4runner vs the new Ford bronco

That in mint condition would be worth a lot of money today!

 

I'm at the age that I will be considering a fast little sports car to feel young again and was vastly disappointed when I saw the new Supra in person...



The new Nissan Z is absolutely gorgeous!

 

Looks like a z3 and a mustang had a love child....I agree, it looks like they tried too hard on that one

 

I think there are different models of the Supra. I was behind one at Piedmont Country Club, I couldn’t keep up on a 25 mph road. It’s the sound! You can tell it’s boosted. Then I saw another later didn’t sound like much and looked a little different.

 

Never been a Nissan fan.

 

They do make some weird looking cars. But, they're kicking Toyota's ass in the sports car scene for the last 20 years or so.

 

There are a few special editions, but I think the drivetrain is the same. Could just be a different exhaust.

 

Same here but to me this is the pecking order;

Toyota > Honda >> Nissan >>> GM > Ford >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Chrysler/Dodge

 

I used to be a Nissan fanboy 20 years ago and owned a couple of Pathfinders, an Infiniti QX4, and a Sentra. Then, in the mid 2000's, the quality started going down quickly. My recent ex-girlfriend owned a Nissan Juke, then traded it in on a Nissan Rogue and had problems with both. I would put their quality on par with Ford or GM.

It's sad that the Nissan Pathfinder was the main contender against the 4Runner as a rugged body-on-frame capable SUV, then they decided to turn it into a generic unibody soccer mom vehicle. I couldn't even tell you what they look like these days as I don't remember the last I ever saw one.

They had the Xterra as their 4Runner fighter for a while and it became the official vehicle of the sorority girl around here before they discontinued it in shame.

 

Found the new Pathfinder. Looks like a Ford Explorer and a Subaru Forester had a baby. Totally bland and uninspiring.

 

It must be cyclical for them because in the 1980s, their m/o was to build a cheaper version of whatever Toyota built. And it was cheaper in every sense. Even a service advisor for Nissan told me that the simple things like belts and hoses were cheaper than Toyota’s.

 

It’s a shame. I used to ride around a lot in my friend’s first gen Pathfinder in the mid 90s. That or a 4Runner would have been my dream car back then. Their marketing of the current gen as some sort of return to ruggedness is such a joke.

 

I saw my first Bronco Sport today and was surprised on how small it was, like a Fiat/Jeep Liberty. They should have called the Sport something else, as it's no where the same size or vehicle as the regular Bronco.

Wonder if they got those hardtop roof's all replaced yet?

 

But, how can they capitalize on the Bronco name if they don't use it? Then, the "Sport" would have to sell based on merit rather than giving buyers a sense of nostalgia.

More in line with the "Renegade" as far as size.

And, thank you for the Ren and Stimpy reference!

Now I have to go on youtube and watch some clips!

 

I can't stop laughing!

https://youtu.be/oxZEZGmIT7s

 

After sitting on a Bronco reservation for the latter half of last year and deciding to get my 4Runner instead, I can safely say that I’m officially happy with my decision. Saw my first Bronco in real life last weekend. It’s larger than I expected, which I liked, but seemed somehow less refined and a little boring compared to my 4R. 2 days later, I saw the same color I was looking at with a soft top. Wow, I really dislike the soft top!

Now I have NO doubts I did the right thing.

 

I think you and I made the right decision. I had a Ford explorer for 10 years. I could have traded it in and bought a Bronco.
I also like the looks of the Bronco .....but I have doubts that the Ford will be reliable. The new fords have problems.
The explorer had exhaust issues. The Bronco has had the hardtop recalled already
I bought the 4 runner for it's design, usefulness, sport utility, and reliability.

 

Yeah, I feel the same way. I'm still following the Bronco launch and interested to see where they are in a couple years, but I'm very happy I picked up a 4R last year instead of holding out for the Bronco, which was sort of tempting. I drive around most of the time in Safari mode - side and back windows down and moon roof wide open, and that's close enough to a removable top as I need to get.

 

I don't get the whole attraction of the open top for off-road.

I bought a Jeep Wrangler a few years ago that came with a hard top. I removed it and put on a bikini top. Then I put one on the Jeep...

Living up here in the Northwest, there are about 3 months that you can drive around without a top. Of those three months, there is about a month where it doesn't get below 70 degrees when the sun goes down.

I would drive to town and do some shopping around noon when it was 80 degrees out, stop and have dinner with friends, and then start driving home when it was dark and realize that it had dropped to 50 degrees and I was freezing my butt off in shorts and a tank top going 65 mph down the highway towards home.

