I have owned a 2002 Tundra with the 4.7 liter v8, loved the way it handled as a daily driver, easy to maintain, got about 17 mpg mixed highway and around town. Was too small for the family and I HATED the way the rear doors opened. If someone parked next to you, trying to get a little kid out of the back seat was a real challenge. I put 178,000 miles on it and only changed the wipers, oil every 5,000 miles, three sets of brakes and the 100,000 mile recommended service of new timing belt, transmission tune, and I forget what else. Also, one oxygen sensor had to be replaced, one battery and the cargo area light bulb. When I bought it, the sales manager warned me to not spend much money on the tires, that the trucks were notorious for chewing them up every 30,000 miles and he was right. That truck was assembled in Elkhart Indiana and I could care less where the profits go, the people who work for a living put that truck together in this country.
The next Toy we bought was my wife's 2005 Sienna mini-van. I tried to convince her to buy the 4-runner, but the soccer mom won. It is much more comfortable to ride in over long distances, has good acceleration and great handling in our snow. Just need to leave the testosterone at home when getting in (not that the '02 Tundra was in any way a manly vehicle). That van has handled very well mechanically, but we had some issues with the sliding door handles early on. One set of brakes so far (only 60,000 miles) and it has only had oil changes besides that. One recall early on to strengthen the hinges on the drivers side door and one recall to replace the spare tire cable. The folding rear seats are great, and easy to remove if you want to use the van for moving things and keeping them out of the rain. Other than that, it will soak up juice and soda stains, hide french fries just as good as any other mini-van
. I have no idea where it was made.
Then I bought a used 2007 Tundra double cab with the complete towing package. It had 12,000 miles on it and the 5.7 liter engine. It was traded in because gas had gone to almost $4 per gallon, and came pre-loaded with a few scratches on the drivers side. The price was right and that truck is still going strong now at 82,000 miles with one set of brakes changed, oil changes every 5,000 miles and is much more comfortable to ride in than the 2002. Acceleration is really great, and I seem to have dodged the bullet on some of the issues that hurt the '07 model. I do have the weak tailgate issue, so I take the tailgate off if loading anything heavy in the back. Again, it's not a heavy duty truck, so I did not expect it to haul much in the bed, but I would not drive a motorcycle or quad runner over that tailgate. This truck seems to be easier on the tires, ran with the original Michelin's until about 50,000 and then put on the current set which are still good for this winter. Getting 18 mpg average when not towing, got 9 mpg when towing the trailer to the Fort in 2008. This truck was made in Texas.
There are a lot of Toyota Tacoma's and 4-Runners in the work parking lot, and the people who own them have had a lot of good things to say about them. One of them got a free loaner vehicle for the week while Toyota replaced his frame. Another guy had a 1997 Tacoma with over 200k miles and lots of rust everywhere on it. He got $11,000 cash back when that truck was recalled - he only paid $7,000 for the truck when he bought it.
Hope this helps. I do know people at work who have the Explorer and love it (newer generation), and my father had fun beating the heck out of a 4-cylinder Wrangler that he owned and it stood up well with few repairs (he enjoyed riding that better than his F-250). But most of the Cherokee owners I have worked with had costly repairs on a regular basis. Just what I've seen, no opinions.
