My wife and I have limited our selection of our next vehicle to the above vehicles in 4wd, of course. Without getting the Toyota su-ks responses, could I get opinions on both. My selection for the 4runner will be the v6 so that I can select between 2wd and 4wd, bacause I believe you can't with the v8. We will be purchasing an 06 or 07 model in either vehicle and will be doing limited off roading, trail riding if any. We will be taking several long distance trips throughout the year and depending on where my son gets stationed(USMC), there might be more. Obviously MPG's is a concern but not top on the list. I am more concerned with reliability and comfort. I will be adding a small lift to either vehicle so that I can put bigger/AT tires on either vehicle( for my wife's safety of course but that will probably be the extent of mods, other that oil and drivegear fluids(synthetic). Thanks for any responses. This purchase will take place within less than a year so I have plenty of time to decide

 

I personally have never driven a toyota so cannot comment on them.

however I've had my '07 EL EB for nearly a year now and it has been trouble free and an absolute pleasure to drive.

Ford even paid me $200 cash to drive down to an engineers gathering and tell them what I thought about the vehicle, my likes and dislikes, etc. (I'm not saying that happens to everyone)

If I had it to do over again I would buy it again, unless I could get a Yukon Denali for the same price, or they start producing Excursions again.

 

I helped someone find a vehicle earlier this year and they were in the same situation as you. Expedition or 4-runner. Here's my take:
4-runner was an SR5, so a decent interior. The main thing that bugged me about it was that the price was the same as a decently optioned expedition. The 4-runner is more in the Explorer sized class. I honestly wouldn't pay more for a comparably equipped vehicle if they aren't in the same classification if such vehicle was the smaller one. I can use the utility. The other thing I noticed about the toyota was the seats were very flat and kind of hard... I guess that is subjective... One thing to keep in mind. I see you mentioned a lift. The 4-runner will be cheaper to lightly lift as it has a solid rear axle. The expedition and el use an independent rear suspension. Costlier and more difficult to lift. However, the Expedition does have very good safety credentials, (double five star NHTSA/NCAP rating) is pretty fuel efficient for it's size and can tow more than the 4-runner. I have had two expeditions, a '99 and '03 and loved them. They worked great. Hope I was of some help...

 

an expedition cant be compared to a 4runner, its two completely different vehicles.

Maybe you should compare the 4 runner to the explorer.

 

Here's my '02 on this,
I owned a 05 4Runner SR5 and was very happy with it. An expedition and a 4runner are not in the same class other then price. My reasons for going into the Ford was I needed more room to haul and the mere fact when I traveled I was bringing along 4-5 people along.

The pros about the 4Runner
The nice thing about Toyota is the build quality . The V6 or V8 are strong trouble free motors. Not too much to maintain on them other then changing the fluids. It never really let me down.

The cons about it,
the storage was lacking. The front and passenger seats were kinda small, keep in mind im 6'2" and 200lbs. For a while it served my needs until my work scope changed and needed more space.

Price for price you can get a nicely equiped expy for the same cost as the 4runners. There's definately more space in the expy. I love the fact that the third row seats are power fold and I can get a flat area. Unlike some competitors that require you to remove the third row seat,(major turn off
). Ford really improved the drive ride. Fuel economy is not that bad compared to last my work truck, I'm getting an average of 18mpg. The last truck I was using only got me 10mpg.

Test drive'em

 

Maybe 4Runner Limited is in the same price range as EXP but not 4Runner SR5 ... my buddy just bought 2007 SR5 V8 4x4 for $28,000 brand new ... I have no IDEA where they would sell you NICELY EQUIPPED EXP for this price.

 

Actually Daystar spring spacers will lift the Expy 2" for less than $300.

Although I wouldn't put larger tires on the Expy. I think it is geared too tall as it is.

 

I have to agree with this. I own an 05 4 Runner (my second Runner) and an 07 Expy. They are very different vehicles. The Runner feels quicker around town - zippy. If you are taking some long trips, IMO the Expy is WAY more comfortable. Obviously if you ever pull anything, the Expy is better. The fuel mileage is not much different between the two. I get 19-20+ on the highway in the Expy and maybe can squeeze 22 out of the Toyo. But the Expy holds way more stuff, is way more comfortable and the electric fold downs in the rear are far superior to the flip ups in the back of the Runner.

I have not had the Expy long enough to tell you about quality. With 5000 miles it's been perfect so far. The Runner is excellent quality, just like the one before. I'll run 150K miles on all of these vehicles before trading. I'm a long time Toyo fan because of quality, but now that I've had Fords for a few years, I'm beginning to believe that American made trucks stand up to the best of the Asian models.

As stated above, the Expy vs. Runner is not a good comparison - should be Explorer vs. Runner in terms of size, comfort and mpg's.

 

These 2 vehicles are not even in the same class. The explorer is in the same class with the 4 runner I say test drive both you and your wife and I am sure that one will stick out as being best for you.

 

I understand they are not even in the same class and are two different vehicles. I was just looking for opinions on both.
Thanks for the replies gentlemen.

 

Well that would DEPEND on how you wanted your 4runner optioned. You can get an sr5 for mid 20k or you can get it WELL EQUIPED for the mid 30k. As I stated above that was of my opinion and my shopping experience.

When I went shopping for the SR5 as as other suv's with the options I wanted it came up to 32k out the door. The expy wasn't that much more, so in my opnion the the ball park wasn't that far off. Also keep in mind that certain geographic markets are going to demand a premium then other areas. As for the Expy I purchased it was within the ballpark of the 4runner.

If you take the time to shop around and research different markets you can find really good deals out there. My last car was shipped in and was still less then trying to purchase it here locally