While I wasn’t looking…

I was raised to be a Ford guy. Owned an 82 and a 72 Bronco. A friend used to call me “Johnny Bronco” because I had tons of Bronco/Ford stuff. I have a new Bronco on order… and have for over two years. I have finally gotten tired of all the smoke & mirror lies and went out and bought a 2021 Off Road Premium a couple of weeks ago. LOVE IT ! ! !
I am not going to cancel my Bronco order. I’mgonna sell it and use the money I make to add goodies to my Toyota. Also… through the last decade I made very educated decisions and truly evaluated the purchases of all my kids cars and one for my wife as well. Honestly tried every option/brand in the “class” of vehicle we were looking at. Without bias… they are ALL in Toyota’s! ! !
While I wasn’t looking… I turned into a Toyota guy. They aren’t perfect but overall they have earned my loyalty and I am glad I am no longer in denial. I am impressed with the 4Runner and I already have a Wescott rack and ladder on the way. Very excited and I’m finding some good info here.

 

Congratulations! I was always a Bronco fan as well and was excited when the new Bronco was announced. I waited and waited. I wasn’t going to order one without seeing it in person, and it wasn’t until last November that I could actually see one in the showroom. But then I was sadly unimpressed. On paper the new Bronco checks all the right boxes, but something is missing. It has kind of an unfinished feel, and lacks the charisma of the early Broncos.

So now I’m a Toyota guy too.

 

Sometimes grass is greenier on the other side.

 

Welcome to the family.

 

I had a 77 Bronco in my 20's and a 76 Bronco in my 40's. True bad ass classics! I would love to have that 77 Bronco back!

 

Welcome! Good choice.

 

I was a Ford guy had the two door Explorers. My Dad worked at the Bronco plant for Ford and when I was driving age they stopped making them. I always loved the big V8 models myself. I used to love touring the plant.

After so many issues with Ford and quality and my beloved Explorers I turned to the 4Runner and so far am happy.

Sadly after many emails, and calls to Ford execs they let me down big time. I was loyal with my Dad who worked there for 40 years but when they canceled his insurance when he retired And my Mom got cancer that was it. Plus they never stood behind my warranty work at the end. I tell my big 3 friends they are all companies and only care about shareholders and bottom lines.

It’s sort of sad Detroit is not what ur used to be. I wish I grew up in a different time.

 

Welcome!! I too am a Toyota guy that has had a Bronco on order for 2+ years. I stumbled across a "Totaled" Badlands 2-door and snatched it up instead. I'm keeping my order in and may buy it and resell it for a profit in the future too, if it ever gets built. You won't be disappointed with the 4Runner build quality so I hope you enjoy the ride.

 

On paper, I love everything about the New Bronco. There's a guy around the corner for me that has a BadSquatch one in that Area 51 color, and I absolutely love the look of the thing. Every time I walk my dog by it I lust after it.

After watching a few video reviews though, I don't think I would want to spend the money on one. From what I gather (any reliability issues aside) it just has a general cheap feel to the interior. A few people have demonstrated that there's a lot of rattles even on the new vehicle, and things like the interior grab handles are very plastic-y and loose. It was also pointed out that the soft top is very loose and flappy compared to the setup on the Wrangler. So basically you get to choose between a rattly hardtop that may or may not be available, or a noisily flapping soft top.

I'm not a Toyota fanboy, but I really do appreciate that even at almost 10 years old and 150k, nothing rattles inside my 4Runner, and while the materials don't feel the highest quality, everything seems screwed together very well.

There's a post about what would you like to see in the next gen 4Runner, and my answer was the Ford Bronco, but with a fixed roof and built by Toyota. That would be perfect.

 

I know…I know…everybody “knows a guy” but…
I know a guy who swears that Toyota is going to, very soon, do what you are saying here. He claims they are going to revive-ish the OLD FJ. Now I’m not talking about something you have to stretch your imagination on like the FJ cruiser. He claims they even stated that it will not have focus on mpg/aerodynamics as much as it will stay true to the styling of the FJ40. So… “bringing back the FJ cruiser?”… To “avoid” that they are going to brand this retro ride as a Toyota Land Cruiser.
(All that being said don’t take this as a bash of the FJC… I had one for about 12 years and Loved It)

 

I got tired of Ford Explorer quality issues. I owned three over a ten year period and they all had the same fit & finish issues that Ford ignored.

