Out with the old.....

After out 1998 Toyota 4Runner has served our needs admirably with very little in the way of unscheduled maintenance since 2001, today was the day we found a new ride for my wife.

Test drove the Toyota Highlander Hybrid, Lexus NX300h and the RX450h. Guess which one was chosen:



It is by far the nicest car I have driven and is extremely quiet! Color is called caviar and is a black metal flake. Unfortunately it came with some curb rash at 9 miles which they will take care of:



Now have 2 hybrids in our stable:



Our 4Runner one last time at 263 k miles on the clock:



Farewell old friend, you served us well.

 

I gave in after our conversation last week. I knew there was no way we were going to kill it, so let someone else have the pleasure of doing so. We dropped it of at CarMax after leaving the Lexus dealer and 2 people were already looking at it. I couldn't believe they gave us $2 k for it, which the Lexus dealer laughed at when we asked them about trading it in.

We made the mistake of driving the RX first once we left Toyota. After that, there was no comparison ! My wife said she didn't want another black car, but the dealer showed us the caviar color and noble brown leather interior combo, and I knew our fate was sealed.

While an expensive day, my wife was very happy and sad at the same time seeing her beloved 4Runner fade off into the CarMax sunset.

Now I get to maintain a Lexus.

 

It was the 4X4 with the locker! It was fantastic in the snow and off-road when we had it out east. There's a reason they are heavily modded for off-road use.

I had trouble with smogging it in 2015 and had to put a new cat on it . But it passed smog (barely) and got us another 1.5 years of use out of it.

My only concern was the transmission as I had not changed the fluid. I figured if it went out, that would be the end of it. It just never gave up the ghost. Never used a drop of oil and the only issues I had since 2006 were the back axle seals failing and replacing the valve cover gaskets. Only replaced the brakes once and itherwise it was fluids and tires.

The Lexus is soo much nicer though.

Good luck with your RX hybrid hunt.

 

The only thing I have seen that was better was the Dodge Power Wagons of the 70s where the low lock would pull a house sideways (I actually witnessed my old man's D200 out pull a F-350 where the challenge was a stuck single wide on the local bridge).

The F-350 was up first and only made some ruts. My old man asked the cops if he could bring the Power Wagon out and not get a ticket as it wasn't road worthy. They said they would look the other way. The D200 hooked up and in Low Lock straightened the trailer out and they got it off the bridge! Too bad the frames rotted out behind the cabs as that's what killed my old man's .

It's hard to stop the 4Runner when faced with a challenge. I thoroughly enjoyed it and put it through its paces. I had my fun with it. I'll let someone else enjoy the back country with that gem !

 

Mrs. Eagle is very happy.

It is amazing what technological advances have been made over 8 years (since we bought our 2010 Prius). There is a large display screen that rests on the dash, DRCC, LKA, BSM, etc (enough acronyms yet) and the list goes on and on.

I couldn't get over how smooth and quiet everything is. Steering feels effortless, and very little road vibration transfers to the steering wheel. Best car I've ever driven.

Maybe when you visit the Bay Area, you'll see it in person.

Tomorrow will be spent in the garage understanding the car more. More pics to come .

 

31 city / 28 highway. But it takes premium.

 

I had a Jag before the Prius and we told ourselves that we would never get another car that uses premium. Guess we didn't do a good job of holding to that.

The wife went to the local Raleys for some groceries today and parked way out. Ended up a new NX300h pulled next to ours.

Strength in numbers.

 

Unfortunately that's what started us down the path, but the result varied .

Still have my eye on a Prime, but by the time our 2010 II wears out (hopefully got another 6 years as I am maintaining the battery now with the Prolong Equipment), the Tesla Model 3 will be in full production.

But if the incentives remain on the next gen Prime, I'd stay loyal.

 

From page 591 of the owners manual:


From the gas door:



The word "may" appears prominently and multiple times. Later on page 591 Lexus "strongly recommends" the use of top tier gasoline.

I think we can make that happen.