Rudd hit the nail on the head, Chad. If you value reliability, safety, good looks, great traction, and solid naturally aspirated V6 engines, Toyota is the only way to go.
If you’re getting a 4Runner, my only advice would be to get a limited, for the full time all wheel drive. The manual/traditional four wheel drive in the other models will drive over anything, but on regular driving on slick roads around town, it’s kind of a pain in the ***. In rear wheel drive, you’ll lose traction on anything slippery. And four wheel locks the center differential, so you’ll bind up in turns, even on wet surfaces. No real happy middle ground on sloppy roads around town. That’s not a problem in the limited because you’re in all wheel drive without the center diff being locked.
If you can find a limited with decent mileage, I think that would be the play. They’ve been virtually unchanged since 2009, aside from tech updates, so it doesn’t really matter what model year you buy.
The Highlander is super solid also, but as Rudd said, more suited for mama. Not that it’s a chick car or anything, it just kind of disappears in the crowd.
/long/Toyota truck geek.
and a last quick edit - I’ve brought all three of my boys home from the hospital in my 2010 4Runner trail, so I can attest to its family friendliness. It’s not just a bro machine.
