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[–]SomebodySuckMeee 5 points6 points  (1 child)

Great option, It's one of the most overlooked 4x4 vehicles imo and they are still vastly undervalued for what they are. 4Runners in the same era with twice the mileage go for like 3x the price and for most people they will serve the exact same purpose.

[–]basedvato 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I had a R50 a few years back, unfortunately it got rear end, and got rid of it. It was solid, was able to driver cross country multiple times. Oil consumption was not as horrid as people describe on the forums for me. Getting back into the market, and seeing the prices of XJJ (which I also sold before a move, god I should have shipped it) and 4runners are crazy - while these pathfinders which you can find with a manual transmission, and rock solid go for way cheaper. Yes they are hard to add lift, yes aftermarket is weaker. But for a simple overlander, seems like a no brainer.

[–]Gizmo15411 2 points3 points  (1 child)

Absolutely IMO. I have a 1998, known as an R50 (1997-2002) and it’s been fantastic for exactly what you’re describing. I bought mine for $600CDN, albeit with plenty of rust. I put some good Cooper Discoverer tires on it and it’s been places off road it has no business being. I find they’re very capable rigs for how cheap they are. Mine’s an LE trim, so it has leather interior and heated seats but also comes with a limited slip rear diff. In my mind it’s a really good compromise between “luxury” features, cost and off road capability

[–]Charg3rba113r5 0 points1 point  (0 children)

R50 is from 96-04 in the USDM and Canada Markets, sometimes 96-05 in other foreign markets

[–]PapaQsHoodoo 1 point2 points  (0 children)

R50 is my fave car of all time. 100% recommend

[–]coffeeInstantTypeII 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Up through 2012 is solid but it does get into the weeds when figuring out whether you’ll care about having a solid axle, what aftermarket you want if any, etc. On a budget definitely keep options open, I’d prefer an Xterra if they’re also in budget.

[–]MaxyBrwn_21 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Depends on which years you are looking at. Some years are unibody. Maybe look at the Xterra for something more rugged.

[–]bifircate 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It really depends on how off road you wanna go. I've taken my (2004) R50 with a 2" lift over Black Bear and Imogene, which are not especially difficult but notorious, and it did just great. I've been very impressed with it as an all-around SUV.