I posted this on the 4Runner forum as well so I can try and balance out the opinions. You can probably guess what I am going to say, basically that I am looking at buying a new (2011) 4Runner or a new (2011) Pathfinder and I am trying to figure out which one would be best.

This is going to be the family truckster replacing our Honda Odyssey (I know…what was I thinking?) and my wife is going to be the primary driver, but is leaving the final decision up to me. I have a quote of about $34K for a 4Runner SR5 with the 3rd row, premium pkg, conv. Pkg and nifty things like the rear view mirror camera and the Bluetooth connectivity.

For the same $34K the Nissan folks are pitching a Pathfinder Silver Edition with leather, Bose, the works and are willing to give me an extra $1500 in trade on the van so that the Pathfinder is a little bit less expensive than the 4Runner. But the difference in price is not that significant so long as I get the right vehicle for the next 3-5 years.

I have been running the numbers and, from a total cost of ownership perspective, the 4Runner would edge ahead due to its better mileage and ability to run on regular 87 octane (Nissan recommends 91 octane for the Pathfinder).

So, money isn’t going to be the deciding factor.

The way I see it each vehicle has some undisputable wins.

For the Pathfinder the “wins” are easy to see like:
Much more space & with and without the 3rd row seat
Gauge layout (Voltmeter, oil pressure, tach & speedo get equal treatment)
The Bose stereo is much better than the SR5 premium audio
Dash LCD display w/o navigation
No sunroof (I am 6’6”)

The 4Runner’s wins are more subjective:
Much better build quality
Much better driving position (I am 6’6”)
Much better build quality
Better Climate controls
Much better build quality
Better range
Much better build quality
Higher ground clearance
And… Much better build quality

My subjective impressions from driving the two are that the 4Runner is solid but slow and ponderous (way over-boosted steering) and that the Pathfinder is less solid, but much quicker. I was kind of surprised by that because the 4Runner has a better power to weight ratio than the Pathfinder so I tested a second 4 Runner and found the same thing. With the traction control off it was hard to get any wheel spin in the 4Runner even in the wet, while the Pathfinder was all over the place.

Being a car guy, the Pathfinder just seemed much more “fun to drive”.

On the other hand I know the 4Runner is the best at what it does, i.e. going off road. I suspect the lethargic throttle response is to its easier to modulate power delivery off road. Then we have the quality, both the 4Runners I drove felt like Mercedes Benzes in terms of quality, and not Daimler Chrysler Mercedes, but 80’s SELs. Everything was solid and well put together, I didn’t see, or feel, one molding seam in any of the plastic parts. I wonder if that has anything to do with the fact that 4Runners are still built in Japan.

As for the Pathfinder, it was less than perfect. I could see molding seams all over the place, the gauge binnacle did not really align with the center stack, and the plasti-metal looked like plastic. The steering wheel leather had a plastic feel to it. I wonder if that has anything to do with the fact that Pathfinders are made in the US?

So, there I am, overall my wife like the pathfinder for its space and spirited performance. My vote would be for the 4Runner due to the quality if it weren’t so sluggish.

We do need an (occasional) 3rd row and 80% of our driving is on pavement. I understand that everyone in the 4x4 community love solid axels and loathes independent suspension, is that just for rock crawling (articulation)? We do go “off road” often enough to justify a 4x4 with a real 2 speed transfer case, but its all snow, sand or logging roads. In those environments is the 4Runners solid rear axle any better than the Pathfinders IRS?

From going through the comments on this forum it seems like the Pathfinders have lots of reliability issues, does anyone regret their decision to chose a Pathfinder?

Thanks

They must have made some changes as I am 6'4" and I didn't fit in the 4Runner. This was back in 2007 when we were making decisions. The 3rd row was hard to find in a 4Runner, and it was even tighter than the one in Pathfinder.

The build quality was something was noticed right off. It well off of the quality of our Maxima, and that just an average Japanese built Nissan. It the PF defense, we haven't broken a thing. I have two high energy kids and often have the friends in there and nothing has broken or fallen off.

Off-road, the PF is quite the surprise. My last four by was a Grand Wagoneer, which had front and rear straight axles and a modified limited slip in the rear. The PF has full independent suspension, open diffs, but has the brake based LSD front and rear. I didn't think it would, but the PF has gone everywere the GW did. Where the GW would flex and always keep all four tires on the ground, the PF lifts tires all over the place and uses in electric LSD to keep going. Many here, including myself, have added the factory skid plates and tow hook from the Off-Road model.

I've shopped Toyotas against Nissans for the past 25 years and always wound up with the Nissan. They are just more spunky and fun to drive.

We have had zero problems with the Pathfinder. Ours is an "S" 4WD which gets off-roaded, tows a large tent trailer, and is my wifes daily driver. A check engine light received a warranty re-flash of the computer when the truck was new. It received a fuel tank sender under recall even though the original worked perfect.

We buy our vehicles to last 10 years and 150k. I'd buy this Pathfinder again in a heartbeat.