So I bought a 2015 SR5 and never looked back...
Will never own another
F ix
O r
R epair
D aily

 

Yes I just don’t know why it never sunk in ? ? ?
I had a 97 Eddie Bauer expedition. GREAT TRUCK ! ! !
Followed that with a 99 expedition. Different/new suspension. Had many issues.
Followed that with an F350 with the infamous 6.0 power stroke. DISASTROUS BEYOND BELIEF. And history shows Ford didn’t stand behind that product any more than they were forced to do.
Followed that with an FJ cruiser. Drive it 12 years and never had the first problem. Almost 170,000 miles on it. Still going strong. More signs of wear on the seats than engine/drive train performance.
When I objectively evaluated cars regardless of brand for my family I always ended up with Toyota (that’s a lie… bought my wife a Subaru… GREAT CAR)
I just didn’t notice that I wasn’t a Ford guy anymore.

 

I've only owned one Ford, a 94 Mercury Cougar that I bought from my grandfather. It was actually really nice car, I loved the way it drove. It had the 4.6 V8. Not a lot of power, but very smooth.

That car was actually really reliable, with the exception of one thing. It had an issue with the torque converter, where certain speeds and certain engine loads it would lock and unlock, introducing a big shudder to the drivetrain. Apparently that was pretty common on that transmission. Also, compared to the four-speed automatic GM's that I had owned, the transmission shifted terribly and didn't seem to know which gear it needed to be in. It did this crazy thing where you would floor it, it would downshift a few gears, almost immediately shift up a gear, and then momentarily later it would shift back down. It was very weird. That did turn me off of Ford's in general in that era. Then I started hearing about issues with the 5.4 V8 and I was kind of over most fords. I'd also owned a series of f-bodies, so I was definitely not a mustang guy. And my first vehicle was a Chevy square body pickup, so I was a GM truck guy.

As far as Toyota's, this is my first Toyota/4Runner, and I don't really see myself ever owning another 4Runner. But I do find myself recommending Toyota's to other people. My mom currently drives a 12 year-old GM SUV, and I'm kind of nudging her toward getting a RAV4 or Highlander to replace it with. I could see getting a used Corolla or something in the future as a commuter car, but I fear the 4Runners are going to get expensive enough to be out of my budget, even used.

 

For what it’s worth. I bought my youngest daughter a RAV 4. I drive it for a couple of years till she turned 16. Three years in we are very satisfied with it
My sister has a Highlander. From what I know they have no issues with it but I don’t know that for a fact.

 

This is your first Toyota, and you don’t plan to own another one? Why is that?

 

Oops, meant to say 4Runner. I won't rule out owning like a Corolla or something like that as a commuter car in the future, but I'll probably never have another 4Runner. They've just gotten too expensive, and I'm sure the next generation is going to be even costlier. I bought my 4Runner at 6 years old, and it was the most I'd ever spent on a vehicle. By the time the used 6th gen prices get down to an affordable level, gas will probably be 10 bucks a gallon.

 

I don’t think I will own another one either… But that’s cause I’m old.
I dropped a PILE of money on this one and I expect it to last me till the end.

 

Mine is nearing 10 years old and 150k. Not worried about the mileage, but at this age now I'm starting to worry about the longevity of the frame after living in New England it's whole life.

I feel like even if things go downhill with it, I should be able to get another 5 years easy out of it, which is another 100k miles the way I drive. Then I think we're going to be in this weird place where there's a lot of lot more EVs around, and who knows where fuel prices will be.

 

Well maybe gas prices will come down because there will be a more supply because all the others went the EV route. More gas for us

 

My mother's father was an engineer for GM. I have seen his name and handwriting all over blueprints for buicks, pontiacs and some chevy / GMC trucks. I bought two Oldsmobile Cutlasses that were outstanding cars. The last of the boats, but were very comfortable and reliable. I had other family that had 80 something cars that were just junk. Dogs with no power and reliability issues. I have commented elsewhere on this forum regarding Fords. My first Toyota was a 1979 Hilux truck that literally refused to die. And never broke down. Sorry grandpa, but I know you didn't design any of the mid eighties and forward junk that they have been selling.

 

Yeah you know growing up in the suburbs of Detroit my Dad was a Ford guy, my Moms Dad Chrysler, and my uncle GM. If you had a Japanese car it got keyed or worse. I remember one uncle who got a Corolla was not allowed to park in the driveway no ifs and or butts.

We were all mad about the Japanese cars coming in back in the 1980s and loyalty was very strong. The domestics did not listen to people like Richard Deming and Japanese quality surpassed. Detroit and the industry should have taken a lesson much earlier. Similar to how the USA should have learned from our mistakes with China much earlier.

All vehicles will have issues but how will a company stand behind it is the issue. These are man made objects. These execs needs to put on the big boy pants and admit when you screw up and make it right.

I contacted a lot of execs at Ford with my issues that most never could. I got the dog and pony shows but never was anything resolved.

It’s actually very sad to be honest. I would like to see the company so well and stand behind their products. My Dad worked for them for over 40 years and wishes he could speak more highly of them now.