4X4s

[venture]

Looking at a few 4x4s.......must get a new car.

Anyone hear anything negative or positive about the current Toyota Four Runners (4x4) with 6 cylinders? Looking for a good vehicle for the road + beach.

[kelso]

We just bought one. Great on the road but haven't taken it off yet. It gets good revues, though, in that respect and was one of the reason we bought it. We'll be in the Vineyard over Memorial day and will take it over sand then.

Pete

[Bob Parsons]

I'm looking at the Xterra's. Looked at the FJ cruiser but decided the rear door arrangement would be a pain, plus the rear seats do not fold all the way to form a flat cargo area.

Looked at the H3 hummer, A bit more more money, slightly less towing capacity and the rear seats also do not fold totally flat.

Looked at the Jeep liberty, nice price for a slightly used one, did not like the set up in the cargo area.

[brushfly]

Howie,

We have two of them, a 2000 and an '04. Both are super in reliability and everything you expect from a Japanese auto. I've had the 2000 on hard pack trails in MV and it was fine, never had it in soft sand so can't answer for the open beaches. FWIW it's great in snow too.

[venture]

Thanks for the feed back. I think I am going to get the Four Runner. I once owned a Toyota camry wagon and loved it. It lasted for years.....until I loaned it to my kids on a steady basis when they were young and the inevitable happened.

In the meantime, I did visit some Amercan Brand showrooms. They were not busy........and all salespeople had dejected attitudes. So sad to see the US auto makers and their show rooms in such disarray. I felt their pain. It was hard to consider purchasing any US SUV when you are surrounded with that pain. Our era of building cars for the world is finished.


Hey Bob,
Didn't know you owned 2 of them. I did find out from a few surf casting friends that Toyota Tundras and Toyota Four Runners are as good or better than any vehicle on the soft stuff. So you can take your's all the way to the gut via Cape Pogue this year. I am sure that with the tires down to 12 pounds, you can go anywhere with it.

Thanks again,
Howie

[brushfly]

That's good to here. I usually don't go for the oversand as in a week, there's plenty of spots I like to hit where you don't need it. With the family and all it's a quick hit a few mornings and the ride around to the gut would be too time consuming, but one of these days I guess. I access it closer to home on the Chappy side once in a while. I love Chappy....

[venture]

Bob,

An over the sand trip from Wasque Rip to the Gut (the point of Cape Poque) is a must for anyone who is interested in fishing on the Vineyard. It is about a 5 mile run at most. The great part about it is that you can take the outside route which along the ocean beach, or the inside route which boarders the entire east shore of Cape Pogue Pond.

I used to do it when the kids were young and the whole family loved it. We would picnic and tailgate in some of the most beautiful spots and beaches on the Vineyard.

In June, good sized Blue Fish show up in substantial numbers in Cape Pogue Pond. Quite often while cruising the inside route, you will see pods of fining fish eager to take fly or plug.....especially on calm mornings when the pond is like a lake.

Get a permit, and take the whole family. They will love it. Do some great fishing and exploring under the guise of a Picnic.......

Howie

[brushfly]

Ah, June. One of these years I'll get up there for that magical month. Sounds like blues along CP Pond and bass at Lobsterville in the eves. For now with the kids, later summer suits there schedules better even though most of the fishing goes downhill. Last year we went mid-July and it was much better then I've done in August and much less crowded IMO. This year we'll be up the week before Labor Day so maybe the first rush of bonito or albies at the points. I'm also bringing a yak I got for x-mas so a bit more territory to explore. Most likely the ponds though once again, not too much going on in late August after sun up. I'll have it on the beach during the day at State should I see them pop up along the outer edge of the drop off.

We'll see about the oversand, as they said in Jaws, "we'll take that under advisement".

Mayor Vaughn- Mayor of Amity Island.

[Ray]

I have an 2004 SR5 4WD 4L V6

It's great in all conditions. There is a big difference between high 4W and low 4W too.

[venture]

Hey Ray,

Not being familiar with the different models, is the SR5 a Four Runner? Sorry for being so stupid.


Hey Bob,

Late August eh. When we lived on the Vineyard back in the 80s August was a waiting game for the Bones and Albies although we used to do pretty well with the resident bass at night off Lamberts cove beach, and some of the rocky points off the north shore just east of Menemsha. No blitzes but pretty decent action with the resident fish.

Things usually got underway by Sept 1 - 15, especially with the bones. The pic attached was taken off Menemsha Beach in Mid September.....all bones no albies. Actually it was the last time we killed bones because the market because the market paid us 10 cents a pound. I think we walked away with a whopping 10 - 12 bucks for all our work.

