Early couple of years were notorious for bad release bearing in the clutch. Also, note that the auto tranny version is part time 4x4 and the manual is full time 4x4. I bought mine used over a year ago with a 3" lift and 33" muds and it gets 15mpg. That sucks but it sure is real super fun to drive around. A few mods can really transform it's visual impact. Mine has some failing 4th and 5th gear syncros at 100k miles, but I think the first owner might have run it real hard. Regardless, I'm not looking forward to fixing that and didn't expect that out of a toyota. I can't find much info on the web about that so I don't think it's common.

Soccer moms hate the suicide rear doors in a parking lot situation. I don't have kids or use the back seat much, so I like them. Many also hate the giant c-pillars and blind spots. I've driven trucks forever and don't mind that, but it is quite noticeable, especially combined with the height of the truck and a giant spare tire blocking most of the small rear window. But the backup sensors save the day on that front when parking. You really feel like you are down in the truck when driving; the front dash and hood seem super high. But you get used to that and other vehicles start to feel weird. You can't fit as much stuff as you'd think into the back. It is faster and handles way better than any truck I've owned. After a year of ownership I still love it to death every time I drive it. Personally I do wish it was either a v8 or a diesel but toyota diesel trucks in the US are pretty much a pipe dream for some unfathomable reason.

I looked at 4-runners for a while, but they stopped making manual tranny 4-runners back around 2000.

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