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Here's What Our Favorite Off-Roaders Used to Cost
Off-road vehicles have never been more capable, popular and expensive than they are now. Here are what SUVs like the Wrangler, 4Runner and Tacoma used to cost.
Off-road vehicles have never been as popular, capable and well-accessorized as they are today. They also have never been this expensive. Fully-loaded editions of the Jeep Wrangler, Toyota 4Runner, Ford Bronco and others treading into luxury SUV price territory. Even lower-tier new models can be difficult for the average buyer to afford. That was not always the case.
We decided to take a trip back in time and look at what the comparably spartan ancestors of our favorite off-road vehicles today cost at the time based on NADAguides data. We adjusted the price to 2020 using the NerdWallet inflation calculator. Check out the prices in the gallery.
FCA
1 of 7
Jeep Wrangler
Willys began offering the first civilian jeep, the CJ-2A, in 1946.
Base Price (1946): $1,241
Adjusted Price in 2020 Dollars: $16,684
Cost of Gas (1946): $0.21 per gallon
Current Base Price: $28,295
Toyota
2 of 7
Toyota Land Cruiser
Toyota began selling the FJ40 Land Cruiser in 1960. Here's what it cost in 1965.
Base Price (1965): $2,995
Adjusted Price to 2020 Dollars: $24,592
Gas Price (1965): $0.31 per gallon
Current Base Price: $85,515
Ford
3 of 7
Ford Bronco
Ford started selling the first-generation Bronco in 1966. (You may have heard them mentioning that in the past few months.)
Base Price (1966): $2,480
Adjusted Price to 2020 Dollars: $20,639
Gas Price (1966): $0.32 per gallon
Current Base Price: $29,995
Toyota
4 of 7
Toyota 4Runner
Toyota threw a cab on the back of its pickup for the 1984 model year, and the 4Runner was born.
Base Price (1984): $10,298
Adjusted Price to 2020 Dollars: $25,983
Gas Price (1984): $1.13 per gallon
Current Base Price: $36,340
Land Rover
5 of 7
Land Rover Defender
Land Rover's four-year run selling NAS Defenders in the U.S. began in 1994.
Base Price (1994): $27,900
Adjusted Price to 2020 Dollars: $49,353
Gas Price (1994): $1.11 per gallon
Current Base Price: $49,900
Toyota
6 of 7
Toyota Tacoma
Toyota replaced the Hilux in the U.S. market with the Tacoma in 1995.
Base Price (1995): $11,848
Adjusted Price to 2020 Dollars: $20,380
Gas Price (1995): $1.15 per gallon
Current Base Price: $26,150
Mercedes-Benz
7 of 7
Mercedes-Benz G-Class
Mercedes began importing the G-Wagen to the U.S. market itself in 2002, starting with the G500.
