We've had the D2 a little over a year. With the disco there's always drama it seems.
114,000 miles. Since we owned it, crank sensor (first week of ownership), intermittent three amigos fixed with abs module and solenoid replacement, leaking coolant from intake, starter, intermittent SRS light which hasn't come back for a while, wiper motor, lights in heat control replaced. Registration and insurance cost more than either of my toyos, gotta run the premium in it. I had to special order wiper blades for the dang thing.
We had a huge score and found a 2007 4 runner with 34k on it, 4.7 V8. It's full time 4x4 and also has locking transfer case same as a CDL in the rovers. I was surprised at the sporty feel of it and it's actually a lot of fun in the snow. It's does have a bit more road noise than the rover particularly in the rear, and the visibility height is a little lower than the D2.
For the time being my daughter is driving the D2 in between me working out all the bugs on my weekends. We lucked out on the D2 a little because it was garage kept and didn't see any winters. It's got a couple small spots above the windshield where the paint is blistering but aside from that it's very clean and for the moment everything works, it feels safe and solid on these snow covered roads.
I recently looked at an 06 4 runner with the idea I would put my daughter in that and unload the D2. It had 212,000 on it and they dealer was around 8,000.00 on the price. The Toyotas hold their value better than most vehicle from my experience. I passed on the deal because we were too far apart.
For now the disco will be fine for around town and back and forth to school. In a couple years my daughter goes to college and I have little confidence in the disco for long distance travelling.
We did test drive an Outback, brand new. Sister in law ended up purchasing one. Now that my wife is in the 4 runner and has been on a few road trips with sister in the subaru she said she's glad we didn't get one. Much lower seating position, more road noise, and she said it just didn't feel solid on the road.
I've been in the repair industry for 30 years. Toyotas have always had a rock solid reputation. I grew up around the auto industrial areas of Michigan. My neighbors worked for pontiac, ford, GM. Aunts and uncles worked for GM and Chrysler, some cousins still do. I was always dead set against foreign cars but at this point I got sick of repairing the same shit problems on every GM vehicle. You can almost set your watch by how many miles before this or that fails. On the trail blazer I've replaced everything in the front end at 95,000 miles. Did front hubs at 45,000 and again at 95,000, plus everything else under there, ball joints, tie rods, half shaft. Had some random check engine lights and a steering angle sensor messing with the traction control. Of coarse now that is all fixed it is sitting in storage. The SS platform is actually a very nice riding vehicle and I love the power from the LS2. Just can't seem to bring myself to sell it.
My Tundra has just rolled over 160k. Literally,... brakes, tires, oil changes, serpentine belt, serviced the lube in trans, diffys, t-case, and that is it.
At this point I'm just tired of spending my spare time working on vehicles so I'm sticking with the Toyotas. I feel better knowing my wife is driving one and eventually my daughter will be.
I will say this about the 4 runner, and even a brand new tacoma I recently test drove,... Being 6'3", neither of these vehicle is ideal for long trips, similar to the disco they just aren't built for taller drivers.