Mr Al Bundy, I am jumping up and down for good reason. The dealer really worked hard to get me out of this situation. (I note that the truck that I traded in in on his lot for only $1000 over what I was given for trade in... when you figure in that I got the new truck for a hair over invoice and that anyone is going to want a discount on the used truck the dealer will be lucky to break even in this deal.... not to mention the cost of certifying it for the CPO Toyota warranty.)
The thread is about gas milage though and here are a few observations regarding that:
-The new truck continues to get better fuel efficiency.
-On both trucks I only use tier 2 gasoline (Texaco and Chevron are the same gas but in our area Texaco is always about $.10-15 cheaper.)
-I broke in both engines with no full throttle acceleration and varying the speed
-Both trucks were delivered with under 10 miles on them so I was not a victim of test drive jockeys
-What makes me feel that there was something wrong other than milage is the fact that the new truck cruises more effortlessly and does not bog down big time on hills.
In regards to the other questions:
- even with a cruising speed of 75 mph I am seeing 20 mpg on the flats (Like the areas around Chicago)
-The Xreas suspension is a big step in the right direction. I have not gone off road but have hit speed humps 5 feet apart at 30 mph... it is firmer than the SR5 but still sucks up the big hits. Much less nose dive under braking and cornering feels like Toyota gave an SR5 to BMW M department for a day to work out the kinks. I am a retired indycar driver and know how to make cars handle... and I am sure that with a few hours at an alignment shop I could improve this truck for on road use.. but with the longer suspension travel I am far from an expert on set up on a 4runner but with my background I can offer a professional opinion about the handling.
-Flatter through the corners so it allows the tires to set quicker in a corner.
-Once set it will follow a line without falling over the outside sidewall of the tires.
-Understeer is acceptable, (For safety all passenger vehicles are set up with understeer.) You can lift off the throttle mid corner and tighten up the line.. in a SR5 you can do this as well but the transition is less predictable and passengers will feel like the truck is going to flip. In the Limited they feel like you are driving swiftly.. in the sr5 they feel that you are being reckless. (This is all based on cloverleaf on ramps and off ramps.)
-You can even trail brake a limited in a corner to tighten up the line... in the SR5 at the limit this tends to cause a push at the front end.
-For the general consumer the limited has more headroom for driver error, it will stop faster because it takes less time for the suspension to firm up on the front end, (less nose dive) and because it is not diving as much... the suspension angles are more consistant under braking making the ability to steer under braking more predictable... also straighter stops.
-This is comparing a YOKO geolander vs Mich MS2. If the MS2 came in the 20X7 inch wheel size I would predict that the handleing gap would even be larger.
The interior.. just go to a toyota dealer. This is subjective. I like the seats and the white stitching on the black leather. I do have to admit that the new navigation system is either a step back or I need to spend a few hours learning all the features. (There must be a mute button that I have missed... I truly hope!) It still is more intuitive than the Idrive in my other car but right now it is rather annoying.
Overall I am a happy camper, and I feel that I just got a monday morning truck in my old SR5. I have written a lot about how the LTD is better than the SR5... the SR5 is still a great truck... better in my opinion if you were driving logging roads all day long... but for the street the Limited is superior. The right tool for the job... that is why hammers come in so many sizes.