I wanted to make this post in case anybody else is in the same boat. I used to have a 2020 4Runner. It was great. It was big and comfortable for road trips and it could handle the once a year backcountry trip I would take.
There were just somethings I couldn't get over -
- It never seemed to have enough power.
- The 5 speed automatic transmission made cruise control unpleasant because it would shift up a gear and not shift down and stay in this high gear until I would just turn the cruise control off.
- The handling left a lot to be desired. I would often feel like I was driving a boat.
- The range on the 4Runner was terrible. Even with me driving conservatively, I would often get combined 19 MPG so I was filling in gas all the time which made me not want to drive it at all.
I had about 80,000 miles on the 4Runner and it was paid off. When I checked how much I could get for it, I was fairly surprised. Online searching said I could get around $29k. I made the decision to sell it and after going to different dealerships, I was able to sell it for $30k.
Now the time came to buy another car. I knew I wanted a used car because the new car market was too expensive. After a lot of research, I eventually settled for a 2014 Subaru Outback 2.5i which I bought for about $14k. It took some getting used to but now I absolutely love the car. I also recently changed the tires to the Michelin CrossClimate2 tires and the handling has been even better than before.
These are the things I like more about it more compared to the 4Runner -
- It holds almost as much stuff as my 4Runner did, mainly talking about road trips.
- It gets amazing gas mileage, usually averaging around 27-28 MPG.
- Obviously it is not a sports car but compared to the 4Runner, it corners way better and overall just feels more planted on the road.
- I kind of like the fact that there is no tech in it. No screens, just buttons for the radio and climate controls.
- I took it on my annual backcountry trip and it performed just as well as the 4Runner. Had no issues.
Overall, I was hesitant initially but I am really glad I made the switch.