions and horrible gas mileage. Last year, Toyota sold nearly 140,000 of the things, despite the current generation dating to 2010, and the 4Runner outsells every Lexus car-combined. Aside from the Jeep Wrangler, which is its own category, there’s only one truck left: the Toyota 4Runner. The Chevy Blazer is a taller Impala, and the Jeep Cherokee is a Chrysler 200 that sells 200 times better. That’s why the Pathfinder morphed from body-on-frame to a mega-Maxima. Compared to a body-on-frame SUV, a crossover will typically weigh less, handle better, have more interior space, and get better fuel economy. The first wave of four-door SUVs were hastily adapted trucks, basically pickups with back seats and a roof over the bed-then came the crossovers.įor all our griping about the basic lameness of crossovers, the advent of the car-based faux truck represented a positive realignment of capability with reality.
I am old enough to remember when SUVs first took off, and mobs of people who formerly drove wagons or minivans piled into body-on-frame Explorers and set off for outdoorsy adventures, driving to the mall to get an Orange Julius while listening to the new Collective Soul CD. Engine: 4.0-liter V6, 270 hp and 278 lb-ft of torque / Transmission/transfer case: Five-speed automatic/rear-wheel-drive, part-time 4WD or full-time 4WD / EPA Fuel Economy / (4x4): 17 mpg city, 20 mpg highway / Ground Clearance: 9.6 inches / Suspension: Independent front, solid axle rear with coil springs / Towing Capacity: 5,000 pounds