Help - Best Reliability: Toyota 4Runner v Subaru Ascent v Kia Telluride

[Theringworm]

Test drives are done….. for her that is. I have been out of town and will do my own tomorrow or Friday. Her list is, Ascent>4Runner>Telluride.


As mentioned before if we had a Lexus dealership I would already have a GX in the garage and wouldn’t have asked this question. Ascent vs 4Runner…..that is what it comes down to.

Thanks WKR’s for the feedback.

 

[TAArrowood]

Awesome.. Let us know how your test drives go..

 

[browning2480]

You will notice a big difference when you mash the peddle on the Ascent vs 4Runner. I was all for the Toyota as well, until I drove them both. 4Runner was gutless and gets about 8 mpg less. Wife wasn’t having that. Ascent won over for us.

Just make sure you are honest with yourselves about what you really want and don’t try to justify yourself into something.

Good luck!! First world problems for sure lol

 

[R_burg]

Absolutely the 4Runner is the most reliable. The fifth gen has very few inherent issues... just like the 4th gen... just like the third gen. There's a pattern here.

Subaru's are over rated for reliability IMO. Yeah they are better than a 90's American made car, but when compared to modern cars I don't think they stand out. They definitely are not on Toyota's level. My family has had a ton, we had them long before they were en vogue hippie vehicles. Plus I always laugh that westerners think its the official car of Colorado. You guys should go to Vermont, its been like that for 40 years.

Subaru's CVT sucks. My dad's failed at 90k.

 

[Slowtrollr]

Toyota all the way…

 

[LostArra]

Soccer moms around the world know how to haul their team!



My wife wishes she still had her 95 4runner. She has since owned a Highlander and a piece of sh#* Subaru Outback. Now she has gone total badass in a blacked out 400hp Explorer ST. Let her have her fun. She'll be 70 in a few months.

 

[roosiebull]

Ignoring most all other categories….. which of the 3 has the best long term reliability?

Sole purpose is for the wife to use it as her Soccer. Mom daily mode of transportation and child hauler. We have 3 kids 9-15 years of age. She will never go off-road (I might) and it will never tow anything. Strictly lots of city miles on average around 30k/year. Plan is for her to drive it for 3 years and b that time I’ll have 2 kid drivers of which the oldest child when then drive this vehicle. Should have close to 100k miles on it by then. I plan on keeping it for as long as I can to pas down to the other children as they get older.

I don’t care about gas mileage (I know the 4Runner is the weakest in that category), prices are within In $2-5k depend8mg on specs (Toyota being the most expensive). Resale, well I don’t plan on selling it any time soon. but I would guess the Toyota wins here also. I have never owned any of these brands before. Which is going to be the most reliable of the three over 200k+ miles? My guess would be Toyota, closely followed by Subaru then the Kia.

Since she’ll be spending lots of time in it daily which has the best cabin creature comforts? I Whois’s guess the Kia >Subaru>Toyota.

Whats says the WKR brain trust?

Not sure about the Kia, but the 4Runner is a more reliable rig than the Subaru in my experience… we have had several 4Runners, and 2 Subaru, and the Subaru have been problem prone… I was thinking about buying a new one but with our current Subaru, and our last, I’ll never own another… maybe they are improving, but I know 4Runners are solid

Haven’t read any replies in the thread, but of the 4Runners we’ve had and been around and the Subarus we’ve had and been around, it’s not close in reliability… like the concept, but I am done with them

 

[Mojave]

Wife has had her soccer mom car as a Toyota Sienna Van, Mazda CX-9 and now owns a Toyota Sequoia.

Sequoia sucks as a soccer mom car. Too big outside, kids wham the car doors into other near by parked cars and it gets shit gas mileage. Inside is too small, you will have to put all 3 kids next to eachother for a big shop or long trips. The room behind the 3rd seat is dinky.

CX-9 is ok for her, I personally hated it. I am not super tall, but tall enough that I smashed my head in it every time I got in and out of it. Gas mileage sucked. Same problem as the Sequoia, but smaller on size.

Toyota Sienna is a champion family vehicle for 3 kids. We have 3 kids, at one point they all hate one another and aim for murder/fratricide. You can put them far enough apart that they don't fight as much.

The best family van is a van. There is no simplier way to put it. She may winge about driving a van, but she will get used to get it and appreciate the value.

You can put all the crap for a family of 5 and drive 1200 miles to Disneyland (or some other undesirable family vacation location) and every one have room to get away from one another.

In a 7/9 pax SUV you will suffer as the entire back end of it goes to war. As you will have to use the 3rd row for crap storage on long traps.

Toyota is doing a AWD version of the Sienna for a bit of a markup. Not sure if they are available in the new 2023 models.

A van is a superior family vehicle even over a large or larger SUV like the highlander, CX-9, Seqoia, Suburban, Expedition XL ETC.

1. They can get away from one another.
2. You will have room to store things in the back without cutting into their room.