I was in the same boat as you and chose the Pathfinder about one month ago. It was really a tough decision for me as they both have their pros and cons.

The Pathfinder LE we bought seemed to be a lot more luxurious than the Limited 4runner. The new 4runner interior is an improvement from the last generation, but it really reminds me of the FJ. I'm 6'4" and felt a lot more cramped in the 4runner. The new 4runners ride really nice, better than the Pathfinder. 4runner also wins on offroad worthiness and quality.

In the end, we were shopping for new daily driver for my wife. I could have gone either way, but my wife preferred the Pathfinder due to the the luxury features, interior space, and on-road performance.

BTW, we bought new, fully loaded 2010 LE (Nav, Bluetooth, Keyless Ignition, Music box, Auto-4x4) for about what you were quoted on that Silver Edition and the SR5. I knew I couldn't touch a new Limited 4runner for that.

welcome to the forum,
but honestly do you expect anyone from here to tell you to get a 4runner, or anyone on the 4runner forums to get a pathy ?

at the end of the day, ur the only one thats gonna be driving it, so its ultimately ur choice.

from ur post, you kind of seem biased to the 4runner,
ive driven both, and they're both good, but the pathfinder just made it feel like i was in complete control. it grips the road better, and much smoother to handle.

the entertainment package is also better, and it has more engine power than the 4runner. (i drive the 4.0)

let us know what you pick !!

First thing: What were you thinking with Odyssey? Probably that it absolutely SMOKES the PF as a family vehicle. We couldn't live without ours short of buying a Suburban (actually what we had BEFORE the Odyssey....) and then I still obviously give the nod to the Ody. I guess it depends on how many kids, how much traveling, and how much stuff you haul. We rarely take the PF anywhere as a family...it's my DD.

Historically, I'm a hard-core Toyota guy for the most part. I've had several Camrys for biz use, a Tacoma and prior to the PF an '05 Tundra. My natural move was to the 4Runner but I did not like it at all (prior gen). The latest gen seems to be much nicer in terms of options/feature and seat comfort. It's also bigger, fatter, heavier, and still powered by the same motor. I personally dislike both the exterior and interior design...which is how I feel about most of the newest Toyota designs. I had a 4Runner rental a few months back and I was quite surprised at the "heft" they've designed into them. I agree with your conclusion in terms of driving feel. The PF feels very spirited and has a terrific steering feel (almost too heavy for a big tall SUV and that thing called gravity....)

The PF "recommends" premium fuel for maximum performance. There are some discussions here about if it's necessary or not. For normal driving you really don't notice the difference running 87 octane and I've never measured a difference with mpg. Towing or if you like racing about...then go with the premium. That's my take and pretty much what the manual says. Not a big deal...but one reason I moved from a gas guzzling V8 to the PF in the first place was to reduce operating costs. I'm driving 25k-30k miles per year so it adds up.

Unless you're doing SERIOUS off-roading you'll never notice the difference between the two. I work for a mining company and need to drive back into the mine's a couple times a week so that's why I DD a 4x4. PF gets around as good as anything I've owned and it's one of the best vehicles I've owned for snow driving. I don't even need 4x4 all that often.

I would say the 4Runner is built better and has higher quality materials. I don't think it's a Japan vs US built thing...it's just they spec the vehicles to a higher level. I've never owned a Japan built Toyota (i prefer to support US workers whenever possible) and can't say a single negative thing about the build quality on those vehicles. Nissan is just different...not necessarily bad but they don't quite put the effort into the details like Toyota. That being said the only complaints I've had with my PF is the headlights aren't bright enough and the auto climate annoys me at times. 38k miles on the clock now and just put new Michelins on it that really improve things. The 4Runner is an all new design and the PF is pretty late in life. This model goes back to 2005 I believe with a refresh in 2008. The 4Runner should be significantly better IMHO but I'm not sure that's the case.

Personally for a family vehicle...I'd buy something bigger than either 4Runner or PF. Unless you just have no use for all that space in the Ody...you/she might be disappointed going to a smaller vehicle.

The biggest problem with this match up is the fact that you're comparing a newly redesigned model (4runner) to a model that is being built on aged tooling (Pathfinder). The current pathfinder R51 chassis has been in production since 2004. And it doesnt help in terms of perceived "build quality" that it's built in the US. Yes, there are injection moulding release lines in the plastic in some places. But those plastic trim peices were engineered well and wont pop off or rattle. I have an '05 that I have 76K on and it only has 1 rattle at the passenger rear door handle, that is probably form repeated slams from my son, but that only happens on rough roads and I have load range D tires. I test drove a '05 4runner back when I bought my '05 Pathy and of course the Pathy was a sure Win for me. But the Pathfinder is due for a redesign soon and mabe it will be more apples to apples in terms of build. But if you need power to tow, need room for cargo, and want a solid vehicle, you still wont go wrong with choosing the Pathfinder.

Build quality, build quality, build quality... I just dont get it.

