We love, love, love our 2004 Toyota 4-Runner (V8 version). We've only put 10,000 miles on it in 2 years, but it's performed amazingly. We bought it on the recommendation of our friends, who own two 4-Runners, a 1996 and 1999. They had NO complaints to speak of as the vehicles from Toyota are bullet-proof reliability wise and have enough features and styling to take you through years of use.
I would never get an American manufacturered car or SUV....although with Toyota poised to buy out General Motors, I'll be watching with great interest to see if any of their quality or reliability issues improves. All the American cars I've ever owned (Ford and GM) I've had repeat issues with them. I just sunk over $700 into my 98 Ford and it's plagued w/ electrical problems so I'm dreading the future.
My parents' Hondas and our Toyotas have performed brilliantly.
Check out Consumer Reports for the reliability record of certain cars over the years. Toyota and Honda consistently score the highest, while Ford, GM, and Chrysler have abominal records. Frankly I don't know how they get away with the junk they make nowadays. American auto manufacturing is so plagued with problems that when Chrysler bought Diamler Mercedes Benz (now Daimler Chrysler) and assumed production, quality of the Mercedes cars (particularly the C and E class models) went down dramatically.
anyways...all that said, I think the Toyota Highlander is awesome. It gets much better gas mileage than my car, but we needed the towing capacity, hauling ability and interior cargo space. The Highlander is built on a Camry chasis, so it rides smooth like a sedan and has better handling and manueverability. Also, I'm very impressed with the rollover protection, traction/stability control and side curtain and top cabin airbags. It's a great vehicle. Nuff said.
Larissa
who's gettin in the holiday mood
"Children have never been very good at listening to their elders, but they have never failed to imitate them." -
James Baldwin