2008 Toyota 4Runner: Buying A Semi-Guzzler SUV In A World Going Hybrid

On a recent trip to L.A., as I was cruising down the freeway, I could not help but notice all the billboards that said, “I want my M.P.G.!” That’s Miles-Per-Gallon, in case you didn’t know. The world of Southern California automobiles has gone from the gas-drinking muscle cars, like the pulse-pounding Pontiac G.T.O with a 389 and a dual-quad carburetor setup of the 1960s, to the fuel-sipping Toyota Priuses and the Honda hybrids of the early 2000s. Why? Gasoline that costs $4.00+, that’s why. If gas prices continue to go $4-5-6-7-8-9… a gallon, the lure of high-MPG vehicles grows. And the seduction of muscle cars melts like a Hershey bar on a summer sidewalk.

I had been reading articles about hybrids for about a year-and-a-half now, and even though I live in West Texas, where nearly every other vehicle is a Chevy Suburban, a Hummer, a Ford F-100 pickup, or an SUV, and hybrids are spoken of as if they were cockroaches invading your best restaurant, and in cultural defiance (as is my want) I had my eye on my next car as one that would get 40-50 MPG. So it was a complete surprise to my wife when I told her that I wanted to get a V-8, brand new Four-Wheel-Drive Toyota 4Runner, which on a good day with a tailwind gets 24 MPG. What led to that? Several things, actually.

For 18 years I had owned a big, black 1988 Chevrolet Blazer, which I alternately loved and hated. The Blazer was big and masculine, and was going to be protective if we were ever in a wreck. It was four-wheel-drive, so it would not only get us through street floods, mud, and up the occasional 4WD mountain road in Colorado, where I go mountain climbing, but it also safely got us up ice-and-snow covered roads when the family wanted to go up skiing on a snowy morning. It was also valuable for pulling a 1500-pound covered trailer which can hold up to another 1500 pounds in cargo. The reason I hated the Blazer was that as good as it was, it also had a penchant for needing costly repairs. If it was a human it would have been a hypochondriac. It loved to go into the truck hospital and cost me a lot in vehicular medical bills, so-to-speak. That I didn’t like.

In July, after my mother died, I was hauling some of my mother’s furniture 400 miles in the Blazer-trailer setup. The Blazer was 18 years old and had about 300,000 miles on it and a book value of maybe $500. Anyway, at 70 m.p.h., cruising down the interstate, it threw a rod in its big 350 engine and in a cloud of deadly white oil smoke filled the air as I managed to get it pulled over, thinking of dollar signs.

Sure enough, when we got it to the repair shop, the mechanic said he could fix it for maybe $2,000.00, which would have included a rebuilt engine. So, as much as I still loved this old practically-a-member-of-the-family-which-had-taken-my-kids-on-all-those-family-vacations, I did the math. If I paid out $2000, I would have my Blazer back, but I would also have a gas-guzzling (it got 12 miles-per-gallon), unreliable, repair-prone antique. If I divested myself of it I could get (groan) something new. I sold it to the tow-truck guy for $300.00 and said goodbye, Blazer.

Then I had a dilemma. Much as I was in a daze about hybrids, I still needed a vehicle which would occasionally do mountain roads for mountain climbing and winter recreating, handle bad snowy-icy blizzard-conditions weather with no sweat, and which could pull my 3000-pound loaded trailer when I needed to haul something. I wouldn’t use it for everyday driving, but when I needed it, there it would be.

Since I have been a fan-buyer of Toyotas for the past 12 years, I turned in that direction. I try to “Buy American” whenever I can, but Toyotas are, unfortunately, up on a reliability level that most American vehicles simply have not gotten to yet. But I keep hoping, So, after looking at several Toyota styles, I settled on the 4Runner Sport Edition. And I settled on a new one, which is unusual for me.

Why a new one, as opposed to a used one? I usually buy used cars, saving thousands of dollars, but since this one was going to have to protect my bacon in stress situations like hauling heavy loads and climbing up rocky 4WD roads, I wanted to monitor the maintenance myself from day-one, to be sure that the vehicle had been taken care of in exactly the right way, and with no previous owner to blame if things ever went south. It is possible that some of the mechanical problems I had with the Blazer may have been traceable back to the first owner’s pattern of maintenance diligence, or lack thereof. I simply wanted to be the one who monitored all the maintenance on the 4Runner, which meant I would have to buy it new and pay several thousand more dollars. But sometimes money isn’t what it’s about; intrinsic values and circumspect thinking are.

So I got the 4Runner, and I am very pleased with it, even if it does only get 16-20 MPG and up to 24 under special conditions. Remember, I’m not driving it but maybe 4-6 days out of the month, and then for only short distances, except for special applications, like trips to Colorado from Texas. I hope to put only 5000-10000 miles on it every year. Weird? Yes, but for my particular lifestyle equation it works. My everyday car, an 11-year-old Camry (yes, Virginia, I do like Toyotas), gets over 30 MPG.

What do I like about the 4Runner though? Many things.

The feel of the ride is very good and very quiet. Almost like my Camry. 99% of the time I love it. The only time I don’t like it is at high speed on rainy roads, which changes many of the steering dynamics on any larger vehicle (the Blazer was the same way) and you just have to be more careful. Like I say, almost all large vehicles are prone to this; sometimes on the Blazer it was a nightmare, but here it is tolerable.

The tires on the 4Runner are P265/65R17s, which is good with the high-clearance that keeps you above the rocks and stuff. Changing a tire is kind of weird, because Totota places the spare under the rear of the vehicle and you have to let it down on a wire-and-pulley type trapeze setup, but that’s okay.

