I just bought my used 1993 Toyota 4Runner SR5 V6 4WD a few months ago. I bought it with 93k miles on it and in perfect condition. I took it to a Pep Boys shop where they did a complete 120-point checkup on it and the only problem it had was a going-to-deteriorate clutch (which is normal for a 5spd vehicle with around 100k miles on it). Obviously, the condition of the truck has a lot to do with who owns it and how the person takes care of the truck, but there's very little one can do (without malicious intent) to a Toyota truck and make it go completely bad. I've seen and read stories about people taking their 4Runners out to Moab and other areas to go off-roading and doing very well in those activities, but my truck was bought for regular street driving.

Its had no problems what-so-ever since I got it. As with all Toyota cars/trucks, if you keep the regular maintenance jobs regular (oil changes, fluid checks, no riding the brakes or the clutch) and drive like a normal humanbeing, this truck should work wonderfully for all purposes!

I have the V6 version, and I tried the 4-cyl version before buying this car. That other one was VERY underpowered and couldn't even haul its own weight. I believe the newer 4Runners have V8 in them these days, but the V6 works really well for the 1993. The engine purrs like a happy cat and the pickup is fine (its not as good as you would get in a smaller car, but I am not the last one when the traffic light goes green!) The ride is quite stable as long as you don't make sudden sharp turns. I have never rolled the thing or seen anyone else roll it, but roll-overs only happen when you make sudden moves (and anyone who buys a truck/suv should know this offhand).

The exterior of the vehicle manages to stay pretty clean since not many car doors manage to reach high enough to scratch it in parking lots (don't you hate parking your car at the grocery store lot?!) Everything is pretty boxy on the outside without much attention put on esthetic looks of the vehicle. If you have older members in your family, or young kids, I would recommend you get running boards for the truck.

The interior is pretty much the same as its been in all Toyotas for the last few decades. Mine does not have air conditioning in it, but there are many 1993 4Runners out there which have that feature installed (it didn't come stock I believe). There's only a cassette player available and if you want to hook-up a CD-player or changer, you'll have to change the stock stereo, or get a separate controller for the cd-changer that could play through one of the the FM channels.

**Cupholders** The usual complaint about the cup-holder being right in-front of the Air vents is still there. Although they are much more stable than a regular cupholder (the design is pretty unique since it supports the cup from the bottom AND the sides .. so no spill overs), but it is awful in terms of covering the vents. I guess its nice to keep your tea/coffee warm in the winter since the cup happens to be RIGHT IN FRONT of the heating vent :)

I do like the way the rear window rolls into the tailgate and the latter falls down outwards when you open it. There have been multiple cases where the automatic roll-down button near the gear box has failed to work (I actually had to pull over on the shoulder and use my key to roll the window back up), but that's something to be fixed by the dealer. I believe its not accepted by Toyota as a recalled item.

The storage space in the back is HUGE! If you put down the rear seats, I'm sure you could fit-in a nice twin bed in there :)

One thing that I have noticed however is that the 1993 4Runner is perched much higher than some of the other trucks out on the roads so it feels quite good to be "high up" as compared to other drivers. However, this also makes for bad damage to cars that the 4Runner rear-ends. I just got into a minor fender-bender (at a Stop sign) with a 1995 Ford Explorer .. must have been between 5mph-10mph .. and although NOTHING happened to the front of the 4Runner, the back tailgate section of the Explorer got dented pretty ugly! So be careful about driving behind little (or big cars) since you're so much higher-up than other vehicles.

While driving there seems to be road noise coming-in from the rear window, however that may just be something particular to my vehicle. It almost sounds like a slightly open window somewhere. The tires ride quite smooth and quiet on the highway!

The safety in driving a truck/suv is unparalled as long as you realize that you cannot pull stunts in these vehicles. Having AWD/4WD with ABS probably is your best bet for areas that get a lot of rain and/or snow. Newer cars now have ESP feature for extra traction when required. The seatbelts are very responsive to sudden braking or a rear-ender. The 1993 4Runner does NOT have airbags so you probably don't want to have a 65mph collision with someone ahead of you.

Over the last few months, I've been getting above 250 miles per tank (85 octane) and I'm sure if I put 93 Octane, I would get at least 20 or 30 miles more. On the highway, I get at least 30 to 40 miles more per tank (but I've been using my truck mostly for suburb-to-suburb driving)

A non-believing friend of mine mentioned to me that trucks, in general, don't go above 65mph for regular highway driving. My boyfriend has taken my 4Runner upto 110mph on a regular highway without breaking a sweat. He owns a Tacoma and his can go much faster (only because there are more graduated lines on his speedometer!) ;)
Amount Paid (US$): 7000
Condition: Used
Model Year: 1993
Model and Options: SR5 V6 4WD