During the day, around town, it was a blast and I loved it!

But then going in the woods on trails, you had crap falling on you like branches, pine cones, and ticks. Plus, all the dust if you were with friends.

My folks own two Jeep Wranglers; one at their Idaho house and one at their Yuma, AZ house. Both are hardtops, automatics, with air. The AZ one is lifted and is taken out into the desert nearly every week. My dad has never taken the top off of either of his Jeeps. Too cold in Idaho, and too hot/dusty in AZ.

I still miss my Jeep, though...

 

Back in the 80's I had an original Bronco with a soft top and doors.
That was great, toss the doors the back and either put the top down or just roll up the back and sides.
The reason I went to soft doors was the door jambs were already rotted out and wouldn't hold the doors up.
Now off road where I lived back then meant mud. The Bronco stayed closed up for that.

 

Lately around here, Ive been seeing “max loan” jeeps roll out of the dealers with the stirrups for your outside leg. Kinda like highway pegs on an Harley, but for one leg…. Maybe thats the secret to full top off, doors off enjoyment? I saw a a Jeep with four people in it, all with a leg out. They looked like they were having fun.

 

Sounds like a great way to get a yellowjacket up your shorts and have your naughty bits stung. No thanks.

 

Your observation is more than just a hunch. Nissan intentionally used subpar parts in the early 2000s to keep costs down. When it came to CVT, they went to so far as to use parts that would break right after warranty. They weren't built to last, they were built to last 36,0001 miles. They were indicted and there was class actions against them.

Here are some non-authoritative but interesting reads:
https://www.nissanclub.com/threads/what-the-hell-happened-to-nissan-this-is-what-happened.513338/
https://www.reddit.com/r/Nissan/comments/asr7wk/did_renault_really_ruin_nissans_reliability/

Then there's this:
https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/ghosn-nissan-renault-escape-japan-lebanon-1.5413513

Simple, for the reason you just mentioned. Seems like fun. A good majority of people don't exactly know what they want to do, so they imitate those who appear to be having fun. You just mentioned why you'd consider it, but they actually acted on that and are hoping it pays off. They likely saw someone, said the same thing, and had some credit to blow.

Will it make them happy? Maybe for a short while, but the diminishing returns of that happiness are much shorter than the 78 months of $60k Jeep will last. Does that make it wrong? Nope, to each their own. But I'll save my money for the things I know will bring either value or happiness to my family in a continual return type of way.

However, that doesn't' mean they don't rock that leg peg every day and enjoy it, so that might be their happy place. People are wierd.

 

Pics or it didn't happen.

Agreed about removable tops. Just having the windows open fills the 4runner with dust. A guy with a Jeep came on a trail run with us this summer. I should have warned him when O saw him taking the top off in the morning. He was not happy at the end of the day.

 

Speaking of naughty bits, I heard jeep will be offering two stirrups for the rear middle passenger. They have to be shoulder height to clear the front seats.



Ok, that’s not a true thing. Sorry

 

My parents retired and moved down to Yuma, AZ about 8 years ago. Both are still in good shape and very active, so they decided they wanted to go off-roading in the desert and explore the hundreds of abandoned mines and other cool things out in the middle of nowhere.

There were two camps among the retired community down there; the UTV crowd, and the Jeep crowd.

Dad is a retired Chief of Police, FBI Academy grad, with a Masters in Public Administration. He's a pretty smart and analytical dude...

He decided on a 2dr Jeep Wrangler with a hard top, AT, and AC.



He said when they went out in the desert in their old Jeep Grand Cherokee, they would come upon a group of old folks in UTVs and they would be absolutely miserable. Covered in dust, sweat, and looking horrible. He said a lot of folks have to have on-board air filtration systems because the dust can get so bad on group rides.

I went down there in February in my 4Runner and went everywhere the Jeeps went. I had a 2.5" lift and 285s. A couple of folks in the Jeep club my parents are in planned on upgrading to the 4Runner after seeing mine in action...

 

This is a fun watch:

 

Fun until you get T-boned.

 

I went ahead and watched this video recently. Was curious. But I like Sarah and subscribe to her channel anyway. Good vid by her but I’m not a new bronco guy, love my PRO.
https://youtu.be/bTjHLFgOcD4

 

wow, over 78,000 replies to this thread....damn, didn't think FORD was all that poplar...especially the new bronco..