Can we be this far along?
The Toyota 4Runner revitalized the sport utility market to a large extent with its introduction in 1984. It wasn’t the only SUV, by any measure, but it filled the role very well. There was competition from Ford (Bronco II), Chevy/GMC (S-10 Blazer/ S-10 Jimmy), Jeep (Cherokee), Nissan (Pathfinder) and Isuzu (Trooper).
With a small 2.4L 4 cylinder (compared to V6s available for all of the others except the Isuzu), it was down on power, but got pretty good gas mileage. It was also much closer to the pick-up on which it was based, the Toyota Hi-Lux. in fact, the rear suspension of the pick-up wasn’t up to the task of carting the extra weight until 1986. That year also saw the loss of the solid front axle, much lamented by hard core off-roaders. in fact, the solid axle vehicles are more sought after by rock crawlers… and the IFS (Independent Front Suspension) trucks are often converted to solid axles (SAS – Solid Axle Swap).
As with most simple and wonderful vehicles… it got bloated and soft. Each incarnation gained weight and lost off-road ability. Added power and heavier components were nice, but instead of tuning it to be an off-roader, it became a mall runner like all of the other SUVs.
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