For every person that complains about Nissan build quality, you will find just as many unhappy with Toyota. Same goes with Ford & Chevy... VW & BMW... Hell I even knew a person one time who bragged about how much better built a GMC truck is compared to a Chevy truck.

I was a mechanic for a while and have been in the auto repair industry for over 20 years now. When it comes to ALL cars I have always felt there are "Monday built" cars and "Friday built" cars... so to speak.

Look under the hood of a late model Toyota and Nissan, about the same amount of platic parts. Remove door panels, same basic design being held on with cheap retainer clips. Take apart practically any part of comparible vehicles and you will see similar materials and workmanship for the most part.

Build quality? That is a VERY subjective topic.

I'm actually in the same boat currently. My girlfriend needs a new car & was planning on the 4-Runner. That is, until we saw the 2011 redesign. Can you say FUGLY? So, now it's between a 2011 Highlander, a pre-2011 4-Runner or a 2011 Honda Pilot. I don't think one could go wrong with either a Nissan or Toyota, although there will always be the stray lemon out there. When I was shopping for mine at the end of '06, I focused on Toyota and Nissan. The Pathfinder won out in my case, but I probably would have been happy with the 4-Runner as well.

2011 4-Runner, FUGLY edition:



2009 4-Runner:



2009 Pathfinder:



2011 Grand Cherokee, uber-FUGLY edition (this is now a car-the PC term is "crossover"):

I agree NVSteve, the new 4runner IMO is ugly and cumbersome. I guess because they tried to tie it in with cues of the FJ. The Pilot is ok but is a real crossover disguised as a SUV. The Jeep GC is a SUV disguised as a crossover but looks WAY too much like a Ford Edge.... boring.

skinny2 wrote:First thing: What were you thinking with Odyssey? Probably that it absolutely SMOKES the PF as a family vehicle. We couldn't live without ours short of buying a Suburban (actually what we had BEFORE the Odyssey....) and then I still obviously give the nod to the Ody. I guess it depends on how many kids, how much traveling, and how much stuff you haul. We rarely take the PF anywhere as a family...it's my DD.

For all of its space, the Odyssey does not have enough leg room for me. I am 6’6” and have long shins so my knees are constantly up against hard plastic in the Odyssey when driving or riding as a passenger. It is irritating that I don’t fit in a vehicle 201” long.

We also do not use the 3rd row seat space ever. There is a good 24” chunk of the Odyssey’s length that we never use so it seems that we kind of went overboard with the Odyssey. Problem is my wife and I both had GT cars (Mustang and a RSX) prior to the birth of our fist child and kind of went off the deep end when it came to buying a replacement vehicle. We just do not need all that space.

What we do need is something with 4WD that will tote the two kids (and the occasional friend) around and will fit in the garage. I also need something with a low range transfer case for sand and deep snow. I may not use it that often, but I want to know low range is there in case I need it

BMXPath wrote:Build quality, build quality, build quality... I just dont get it.

For every person that complains about Nissan build quality, you will find just as many unhappy with Toyota. Same goes with Ford & Chevy... VW & BMW... Hell I even knew a person one time who bragged about how much better built a GMC truck is compared to a Chevy truck.

Yup, you are right up to a point. That’s why I tried on a few 4Runners and Pathfinders, it may just have to do with the Pathfinder’s design being older but all of the 4Runners felt and looked like they were put together with more attention to detail.

I think that also has a lot to do with the design. The 4Runner does not seem to have as many small plastic parts in that there are fewer sub-assemblies involved in its construction. I had to Taurus SHOs back in the 90’s and the 91 seemed to be much higher quality than the 95 because of the smaller number of sub assemblies involved in its construction.

Both are much better built than my 97 Mustang GT, but none of them could match my 78’ Suburban and its steel dash.

NVSteve wrote:I'm actually in the same boat currently. My girlfriend needs a new car & was planning on the 4-Runner. That is, until we saw the 2011 redesign. Can you say FUGLY? So, now it's between a 2011 Highlander, a pre-2011 4-Runner or a 2011 Honda Pilot.

I agree, the 4Runner is very ugly. I forgot to mention that as an advantage to the Nissan but it is. The Pathfinder is not that good looking, but I think Toyota over did the anabolic steroid injection on the 4Runner.

I really wish the Pathfinder looked more like the X-Terra with its 2 level roof.

My only complaint with the PF head/legroom is I tend to look through the tinted strip of the windshield at times and I have the seat reclined a little further than I would prefer. You might check that out because I've found you can NOT get a windshield without the tint. It cuts into my vision when going downhill and trying to look up the other side. Particularly at night.

If you don't need the space and 3rd row...an Xterra might work. Lighter and smaller with same motor =

skinny2 wrote:If you don't need the space and 3rd row...an Xterra might work. Lighter and smaller with same motor =

Love the Xterra, but need the 3rd row seat like 4 times per month or so

Go with a Kia SUV I say


just kidding get a Nissan....never know when you going to have floor mat problem on your slow runner