Yes you said it correctly Hummers ... not H2's, as of yet I have not seen any H2's in the military ... Could you imagine a bunch of camo’ed guys sneaking up on somebody with a chrome grill in a big yellow bus, from the cabin you hear wait dude, slow down I'm spilling my Latte, hey would you mind not bleeding all over the leather? hehehehe

Hummers (not H2's) are used in the military not because they are better at wheeling than Jeeps, but because they are bigger and can haul more stuff ... making them easier to adapt to specific tasks. And how many foreign vehicles do you see being used by the military unless it is an over-seas base (hence no Toyota trucks)? I spent a good portion of my life in the Navy and rarely saw any duty vehicles that were not made in the U.S., the majority of military vehicles are Fords.

I'm not referring to the H2 as a bus because of how many it seats, I call it a bus because of how big it is (oh and the yellow paint job doesn't help either ). For something that only seats 5, why the hell is it so big? To me, that weakens its off-road premise, if they could have put that technology into a sleeker/more nimble package they would really have something. IMO I just think it is too big and boxy to be a serious off-road trail rig. Light trail and logging roads? Sure, but you can pretty much take any well equipped 4wd truck on these types of roads.

As for the 03’ don’t even get me started, I think the magazine article I recently read pretty much sums up the 2003 4Runner, “Drives like a BMW, looks like a Buick,” but that’s just me … a lot of people like it.

So you said it best Whitey … to each his own.

 

Laugh all you want about the H2. But this topic started out with me saying I would take the H2 over the 03 Runner any day of the week. I never said it was the "Best" off roader on the market. I just said I liked it a lot better than that sissy looking, soccer mom hauling, speed bump wheeling, 03 4Runner. I would rather load the H2 up with my gear, a few buddies, and head off to where ever we wanted to go. Sure, there will be places it won't go but so what. There is always another way around an obstacle. And it's not as if 4Runners never get stuck or unable to go somewhere. What gets me is the majority of people in here line up like a bunch of sheep and praise the 03 Runner simply because it's a Toyota. Face it chums..... it's a SISSY SUV!

In a head to head battle of off-roading the H2 will run circles around the 03 Runner

By the way Wolf -- I spent time in the US Navy too

 

Our security forces here are driving Nissan Xterra's and there is also a few Landcruisers as well. Other than that lots of Dodges and Fords like Beowulf said.
CHUMS???? Whitey you can expect us to keep lining up and praising Runners since 90% of the people on here own one and obviously like it or they wouldnt be on this forum talking about it all the time. If ya wanna bash on stuff try another forum. That's why I left ODW, bashing is no good at'all

 

Hey Meyers -- I refuse to applaud and drool all over something simply because it carries the same name badge as its predecessors. Have you forgotten that I own a 1993 4Runner, and I leased a brand new 00 4Runner? I have stated countless time in here that they have been the 2 best vehicles I have ever owned. And, not once... NOT ONCE have I said anything derogatory about the 03's wheeling ability. I ONLY said I would take the H2 over the 03 Runner because it looks more like a guy's truck, and because the 03 looks like a soccer mom's suv. Nothing worse than people getting all bent out of shape and taking it so freakin personal when someone "questions" something about a Toyota 4Runner.

 

Hey man no worries everyone is entitled to their own opinion. You gave yours, I gave mine.

 

I DID quote 4WD's. If you're crazy enough to pay MSRP.. well, that's your business. The prices I quoted on both 4Runner and H2 are TMV (true market value). That is the average the people in my area (NJ) are paying for those vehicles. So, it WOULD be 20k. Not that it matters

 

Thanks for supplying those numbers Erc, I didn't think I was too crazy! The one H2 I saw at a dealer back home had a sticker of $55K...that is about 15 times what I made at my summer job this year!!!

 

I have a couple of additions here:

First, the H2 can fit 6 people, or 7 if you mount the spare on the back (as I have seen this done in Texas, and you get the full 3rd row). But, the H2 is nowhere near as wide as the H1 (81 inches vs. 87 inches, whereas the new 4Runner is 74 inches wide), and I really doubt that it would be much harder to manuver around on tight trails than the new 4Runner would be. They are the same length too, so I think it's inaccurate to call the H2 a bus.

With that all cleared up, It is still outrageous to put these in the same category. I am in the market for a new SUV, thus the reason I've been watching this board for a while. I don't want leather, or a nav system, or any of that stuff. Just 4WD and big wheels. So I would be paying $49K for an H2 like I want, or $32,500 for a new SR5, 4WD, V8 like I want. THE H2 IS 50% MORE EXPENSIVE!

And don't get me started on gas mileage... Anyway,

Let's move on.

 

So, you're basically saying you're picking one vehicle over another based on looks? Isn't that what the soccer moms and dads do?


I wouldn't buy a new vehicle for wheeling regardless of the price. Just curious, have you actually driven the 03 4Runner yet? Offroad? Not that it matters, you're picking one vehicle over another based on looks, whether or not it's "manly" enough for you. You're busy fulfilling the preconceptions of the "anti-SUV" crowd. BTW, I don't like the looks of the 03 much myself, but if the price were right and it fit my functional needs, I'd probably give it a shot.

The H2 looks like a nice vehicle, but it in no way fits my needs better than ANY year 4Runner. Too large, too "flashy", too much.

Chris

 

a 2wd SR5, sport, and limited 4runner vs. the H2 prices, the difference is almost if not 20,000, as for the 4wd versions it is not 20,000, but it's only off a couple of thousand off, personally I would rather have my 2002 4runner rather than the 03 or the H2

 

Vehicles look the way they do when you buy them, but thats what customizing and modding is all about.

 

Besides the funky cladding, the 03 does drive beautifully. The torque in 4Lo & 4Hi is great with the V8. Very smooth stuff & damn quiet. Someone has to come out with a matching color cladding kit to make it look more appealing. One would only hope. $6000 xtra for the limited is a little stinky. The plastic granite in the limited is cheezy and weird looking. SR5 looks much better with the black panels.

H2 - I can't imagine paying $50,000+ for a GM product. Kind of looks like a Loomis Armored Truck. Bloated. Nice off road features though.