I have always owned small sports cars, but I have grown a little tired of the lack of space and I have considered vehicles that I'd want to own to replace my Mazda MX-6. I keep coming back to the 4Runner as my vehicle of choice--looks stylish, is reliable, has plenty of room, is safe if I'm in an accident, has great resale value, and can go nearly anywhere if I so choose. The down side is poor gas mileage and poor overall driving performance (compared to cars I've owned). My question is for those of you who have owned sporty cars before: did you regret buying your 4Runner and giving up some driving performance that you were used to?

I had a 2000 Civic Si, that I got rid of when I got my 4Runner. I miss the handling (I had aftermarket springs and struts) and the feel of a car, but I love the 4Runner and wouldn't trade it for anything (except another 4Runner -or- my brothers 5-speed IS300)

I've owned lots of 2-seater sports cars including several twin turbo 300ZXs. I do miss the feeling of being pinned back in the seat once the turbos spooled. Other than that, not much. I like the 4Runner because of additional passenger and cargo room (friends got POed when they had to drive all the time), commanding view of the road, regular gas instead of premium, I laugh instead of cringe at curbs and potholes now, don't worry nearly as much abouting parking lot door dings, wheelin' is WAY more fun than going through twisties in a sports car!

My wife has a sporty little car ('00 Eclpise GT), and every time i drive it I am impressed by it's handling. But then I get back in my Runner and I forget all about it not handling quite as good. No regrets. And now with the SC I can toast the Eclipse in a straight line! <img border="0" title="" alt="[Big Grin]" src="images/icons/grin.gif" />

Maj, I had a Twin Turbo Z (91) too. Man that car was FAST! I miss it sometimes, but it was average in terms of reliabilty and of course not very practical. If I had the $$ I'd get a 4Runner and the new 350Z--I'd be completely satisfied for vehicles to say the least. Well, maybe in a few years.

I owned a 86 Starion and traded it in when the turbo started to go bad for the third time...the first two were covered under warranty...that car handled great and was pretty fast for only 190 hp, but I needed a SUV type...but I will say that a S/C'd 4runner makes my Starion feel like it was stuck in the mud...also with the addition of Bilsteins and Addcos it handles relatively well, but of course not as well as the Starion...

BlownRunner, what did the SC upgrade cost and has it been reliable? I've heard some varying estimates on this board.

3000GT VR-4 (TT) 94-97
Porsche Boxster 98-00
4runner 00-Current

Id never go back to a sports car. I love riding high, the added sense of security and I dont feel the slightest urge to speed in my runna. Trust me after paying over 3 grand in speeding tickets, lawyer fees, and insurance increase, and just a buncha waste of time, Im much happier, been 1.5 years ticket free (fingers crossed)

</font><blockquote><font size="1" face="Verdana, Tahoma, Arial, Helv, Helvetica, Sans">quote:</font><hr /><font size="2" face="Verdana, Tahoma, Arial, Helv, Helvetica, Sans">Originally posted by ChiefJoJo:
<strong>Maj, I had a Twin Turbo Z (91) too. Man that car was FAST! I miss it sometimes, but it was average in terms of reliabilty and of course not very practical. If I had the $$ I'd get a 4Runner and the new 350Z--I'd be completely satisfied for vehicles to say the least. Well, maybe in a few years.</strong></font><hr /></blockquote><font size="2" face="Verdana, Tahoma, Arial, Helv, Helvetica, Sans">Yup, had mine modded to where it would run high 12s in the quarter. Reliability became a huge issue if you started tweaking the engine (kaaaboom!).

Surprisingly, my insurance did not go down much at all when transitioning from the Z to the 4Runner. I'm less prone to speed in the 4Runner which has translated into zero tickets so far. <img border="0" title="" alt="[Big Grin]" src="images/icons/grin.gif" /> Cops LOVE pulling over sports cars - I don't miss that!

My ex had an Acura CL 3.0. Nice quick car with good handling, but I hated driving it. Too damn low to the ground. The first thing I notice when driving other cars is that I can't see 3,4 or more cars ahead of me like I usually can with my 4Runner. Big advantage when traffic comes to a sudden stop.