GX460 or a 5th gen 4Runner for a family of four, about $28k, which one would you actually buy

Toyota tech, 14 years at a dealer in Boise, grain of salt. both are good. the question is which failure you would rather pay for.

GX460: the 1UR 4.6 is a stout engine, timing chain, and i have seen them past 250k needing water pumps and not much else. the things that cost money are the rear height control air bags, which leak with age and run 300 to 500 each for good ones, and on the Luxury trims the KDSS hydraulic system if somebody has neglected it. a lot of owners swap the rear to coils and get rid of the problem for good. it also wants premium fuel and gets maybe 15 to 16 mpg in mixed driving, so on your Big Bend miles that adds up.

4Runner: the 1GR 4.0 is about as boring as engines get, which is the compliment. the 5 speed is old and it is fine. on SR5 and TRD Off-Road you get part time 4WD, so you are in 2H on wet pavement unless you think about it. Limited has full time. watch for the frame on anything from the rust belt and the rear hatch glass regulator, which i replace a few of every winter.

with two kids and a dog i would look hard at whether either one has the third row. the GX had it on most trims. on the 4Runner it was optional and a lot of them do not have it, and frankly it is a penalty box back there.

i will be the guy who says neither, and then admit i am wrong. a four door Wrangler would do your Big Bend roads fine and the boys would think you were the coolest dad in Texas for a summer. then you would drive it to Colorado at 75 mph in a crosswind with a dog panting in your ear and a soft top roaring, and you would sell it.

so, GX. i drive a JL and my brother in law has a 2015 GX460, and on a long highway day the Lexus is a different planet. quiet, smooth, the V8 does not care about elevation. he swapped the rear to springs at 140k and that was the only real money he has put in it.

one boring thing before you fall in love. the GX at 110 to 130k is usually a second or third owner rig and the maintenance history matters more than which badge is on it. ask for the records on the transfer case and diff fluid, and check whether the timing cover has been weeping, on the V8 it is not cheap to reseal.

and drive both with the dog in the back. not joking. the GX cargo floor is high because of the folded third row and a big dog may not love jumping up there. ours would not.

the brochure links are on lexus.com and toyota's site if you want payload and tow numbers by year. i would check payload on the GX with four people and a rooftop tent, it goes faster than you think.

late to this. the thing you are not thinking about is altitude and passes. you said Colorado. if that means the Million Dollar Highway or anything over 10,000 feet with a full load, the 4.0 in a loaded 4Runner is going to be in 3rd gear and working hard, and the 5 speed will hunt. it gets there. the GX just goes.

off pavement, for what you described, they are the same rig. Old Ore Road does not care which one you bring. tires make more difference than the badge. put a real load range C or E all terrain on whichever you buy and air down for the washboard.