Well, 4Runner sure turned out to be a prophetic name, didn't it? The Toyota 4Runner was one of the earliest SUVs...little more than a 2-door pickup truck with an enclosed bed and a second row of seats at first, it morphed into the prototype for the SUV as we know it, and opened the gates for a flood of imitators.
As bigger and bigger and still bigger became better, the 4Runner got written off by a lot of SUV buyers as "small". Now, with the memory of $4.25 a gallon fresh in our minds, the 4Runner looks like a reasonably-sized machine.
A week in the newest 4Runner recently reinforces that view...suddenly, the 4Runner is right-sized...five people won't feel cramped, there's room for whatever you need to haul (within reason), and unlike dozens of soft-roaders, the 4Runner is the real deal...if you want to go off-roading, it's more than capable. Plus, you can load one up with all the options and still stay on this side of 40 grand.
As the amateurs and posers leave the SUV market, the people who truly need and use them will be making intelligent choices about what to buy...and the Toyota 4Runner makes a strong case for itself.
