As I mentioned earlier, I traded in my 2008 Toyota Tacoma TRD Off-Road for a 2013 Forester.
I thought I'd share my experiences with the Tacoma. I bought it new in Arizona in January of 2008. It had nearly if not every option that could be had with the TRD Off-Road package. I think it cost something like $27k. I averaged 18.5 MPG summer and 17 MPG winter.
It had 82k when I traded it in, and had been very reliable. The rear axle seals went at 60k and were replaced under warranty (I saw no signs of this, but it didn't cost me anything, so whatever). Other than that, it had no mechanical problems. I did the brakes all around at 60k and tires at 25k and 70k.
Some thoughts:
Tires - BFGoodrich Rugged Trail T/A tires came stock on it in 265/70-16. These were horrible in all terrain except dry roads and especially awful in snow. I would have expected better from Toyota in the premium "off-road" package. They were warrantied by BFGoodrich at 25k when large cracks started appearing between the tread blocks. I wish I had photos, but it was before my BITOG days. I replaced them with a set of T/A KO in 265/75-16, which also fixed the speedometer that was wrong from the factory. I ran these for 45k and was generally happy with them. Last summer I put Cooper AT/3s on it. I found them to be even better, especially in light snow.
Fluids - It has seen a mixture of bulk conventional from Toyota dealers, M1 0w-30, PYB 5w-30, and Rotella T6. I've used OEM and Purolator PureONE and Classic filters. I put Mobil 1 75w-90 in the transfer case and both differentials. The diff fluid came out awful at 70k, and I would do it at 60k if I bought another one. The transfer case fluid looked brand new and amber. The transmission got Maxlife ATF, and I couldn't have been happier with the performance.
Towing - I realize that this truck isn't meant to be a heavy duty vehicle, but it towed 6x12 U-Haul enclosed trailer across the country without complaints. I estimated that to be about 5,000 lbs. It had the towing package with transmission cooler and a stated capacity of 6,500 lbs.
Suspension - After some fighting with the dealership, I had them do the TSB for the rear suspension, which was pretty wimpy from the factory. If I put any weight in the bed at night, it would change the geometry so much that other drivers thought I had my high beams on. The TSB replaced the three leaf springs with four and greatly improved the capability of the truck.
Performance - The 1GR-FE is a nice peppy engine for this lighter truck, although I'd gladly pay a premium for a turbodiesel if one were available stateside. Oh well. It had plenty of passing power and I can't complain about it. The off-road package came with a manual locking rear differential. I found this entirely useless (especially for winter driving), as it was only available in 4x4 low. I would much rather have had an automatic locker like the Tahoe I drive at work. It might have been useful in very deep mud or rock crawling, but I never put it through that.
That's about all I can think of. I wanted to get a 4Runner, but couldn't justify the equally poor MPGs and $10,000 premium over the Forester.
I thought I'd share my experiences with the Tacoma. I bought it new in Arizona in January of 2008. It had nearly if not every option that could be had with the TRD Off-Road package. I think it cost something like $27k. I averaged 18.5 MPG summer and 17 MPG winter.
It had 82k when I traded it in, and had been very reliable. The rear axle seals went at 60k and were replaced under warranty (I saw no signs of this, but it didn't cost me anything, so whatever). Other than that, it had no mechanical problems. I did the brakes all around at 60k and tires at 25k and 70k.
Some thoughts:
Tires - BFGoodrich Rugged Trail T/A tires came stock on it in 265/70-16. These were horrible in all terrain except dry roads and especially awful in snow. I would have expected better from Toyota in the premium "off-road" package. They were warrantied by BFGoodrich at 25k when large cracks started appearing between the tread blocks. I wish I had photos, but it was before my BITOG days. I replaced them with a set of T/A KO in 265/75-16, which also fixed the speedometer that was wrong from the factory. I ran these for 45k and was generally happy with them. Last summer I put Cooper AT/3s on it. I found them to be even better, especially in light snow.
Fluids - It has seen a mixture of bulk conventional from Toyota dealers, M1 0w-30, PYB 5w-30, and Rotella T6. I've used OEM and Purolator PureONE and Classic filters. I put Mobil 1 75w-90 in the transfer case and both differentials. The diff fluid came out awful at 70k, and I would do it at 60k if I bought another one. The transfer case fluid looked brand new and amber. The transmission got Maxlife ATF, and I couldn't have been happier with the performance.
Towing - I realize that this truck isn't meant to be a heavy duty vehicle, but it towed 6x12 U-Haul enclosed trailer across the country without complaints. I estimated that to be about 5,000 lbs. It had the towing package with transmission cooler and a stated capacity of 6,500 lbs.
Suspension - After some fighting with the dealership, I had them do the TSB for the rear suspension, which was pretty wimpy from the factory. If I put any weight in the bed at night, it would change the geometry so much that other drivers thought I had my high beams on. The TSB replaced the three leaf springs with four and greatly improved the capability of the truck.
Performance - The 1GR-FE is a nice peppy engine for this lighter truck, although I'd gladly pay a premium for a turbodiesel if one were available stateside. Oh well. It had plenty of passing power and I can't complain about it. The off-road package came with a manual locking rear differential. I found this entirely useless (especially for winter driving), as it was only available in 4x4 low. I would much rather have had an automatic locker like the Tahoe I drive at work. It might have been useful in very deep mud or rock crawling, but I never put it through that.
That's about all I can think of. I wanted to get a 4Runner, but couldn't justify the equally poor MPGs and $10,000 premium over the Forester.