 

[txjustin]

The kia has a 3rd row. Do the others?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Theringworm]

To be clear, my wife currently daily’s a large SUV. After having her wrecked 8 of the last 11 vehicles and putting 30k+ miles on them each year, I am DONE with the expansive Car Haulers as a daily. We’ll keep the big car hauler in the garage for long road trips or large cargo required runs. But the new vehicle will be strictly for her to run into the ground and preferably not into a tree, pole, dog, concrete barrier ……. I can go on.

I know, real world problems. Not wanting to sound pretentious. Simply looking for better more reasonable solutions. Cargo space is not a real concern for us. I don’t think we would ever use the 3rd row much as we would simply take the big car hauler for that.

Reliability and safety are really the two most important issues.

And I absolutely 100% will NEVER own a mini-van. That’s where I draw the line

 

[Gwchem]

To be clear, my wife currently daily’s a large SUV. After having her wrecked 8 of the last 11 vehicles and putting 30k+ miles on them each year, I am DONE with the expansive Car Haulers as a daily. We’ll keep the big car hauler in the garage for long road trips or large cargo required runs. But the new vehicle will be strictly for her to run into the ground and preferably not into a tree, pole, dog, concrete barrier ……. I can go on.

I know, real world problems. Not wanting to sound pretentious. Simply looking for better more reasonable solutions. Cargo space is not a real concern for us. I don’t think we would ever use the 3rd row much as we would simply take the big car hauler for that.

Reliability and safety are really the two most important issues.

And I absolutely 100% will NEVER own a mini-van. That’s where I draw the line

Your wife wrecked 8 cars? Wow.

I've done 25,000 miles per year for the past 24 years, all over the country, and have only ever been in two fender benders.

 

[Theringworm]

Yes…..I have had to pay out of pocket the last two to keep them off the insurance as she is on probation until February before she can make another claim without them raising our rates.

I know I know……why would I buy her a second vehicle to wreck? I don’t have an answer for that…. Cuz it will be cheaper to repair than the bigger more expensive one?

 

[Az wildcat]

My wife has a VW atlas and it is nice. Gets 26 mpg on the freeway, has plenty of room, and I personally like VW but I know most people have a love or hate relationship with it. Also was around $42k for all the bells and whistles we need.

Might be one to add to your list.

 

[Theringworm]

My wife has a VW atlas and it is nice. Gets 26 mpg on the freeway, has plenty of room, and I personally like VW but I know most people have a love or hate relationship with it. Also was around $42k for all the bells and whistles we need.

Might be one to add to your list.

I thought about it as a friend bought one for his daughter. After seeing the review and reliability ratings on it, where it was almost dead last for a mid-size SUV, I was out. Hopefully you have nothing but good luck with yours.

 

[Az wildcat]

I thought about it as a friend bought one for his daughter. After seeing the review and reliability ratings on it, where it was almost dead last for a mid-size SUV, I was out. Hopefully you have nothing but good luck with yours.

I’ve had great luck with VW. From a safety standpoint it seems to get good ratings and I always take reliability with a grain of salt because it is random surveys and awards that I am sure are purchased.

 

[CorbLand]

Yes…..I have had to pay out of pocket the last two to keep them off the insurance as she is on probation until February before she can make another claim without them raising our rates.

I know I know……why would I buy her a second vehicle to wreck? I don’t have an answer for that…. Cuz it will be cheaper to repair than the bigger more expensive one?

At that point make the financially responsible decision and just take the keys away.

 

[Spence1875]

A little off topic but LostArra definitely brought up a fair point. Toyotas are way better weapons mounts/carrier, most of the Muj I saw in my 3 trips had Toyotas or Nissans. Don’t remember any Subarus or soccer moms for that matter. Lol

 

[Evol]

To be clear, my wife currently daily’s a large SUV. After having her wrecked 8 of the last 11 vehicles and putting 30k+ miles on them each year, I am DONE with the expansive Car Haulers as a daily. We’ll keep the big car hauler in the garage for long road trips or large cargo required runs. But the new vehicle will be strictly for her to run into the ground and preferably not into a tree, pole, dog, concrete barrier ……. I can go on.

I know, real world problems. Not wanting to sound pretentious. Simply looking for better more reasonable solutions. Cargo space is not a real concern for us. I don’t think we would ever use the 3rd row much as we would simply take the big car hauler for that.

Reliability and safety are really the two most important issues.

And I absolutely 100% will NEVER own a mini-van. That’s where I draw the line

Subarus are very safe if she's accident prone, we have a forester and I'm picking up a WRX next week hopefully.

 

[eye_zick]

The last time Toyota built an "unreliable" 4Runner was 1990-95. They still went 150K+ before having head gasket issues.

My biases are deep. My 2000 4runner has 380K, my 1998 4Runner has 310K (supercharged).

I'd take a 5th gen 4runner over any vehicle your considering.

 

[eye_zick]

Consumer Reports, Toyota 4Runner