Which Toyota 4Runner?

Toyota has some great colors. I like the tan as well.

Be careful buying used in the 1-3 year old range, it’s easy to pay over msrp.

Still almost impossible to find new ones on lot. If you can find a dealer to order you one, that would be a good option. Most aren’t charging over msrp, but they’ll do dealer add ons like paint treatment, window tint, interior carpet treatment, etc and charge way over cost.
 
I have a 2016 4runner SR5 Premium and have taken it all over CO and NM off-road and never felt the need for more. Good tires and it will go anywhere I want as a stock vehicle.
 
I have a 2014 SR5 I bought new with 170k miles now. I put a 3 inch lift on it, bigger tires, and a skid plate (after crushing the factory one). I’ve beaten the heck out of it and it has been great. Zero problems. It’s way better off-road than my friends’ Chevy/gmc trucks. The approach and departure angles really help.
 
I won't own another one without a locker. Mine gets around pretty good without.

She is a 2001.

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Here's how it hunts.

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Here is how it gets stuck. That's after the plow did a bunch of work.
 
Same model for the most part from 2010 to 2023.

I have a 2013 with 135k and besides scratches and dents it has been awesome. Basic SR5 with premium interior. It will go more places than I am willing.

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We bought a 4Runner in 2019. I wanted a TRD, she wanted a 3rd row seat (which TRDs don't have). We compromised and got one with a 3rd row seat. I immediately swapped the wheels and tires the TRD wheels and BFG all terrains. I installed a Cornfed leveling kit up front. We've had Weathertech floor liners in it since day 1. The 3rd row seat has never been used.

I love the vehicle. I've taken it on out of town duck hunts. It's the right size for 2 people and a weekend's worth of duck gear. My son and I took it to Colorado on a scouting trip last summer. It had plenty of room for 2 of us and all of our gear. We even deer hunt out of it. I have a hitch rack that's just big enough to fit a Jet Sled with a whitetail in it.

With the bigger tires I still get around 19mpg highway, not much less around town. The only issue we;ve had was the A/C drain getting stopped up after riding forest service roads for a week in CO. The condensation off the A/C backed up into the floor. It's an easy fix and a known issue that Toyota sells a kit to clean it out with. I'd definitely buy another one. When we get a new vehicle, this one will stick around and be my hunting vehicle.
 
I bought a new 2018 TRD offroad for a hunting vehicle. I love it. I’m about to take it back to Montana turkey hunting in a couple of weeks.

I’ve done some mods to mine to make it more like I want and about to add a sleeping platform for my upcoming trip.

I didn’t get the slide out rear storage, but it would be an awesome feature to have.
 
If you're going to buy one, find a model with the supercharger. The 4.0 V6 is s**t for power at interstate speeds. No power and it still gets horrible gas mileage. I had a 93 Ford Ranger with the 4.0 that had tenfold more power and better fuel mileage. I'm not sure what toyota did wrong with their 4.0.

With 4Runners and Tacoma you have to go 5+ years old to save any money. The way they hold value is insane. With the minimal price difference it makes no since to buy a 3 year old over a new.

I drive a 2015 F350 King Ranch Diesel that I bought at a couple years old. I bought the wife a new 2021 4Runner Nightshade Edition about 18 months ago. I wanted the all time 4WD for her, so I spent the money for the Nightshade. At the time I bought the 4Runner they were worth roughly the same. My wife loves it, so we'll be keeping it for a while. I wouldn't be happy with it if it was my vehicle. It fits my wife's petite runner's figure, but it's to small for me (6' 225lbs). $ for $ my F350 blows the 4Runner away. Power and capability difference being obvious, I'll skip over it. What really surprised me was the amenities or lack thereof. The amenities in my 6 year older truck blows the 4Runner away.

That being said they did design in a really cool key fob feature that I love for my wife and you'll love for your daughter. The car detects the key fob, so you never have to take it out of your pocket. Just walk up and open the door. If you walk up to the driver's door it only unlocks the drivers door, if you walk up to the passenger door it unlocks all doors.
 
Have had a 1998 Limited with 5 spd manual, a 2003 V8 SR5, a 2018 SR5, and now a 2022 Trail Edition in the army green color. For pure offroad work, the 98 ran circles around the others. My wife loves driving them around but the 18 and the 22 both are slightly underpowered as has been mentioned. With over 500,000 miles between those vehicles, had to replace one front axle on the 2003. Rest has been trouble free.

I think any 4runner with under 200,000 miles would be great for a young driver and as a mountain scout. Side note on upgrades. My 2018 has Dobinson springs and bilsteins on it. It has been very good. The 2018 has Fox shocks and at 6,000 miles had one start leaking. I'd do Dobinson and bilsteins or perhaps Kings if upgrading suspension.

Good luck in your search.
 
Had a 2010 Limited brand new and a 2013 SR5. Kick my ass every day after trading the 2010. The Limiteds have full ti e 4wd not available on the SR5 and that truck made traction like no other pickup or SUV WE’ve had since. Crawl/downhill assist etc…. It was the real deal and with 15 speaker JBL it was awesome.

I want to get another one some day, but not gonna pull the trigger until they put the new Tundra twin turbo 6 in them. The 16mpg and doggy performance suck in current version.
 
99% of drivers don’t need a TRD Off-road or TRD Pro. I’d recommend picking up a SR5 and getting bigger tires for clearance. We purchased a TRD Pro and hardly use any of the Pro features.

A green TRD is going to be 2020+ and you’ll be barely paying below MSRP for a TRD Off Road or Pro because they have such a high resale value. We have 50k miles on ours and we just got offered an almost identical price for what we paid for it 3 years ago. Pretty absurd. 8CA26827-D773-495D-8453-E856EDE67B55.jpeg
 
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I bought a new 2018 TRD offroad for a hunting vehicle. I love it. I’m about to take it back to Montana turkey hunting in a couple of weeks.

I’ve done some mods to mine to make it more like I want and about to add a sleeping platform for my upcoming trip.

I didn’t get the slide out rear storage, but it would be an awesome feature to have.
Tell me more about the sleeping platform
 
Might also be worth cross-shopping the Lexus gx460 or older gx470 to get the v8 and off-road capability (both are v8: 4.6 & 4.7)…probably in a similar price range used, and may be able to find with lower mileage. I mention this because my wife really liked the new Limited 4Runners and we bought a year old gx460 with 13k miles for a little less with nicer amenities…she makes me use my truck for off-road though.
 
So you definitely want a rear locker from the factory, and here's why... the factory equipped rear differentials come with a 8.75" rear-end vs. the non-lockers that come with the 8" rear-end. The latter are proven to be less robust, especially if you have off-road in mind. That said, the Lexus GX are basically the updated 4runner (2010+) with the V8, so you may want to expand your search - tho I'm not sure it comes in army green, but your daughter also might be happy with a Lexus vs. a Toyota, and you get the rear-diff locker, 8.75" rear-end, and a V8...
 
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