CR hated the 4Runner...one of the best cars I ever owned.
‘CR hated the 4Runner...one of the best cars I ever owned.’
Same here with my Hummer 2.
Ditto on the 4Runner. But it is amazing that CR gave Toyota a gimme on it cars with NO data. Yeah, that's a dispassionate assesment. /s
Yeah, and they also loved the VW Passat back in 2000 when I purchased one (based largely on CR’s recommendation). I haven’t bothered with CR since.
1. It seemed too heavy for the powertrain (at the time, I believe the largest engine offered on it was a small V-6).
2. I never liked the idea of building an SUV on a pickup truck chassis. Not enough leg room inside (especially in the back seat).
Eh... CR does have some points - but using them to advise you on a capital purchase like a car, boat, or similar item is a mistake.
Remember, this is the same publication that actually *liked* and *recommended* the first generation Hyundai Excel, one of the worst cars ever sold in the US.
That said, I’m not really surprised on the two Toyota models they panned. The Toyota car V6 has been having oil gelling problems of late - but the same problem has been sporadically affecting all makers of late, including Mercedes, Ford, Chrysler and GM. It isn’t a very well understood phenomenon, and it’s been surprising some of the world’s best powertrain engineers.
The Toyota truck V8 problem was not as widespread as eraser would have us believe, but it certainly is a worthwhile thing to note on a survey; Toyota’s American supplier wasn’t paying attention and shipped a lot of defective cams to Toyota. The problem is a flaw in the casting for the camshaft. At this point, only about 20 trucks have had an actual failure related to this, but to their credit Toyota will be replacing the engine for free in case of camshaft failure.
Hey, Eraser, when’s Ford going to be replacing those defective 4.6s?