That thing is awful. Yuck.

That's what I hoping for. Took me 20 years to hit 300K..Just now getting it broke in!!

The 3rd gen interior is classic and enduring. Sure it will look out of place in 20 more years, but I can almost bet it will all still be working as designed!

As people complain about the prices of new trucks, just look at how much more you get. The base package today would be at least mid tier 20 years ago.

Infotainment, puh-leeze. Over here we got one of them cupholder mounted iPad holders. Plug that into the car stereo and NOW we're talking high tech.

You should see what the newest golf is like, the one you linked is the last generation and VW totally screwed up the new one. The new golf has the worst interior design I have ever seem (in terms of messing up basic stuff). Everything is a haptic button, the volume is a haptic slider and it is not backlit even at night. This sums the new Mk8 GTI interior.

yikes..

Hah that makes me rage and I’ll never even sit in one of those. JFC.

That's not necessarily a good thing, all that really means is cars are much more expensive than before for not a whole lot in return. Which checks out, cause 40% of a new cars price can be attributed to electronics - half of which are nanny systems, the other half are gizmos and gimmicks that people very rarely enable, if ever. Which wouldn't be so much of a problem if they weren't deliberately doing it with the cheapest electronics around (presumably for creating planned obsolescence like every other industry)
I don't know about you but I'd much rather have the average price of a new car be closer to $25k and have a bunch of things I want and need than $40k or above and be crammed full of shit I never wanted and, most importantly, will NEVER use - all just because it's "futuristic" or "ahead of the curve"
What we're seeing I'd argue is very close to cars of the 60s and similar vintage, when practically everything was thrown out the window in favor of style - we're living through this but instead sacrificing safety for sexy and aggressive design we're sacrificing reliability, availability, cost of ownership, etc. for cheap chinese trinkets and halfway-novelties as a means of projecting this outdated, pre-2000s notion of what the future will be like and how "we're totally living it, man"

I agree having a computer screen with all these apps is highly distracting and makes it less safe on the road.

When the radio went put in my 01 4runner I replaced it with a cheap Pioneer double in. Gave me bluetooth, and I can add cameras in the future if I want to.

I had Pioneer decks in my cars for years back in the day so I'm confident in reliability, plus is was only like 160 bucks on Amazon.

This model let's you pick display color. I selected the green and it matches the oem dash lights very well. I love how basic my 4runner is.

Its not like the 3rd gen 4runners don't have issues with electronics. There are large threads on this forum covering how to fix the digital clock, how to fix the automatic climate controls that all eventually go haywire, and how the clutch start cancel works if it still does. The power antenna is usually broken, or had to be replaced if it does work.

I bet if you tried playing a cassette in your original radio, you would find that the cassette player would just buzz at least in one direction, maybe even both. You would also find that the part of the mechanism responsible for automatically setting the bias for metal and chrome tapes wouldn't work. I know this because I took apart 2 factory radios and only one of the four cog gears between them was still intact, and neither detected when I had a metal tape inserted.

Minor issues all things considered, but considering how many more electronics are fitted in modern cars it will be 100 times worse when they reach the age of our 3rd gens.

Haha, I have a 2019 Corolla XSE and this is the same interior and infotainment screen i have! I agree with you though, the screen is kinda tacky. I can live with the screen though, the CVT transmission is so annoying it makes me want to trade the car off

Man, thats bull! My wife has a ‘15 Focus with a backup camera and I never use that thing. All these sensors and cameras are doing is training the driver to be more lazy and more ballsy on the road, if you’ve driven through Houston traffic you know what I’m talking about. There’s no respect for cars anymore, they’re just a bunch of rolling bluetooth washing machines.

I installed a double din in my t4r thats compatible with a backup camera and I refuse to add one. They’re handy, yes, without a doubt and some cars need them (although few) but a good, responsible driver will know how to drive a car safely without all these add on’s.

Those come in a manual trans... seems like an easy choice. An nobody would be able to borrow your car.

-Charlie

I consider these infotainment systems obsolete the moment you drive off the lot. The simpler vehicle tends to age better. Ever seen the navigation system in a 2003 Mercedes? It looks disgusting now. Take a look at the average Lexus GX470 for sale. Most had that premium infotainment package with the navigation. The climate controls are integrated into that screen. The base models are more desirable for that reason.

At least a plain double din dash will be upgradable.

My wife drives a GTI now, it is a nice interior. Especially coming from the 4runner, which I drive most days now.