-7 7 WH]TBY PF PRESS, Durham Moves, SEPItEMBER 21,'1988, PAGE A5, 4Runner, -aut*lity vehicle you can,,do.more1with By Alex Law Which of these names does flot belon g on thislist: Marcel Marceau, Placido Doming Toy- ota 4Runner? Torvil an dbean, or Slim Whlitman? Be careful, it's flot as obvious as it looks. You have 'as long as you need to figure it out. You're right, the answer is Slim Whitman and here's why. >Out of aIl those highly prais- ed and beloved performers, Slim's is the'only talent I an- preciate with abandon. In this, clearly. I arn in the minority. When 1 p ut one of Slim's roman- tic y odelling records on the ster- eoI can clear the block within one cut. 1I Remember You" is the song that- has the most startling affect. Anyway, I will try to explain to you why the Toyota 4Runner doesn't make me misty-eyed the way Slim does. In simple terms, I just don't care for utility veh- icdes. Along with 4Runner, this group includes such worthies as Ford Bronco II, Jeep Cherokee, Chevrolet Blazer, and Nissan Pathfinder. In case you're not.*fariliar with the genre, let me give you a quick rundown: a utility vehicle is sort of Sylvester Stallone in a. suit; it has its uses anid its fans, but it just doesn't seem right to me. Maybe that's because I live in the city. Maybe if I lived in the country and had to traverse trackless wastes with two kids and a sick heifer in the back I oudcorne, around. Under those circinltances I can sée what it isé,that excites people. FI" ist and foremost this is a ,utility vehicle. That means you can do more. with it. You can drive it around town, along the ,hi hwayi. or across a muddy nDni'hVoet1Îé *éek. I.adthe 4-> ~unner t1 'è were no -chances to ry out that last surface despite my best efforts. The Ust, or ý,Worst I coul d do was some un- ,ýv.d ,sa4dsections a long .the ý.~ t.6p in Hamilton. The 41Rtnnr -5 and I survived- without incident. What more can I say? I know the 4Runner could have handled worse conditions' because it's built to handle worse. To start with, it is four-wheel -drive. Ià simple ternis, this means that aIl the wheels are capable of receiving power from the 'engine, so if one, two or even three of the mud-and-snow steel radials can't get traction, the rernainders do. If the surface or the gr ade, isn't too awful, the vehicle moves. Other mechanical features worth noting are the power brakes (disc front/druni rear') and. the independent tor- TOYOTA 4-RUNNER OFF Check your vehicle for rust and you might not sec any! But don't be fooled - the rust that's destroying your car is hidden in the scams and crevices. Thesecritical areas mustremain frce ofrust to maintain your car's structural integrity and appearance. RusT- RRmcKWOiu< Rust Check, a unique, annual anti-rust treatment, is the answer. 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The down sida of -this clearance is that the 4Runner is less easy to enter than is a car; wornen in tight skirts find it particularly difficult to board, and if they are Pssigned to ride in the back seat they can get downright surly. And there is that room in the back for the sick heifer or the gazpacho machine. Along with the two bucket seats fore there is that three-person bench in the back. Put that back seat down, by the way, and the rear com- partrnent volume goes fromn 44.5 to 80.8 cubic féeLt If you're really, really adven- turesome,, y ou cari pop the 4Runner's fiber reinforced, pla- stic rear top, though. that act didn't look easy, an opinion that is supported by the fact that I've neyer seen 'a 4Runner topless, and I see a lot of 4Runners. .The 4Runner cornes with a 2.4-litre fuel-injected four ýthat produces 116 horsepower. A manual five-speed overdrive transmission is standard, and a four-speed overdrive' automatic is. optional. Also optional is the 145-horsepower V6 that rny lav- ishingly equipped test vehicle had. Other options included à cassette deck ($285), moon roof ($470), power package ($1,130), an.d sportseats. ($385). The base price was $22,178 and with op- tions the vehicle cost $24, 958. I had a chance to give it my personal litmus test for ride smoothness - holding a full cup SEE PAGE A6 OUrr OUR RECORD 0F 15 YEARS, 750,000 APPLICATIONS AND NOT ONE WARRANTY CLAIM FOR PRODUCT FAILURE DEMONSTRATES RUST CHECK WORKS! GOOD REASONS! Today's new lighter unitized (frameless) car bodies need Rust Check's protection because rust: 1. Weakens the structure of your car. 2. Reduces the resale value, and 3. Ruins your car'sgood looks. CASH IN'Now The attâched $ 10.00 'Rust Chcck' is valid at participating dlealers (one per vehicle.) NOW ONLY with attach.ed cheque. 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