Back in those days we sold almost everything we caught. Bass brought a buck a pound, and back then, you could slay them pretty good and wind up with 300 bucks for a good nights work at Squibnocket. That ended when the bass disappeared in the late 80s. We all learned a hard lesson. Since then and to this day, all my bass and blues are released.

Howie

[Ray]

Hey Ray,

Not being familiar with the different models, is the SR5 a Four Runner? Sorry for being so stupid.

Yes. The SR5 is the entry level. The comes the sport and limited models.

[brushfly]

Both of my 4-Runners are SR5's. The limiteds come with leather and all the bells and whistles. Trims, ect. Even at that, my models came with all BUT leather, gps, cd exhanger for multiple discs and a few other options that I don't miss. Mine have alloys, running boards, roof rack, sunroof, hitch. I think all the newer models come with a standard flip style third bench in case you want to drive a whole bunch up to the river this summer.

RE: Your photo, I never knew Jim Morrison knew how to catch bones.....

[venture]

Hows the Nissan Pathfinder compare to the Toyota Four Runner??

[FireFly]

When looking for a new SUV I looked at the 4 runner and FJ Cruiser - both have that legendary toyota reliability and I would have been happy with either had it not been for the fact that I could not fit into the 4 runner (I'm 6' 4") and the FJ just had too many dangerous blind spots.

I test drove the new Jeep Wrangler 4 door Sahara and that's what I purchased. I have a 1997 as my winter plow vehicle for my driveway and it drives like an old Jeep but the new style is night and day better. Wranglers are not for everyone but there is definitely a cult following of those who will never own anything but one.

I've now had it for 12 months and 12k miles and I'm very happy. It drives like a small truck and has been very reliable. In the summer it's a lot of fun to drive because I can take the 3 piece hard top off or just the front panels and I can also take the doors off ;) In the winter it's a beast on the snow and getting up my 700' driveway was a breeze, even when I returned home from vacation after the ice storm to find 22" of snow and ice on my driveway.

If I was making my decision based solely on reliability the Toyota would win hands down. But I had to factor in the fun factor and it's hard to beat a Jeep Wrangler.

[venture]

Thanks for the good word! I'm looking for a good long distance car which is comfortable because we travel 800 miles each way to our place in Gaspe. Also I am looking to take it on the beach here on LI. Most 4x4s are good on the beach if you deflate and know how to handle the beach. Its the long distance that must be considered. I don't know that a Wrangler fits that bill. The 4 runner seemed to have a soft and quite ride.

But I'm still looking.....and thanks for suggestion.

[captmike]

I've been looking at the 4 door wrangler, it's pretty awesome except the mileage and it doesn't seem to tow that much. I like the hummer h3 and grand cherokee but the full time 4wd baffles me. Those would be great trucks in my mind if they had shift on the fly 4wd instead of the full time (which I think is AWD). The xterra is pretty awesome too but I think it's a step behind the Hummer and toyota in reliability if that matters to you. I honestly feel that all new cars except a few are incredibly reliable. I don't know a ton about the 4runner firsthand but I've heard a lot of good things about it. It looks like it has a ton of ground clearance and the 6 cylinder has a ton of power.

[FireFly]

I don't know if I'll ever be able to take advantage of it but my Wrangler was offered with a lifetime power-train warranty. Chrysler will probably go belly up so we'll see what happens.

One more things about the Jeep: Remove the W and R decals and you'll and you'll have a Jeep "Angler" --127-3-

[captmike]

That's such a good idea

[bluebass]

When I was looking for a 4wd, I looked at Nissan Xterra at first and almost decided to get one. Then, I saw a 4runner in a lot and changed my mind completely.

We've had our 04 4runner V8 Sports edition for a year and a half. It drives great both on and off road. Since ours is V8, it eats a lot of gas(17-18mpg) but we love it.

I like the roomy cargo area,high clearance, and the rear window which slides up/down(easy access to my 9ft fly rods on the rodloft pro without opening the cargo door.

Hope you'll find what you like.

[venture]

In my opinion, Toyota builds the best cars. If I were to buy one, it would be the four runner. But I like leasing cars, and have been doing it for years.

The problem currently with Toyota is there are very high lease rates on these vehicles. They actually have shortages of new four runners because the dealers stayed away from them and production was also cut by Toyota. So with small inventories of new inventory, there are no lease incentives.

It seems you can get a better lease deal at Nissan. They have still have a decent rate, although it is higher than it used to be because they reduced the residuals, which is what they had to do. But still it is affordable and does make sense.

I would compare the Four Runner to the Pathfinder not the Xterra. But again, if I were to purchase a car......YOUR"S WOULD BE THE ONE I WOULD GET :brow.

Howie