I'm Thinking of buying a 2000 model. Any wise words?

[agent#1]

hi. i'm thinking of buying a 2000 or 2001 model 4 runner. Does the 4 cyl have good power? how hard are these to work on as far as bolts and parts being in stupid places and things like that?

Please post your feelings on these. Thanks.

[benzene]

The 4cyl has 150 hp/177 ft-lbs and the V6 has 180 hp/220 ft-lbs - not a whopping difference but noticeable.

I own the 2000 4 cyl manual. Off the bat, I cant recommend the automatic transmission with this engine. But the 5 speed is fun to drive and has decent acceleration off the highway, and it gets good gas mileage for an suv. On highway it's a bit underpowered. But The 2.7 is a rock reliability wise, well insulated from the cabin, chalked full of torque (180 ft-lbs) for a 4 banger, and easy to work on.

It all depends where your coming from and what you're going to do with the truck. I drove a honda civic (and a 1992 V6 4Runner) before this car, so I am used to driving 4 cyl cars. If your last car was a Triton V8, you will be disapointed. If you drove the previous V6 4Runner (89-94?) you will be happy because the car -in my opinion- edges out the older V6.

I use mine as a commuter, with occasional trips to Tahoe and the truck handles fine. Off road is without question the most predictable of any truck I've driven. Good on the snow even without 4WD. Not a problem passing on the freeway in 3rd (watch out with the auto trans though -this is why I cant recommend it)

But with all things, buy the most you can afford - if this means buying the V6, do it - the price difference cant be more than $2K for a comp'd SR5. If the $2K will kill the deal, then look at a 1999 V6 or the 2000 4 cyl.

But if you want a good-looking, reliable truck with low miles that has all the utility of the V6 with a bit less power -then the 4 is a solid choice*.

*But dont pay more that $12K (loaded) for one with less than 80K miles on it!

[Brian R.]

Be sure and get a cream puff. There are alot of them out there. No use in buying one that has seen hard use.

Get the V6. It is a great engine.