Whoo, am I late!

4Runner. Excellent. I have a 96 un-lifted with a 3.4 manual tranny. 4x4. It's suprisingly capable with no modifications.

19 mpg, about a 50/50 hwy/city driving w/10% ethanol gas. Not pretty.

I can carry a bike with the front wheel off without folding the rear seats. I use a sportworks hitch rack, though, and carry a baby trailer and all my bike stuff inside.

Stay away from the 3.0 (95 and older), underpowered engine, head gasket issues.

In the 3rd gens (96-2001, IIRC) the 99 is tallest. Get one with an e-locker if you can find it. Manual trans is better gas mileage wise. If you get an automatic it might be worth your while to get a transmission oil cooler. Don't bother with 2 wheel drive. If you get one with lift under 3" of suspension lift is recommended due to the strain on the CV joints. Body lift is another story, just remember the higher it goes, the more top-heavy it becomes. These things do fall over sometimes.

If you do your own maintenance it's not too bad with the 3.4 engine. It's no, say, Bronco II but if you fashion a funnel so you don't have to remove the skid plate oil changes are ok. Doing a timing belt and water pump weren't horrible, plugs are easy. It does have a timing belt so bank on that being changed every 60-90,000 miles. Also, the original water pump usually has to be changed too. Taken care of, the engine should last a very long time. Mine's at 156,000 miles, still going strong.

For more information on the 4runner try yotatech.com
Yes, there is a lot of wheeling tech, but there's also a ton of good information for the stock 4runner as well and the site is friendly and clean. There, the search button is your friend.

If you have any questions I can help with, like measurements in my '96 or whatever I'd be pleased to answer what I can.