I have never purchased a new car, owned quite a few used ones though. I have lusted after Tacos (1st generation) for quite some time and just can't get over the lack of depreciation- the used ones are almost as much as I could have bought a new one for in late 2004. So a couple of months ago I went and test drove an '09 TRD Taco. It was a nice truck but it did not inspire me, can't say why. I then toyed with trading the Trooper in as a clunker for a Taco, but I am too into recycling to see a perfectly good (and offroad worthy) car get crushed.
Anyway, this 4Runner is really working for me. I think it looks good and the Trail Edition has options that I look for; hopefully they hold their values like the Tacos do. However, one thing I can't seem to understand is why the third row seat is not an option for the Trail Editions. I probably won't use it much, but with a growing family I can't see spending $35k on a new car and needing a suburban just in case. I wrote Toyota an email, about all I can do.
I called my local dealer and am supposed to get a call as soon as the first one hits the lot.
Sorry to ramble, but I thought I would throw my $0.02 in about this being a great looking rig.