Well, the 4-Runner, as you say, is indeed reliable, and a good off-roader, but it is more or less truck-based, somewhat stiff-riding, and probably not what I believe Rover had in mind when he (she?) wanted input for a good 20-25K daily driver.
And unless one commutes for very short distances only, a 4-Runner's gas bills will add up pretty quickly.

For versatile, all-weather, reliable, lower-priced vehicles...especially brand-new....it's hard to beat Subarus.
Perhaps the RAV4, Matrix / Vibe AWD, and Honda CRV come closest.
The Suzuki Aerio SX AWD is also a good low-priced versatile AWD vehicle (20K) but its styling is geeky and it has a distracting digital-type speedometer.

 

Rover,

If you have the option of buying a slightly used vehicle vs. a new one, I would definitely veer towards purchasing used. You can buy a low mileage used vehicle (Toyota/Lexus) which would be just as reliable as anything out there and would not cost much to maintain.

I've driven a fair number of the vehicles suggested, including the aforementioned RAV4, Aerio, Accord, Mazda 6, Altima, Camry, IS300, G35 coupe/sedan, 4Runner, Landcruiser, and Tundra. If your tastes lean towards trucks, all the Toyota trucks mentioned are nice. As for cars, I liked the IS, G35 (both versions), Mazda 6, and Camry. I suggest you take a look at these cars first, and see if you can find a slightly used one in your target price. Many of the other vehicles appear cheaply made (eg. RAV4, Aerio, Altima) and don't feel like they will stand up very well to daily abuse.

Given the above choices, I would still rather purchase a used Lexus GS, LS, or SC, though they would be slightly older...

Mike

 

What's up, bud? You know me I can't stay away from Club Lexus no matter what.
Well after a whole week of test driving different cars/trucks and talking to you guys, I think I've got it down to
two cars. One of them is a 2000 Nissan Maxima and the other one is a Subaru Outback GT (I've got to thank mmarshall for pointing me on to those rides). So this weekend I'm gonna pick up one or the other.

You know the craziest thing about CL. It gets you into this modding mode, I'm just picking up a daily driver for myself and yet I'm thinking about suspensions and rims and calipers. And how either Max or GT will look/perform if I do this and that to the car. I've gotta get it out of my system. This is just not healthy. LOL

On the side note:
I'm definately a he, a hundred percent. LOL So don't you get it twisted. LOL

And guys/girls, thank you so much for taking the time to read the post and to share your opinions with me. You don't really know how much all of your input helped me to decide on what I'm gonna ride in 4-5 days out of every week.
DGOT20s, give me a little bit of time, dawgs. I'm just trying to get where you are at with my Lexo. Soon enough you'll see. LOL

Once again thank you everyone.

 

i vote for the Subaru for good all around car all year any weather car.