The V8 engine (mainly selected because it gives me a towing capacity of 7,000 pounds, and the transmission has an actual transmission cooler, thank heavens- the Blazer burned up at least two transmissions in its lifetime!) is 4.7 liters, with 260 horsepower. Whereas the Blazer had 350 cubic inches, this one has 285 cubic inches, yet after 20 years of engineering advances, this one is more efficient. Those inscrutiable Japanese engineers know their stuff.

The entire weight of the vehicle is 4,345 pounds. At first it looked like a “big” SUV to me, but it is actually “medium-sized”. Toyota’s smaller SUV is the Highlander and its larger one is the Sequoia, but all three models are similar in body style; it looks like a matter up up-sizing/down-sizing. When a friend, who owns a fairly large vehicle saw the 4Runner, she said, “I like your little car.” My mouth dropped open as if she were high-hatting me when she said that, because I thought it was fairly big, but it really is smaller than her vehicle.

So here are some of the standard features:
1. 4.7 Liter V8 Engine
2. 5-speed auto transmission
3. Traction Control
4. Dual Front Airbags
5. Front Side Airbags
6. Curtain Side Airbags with Rollover Deployment
7. Antilock 4-wheel disk brakes
8. Brake Assist
9. Hill Descent Control
10. Antiskid System
11. Tire Pressure Monitor Sustem
12. Air Conditioning with Thermostat
13. Interior Air Filter
14. Tilt Steering Wheel
15. Cruise Control
16. Cloth Upholstery
17. Front Bucket Seats
18. Driver Seat Lumbar Adjustment
19. Height Adjustable Driver’s Seat
20. Center Console
21. Split Folding Rear Seat
22. Power Mirrors
23. Power Windows, including Tailgate Mirrors
24. Power Door Locks
25. Remote Keyless Entry
26. Tachometer
27. Trip Computer
28. Outside Temperature Indicator
29. Variable-Intermittent Windshields Wipers
30. Rear Window Defogger
31. Automatic-Off Headlights
32. Theft Deterrent System
33. Running Boards
34. Fog Lights
35. Trailer Hitch
36. Skid Plates
37. Full-Sized Spare Tire
38. Alloy Wheels
39. Four Wheel Drive/All Wheel Drive
40. Two-Speed Transfer Case
41. Locking Center Differential
42. Leather-wrapped Steering Wheel
43. Illuminated Visor Mirrors
44. Cargo Cover
45. Roof Rack
46. Sport Suspension
47. Compass In Mirror
48. Universal Garage Door Opener
49. Heated Outside Mirrors
50. Power Moonroof

These are the standard features. Right after I bought it, I added a few other features:
1. Two extra 12V power outlets for the rear seat passengers who want to recharge a cell phone or a laptop or brew a pitcher of coffee
2. Cargo Mat. To protect the inside cargo area; Cargo Container.
3. Alpine Double-Din 7” Touch-Screen CD/DVD/AM/FM/XM/iPOD display, with Alpine “Blackbird” GPS Unit; connects by Bluetooth to cell phone for hands-free communication, separate controls on steering wheel.
4. Rear Camera automatically engaging when vehicle in reverse gear.
5. Calibre DL Stealth Front-Rear Radar Detection System.
6. Deep Tint Side Windows and Back Window.
7. Maxilock Security Lock- kill-switch for engine and locks hood, in addition to factory alarm system.

There are so many systems on the 4Runner that I use a “preflight checkout checklist” when I take it on the road: “Guages okay?” “Check!” etc.

Three little things I really like are the illuminated maintenance reminder screen that tells you when to get an oil change, etc., the cupholders, and the trash bin. When you have reached the number of miles for an oil change (5,000) or other kinds of maintenance, the 4Runner alerts you with a lighted message reminder. I like the cup-holders, too. You get two in the front, two in the back, and even more on the rear passenger side doors. And there is a trash bin holder in the back-seat middle where a trash bag can go.

After 7,000 miles in it I am pretty happy with it. It looks great (mine is silver) and it runs great. It's easy to wash. I took it to Colorado recently, where I tested it on the highway, in-town, and on a four-wheel-drive mountain road, in weather that went from sunny to rainy to snowy, and back to sunny, and it performed well in all applications.

The money part? Well, here’s the bad news. New, with all the new bells and whistles, it cost $36,000.00. Pricey? For an “occasional use” vehicle? Sure. But here is the good news. Toyota was selling these at zero interest at the time of sale. And with a maintenance package that includes free lifetime oil changes. Do the math and you’ll see that while the 60-month payments are formidable, if, like me, you plan to keep a vehicle for at least 10 years, and especially one I hope will be as reliable as my other Toyotas, I’m going to come out peace-of-mind ahead. At 20 MPG, even if gas goes up to $10.00 a gallon in 10 years, my trips in 2018 are going to be pretty short, but I can sit in the driver’s seat and I’ll still have some good memories.

All the hybrid junkies are probably shaking their heads about now, and saying, "Ungreen! Ungreen! Such an SUV is way too fuel-inefficient!", but remember, this ain’t no 8 MPG Hummer. It’s not a 45 MPG Prius, of course either. Nor an electro-car. At plus or minus 20 MPG it’s somewhere in the middle of things, like I am at times. But for me, and others like me, with our aims and needs, it seems like the best you can do. If you're curious, go test drive one and come to your own conclusion.

Five Stars/ *****