Quote:
Originally Posted by P1
I've rented quite a few 4Runners and although I don't doubt they'll be reliable, I've never driven a car that makes so much to move so slowly.
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Much of the 4th gen 4Runner's acceleration lagginess is the long gearing of the ancient 5 speed auto and very linear and slow throttle made specifically for rock crawling. When you go full throttle, they really aren't that slow and will do mid to upper 7 second 0-60 and upper 15s in the upper 80s in the 1/4 mile. That's not terrible at all. The throttle response can be greatly improved with a Sprint Booster or similar which makes a massive difference in the way the truck drives.
My wife's 2020 4Runner TRD Offroad done up to look like Pro gets 17mpg whether on flat road, going up a mountain, or dropped out of the back of a plane.
She absolutely loves the thing and yeah, it doesn't see much offroad driving though she wants to learn. She loves small/midsize Toyota trucks and she paddleboards all the time. With the 4Runner, she simply drops the back window and shoves the board in the back. Couldn't be easier instead of having to strap the thing to a roof rack or similar.
IMO, the 5th gen 4Runner could be one hell of a midsize truck but Toyota is just too dam conservative. Their 8 speed auto and reworking of the heads to use direct injection is all it would have taken. The truck would have improved MPGs earily be 15-20% and would be more powerful and quicker.
I'll have to see what this new 4Runner looks like in person. Like most Toyota products these days, the thing looks a bit over styled and likely won't age well.