It does improve grounds clearance. I'm assuming you're referring to the rear subframe drop spacers? If so, you're correct that a 2" lift with the rear drop will not lift all of the car's components 2", but it does lift almost everything except the rear subframe 2", and it looks to me like the low point stock is the CVT pan area. I have certainly had a lot of impacts there prior to lifting. The better approach angle and clearance is very noticeable for what I do. I went from having hits on the skid plates that needed to be pounded out after almost every trip, to not even having any hits at all on many trips.
It'll never be as capable as a stock 4runner, but it's also cheaper and averages 26 MPGs. I think there's a straw man argument that gets brought up a lot in this discussion, like you either get a Wrangler to rock crawl, or you're a poser who doesn't know that his little CUV with KO2s isn't a rock crawler. The fact is that most people's use case is somewhere in between. A lifted Subaru with mild tires is incredibly capable without a lot of the drawbacks of a "true 4x4."
And, of course there's plenty of folks who put KO2 and a MR502s on with a lift just for the look, but there's a lot of shiny Jeeps out there who never leave pavement too.
