Had a 99 Tacoma Extended Cab 4wd with the 2.7 liter 4 banger. It was a bullet proof truck. Had to replace the contacts in the starter and replace the interior dome lamp. Sold it to my brother in law and it has been reliable for him. Just last year he finally had to replace the factory muffler. The rest of the exhaust system was fine. 1999 models were covered under the frame recall but mine had no problems and still does not. Don't get a lot of snow here so not a lot of salt used.
My wife had a 2001 4Runner that was a solid vehicle as well. A previous poster mentioned the 4Runner and a lack of traction. I never ran into that problem unless I purposely tried to make it loose. I ran Michelin LTX MS2's and BFG AT's on the Tacoma and did not have any traction issues in the rain. The Tacoma rear end would move around really quick in ice or snow but put it in 4wd and it went like a little tank. The 4Runner handled much better in the rain, snow and ice.
