Fourwheeler.com 2015 Fourwheeler of the Year

[STX4Runner]

Here's the linK:

2015 Four Wheeler of The Year - Super Showdown

TRD Pro 4Runner vs. Jeep Cherokee Trailhawk and Renegade

4Runner wins the trail performance and emperical categories AND 4 out of 6 judges pick it as their favorite, and it still loses to the Trailhawk! Mostly because of their complaints about its dated interior. To me the Trailhawk interior they picture is hideous. It's the same hard plastic as the 4Runner, but in ugly swoopy shapes. But that's my subjective opinion.

The worst part is the Trailhawk had a software glitch that wouldn't let them shift out of 4-lo or unlock the rear diff. And it still won! Unbeliveable. Let the Jeep bashing begin.

 

[Titanpat57]

finally...

the newbs realize what a great platform it really is...:bash:

 

[Jeremy556]

ound:

 

[Antman]

Soooooo

The Trailhawk wins because it had the best on road performance and a nicer interior- in a 4WD shootout?:drum:

Maybe they need to check out the name of their website again.

What a bunch of pussies.

 

[Jhalko]

Maybe they should rename it "Most Unreliable mall crawler of the year"???

:toilet:

 

[manofsteele2003]

I don't put the Cherokee in the same category as a 4Runner, maybe a grand Cherokee but it's still a junk Chrysler.

 

[wfo9]

A trail-hawk.. It's embarrassing to even compete against that thing. Why not a wrangler ultimate. The jeep guys must be cracking up on this one.

 

[BlackWorksInc]

The funny part is reading the comments, about 90%~95% of the comments are saying the same thing; they can't believe the 4Runner lost.

I don't understand who the hell came up with this comparison let alone tried to even shoe horn those tiny Fiat Renegades in!

On a side note, this is a pretty neat toy...

Troller T4

 

[Curly Jefferson]

Here's the linK:

2015 Four Wheeler of The Year - Super Showdown

TRD Pro 4Runner vs. Jeep Cherokee Trailhawk and Renegade

Here's the linK:

2015 Four Wheeler of The Year - Super Showdown

TRD Pro 4Runner vs. Jeep Cherokee Trailhawk and Renegade

4Runner wins the trail performance and emperical categories AND 4 out of 6 judges pick it as their favorite, and it still loses to the Trailhawk! Mostly because of their complaints about its dated interior. To me the Trailhawk interior they picture is hideous. It's the same hard plastic as the 4Runner, but in ugly swoopy shapes. But that's my subjective opinion.

The worst part is the Trailhawk had a software glitch that wouldn't let them shift out of 4-lo or unlock the rear diff. And it still won! Unbeliveable. Let the Jeep bashing begin.

I know this will get me me flamed but being diehard Toyota fans you guys are a bit biased. You really need to spend some time behind the wheel of both vehicles before you can honestly say anything good or bad about either vehicle. I have owed both and have found good and bad in both vehicles. I didn't read the review but from personal experience I can tell you the Trailhawk is light years ahead of the 4Runner in technology and comfort.

I owned a 2014 Cherokee Trailhawk for 9,000 miles before trading it in for a 2014 4Runner SR5 Premium last July. The only reason that I traded it is was because we found out that we were having a new baby and we have 2 big dogs and the cargo storage area was too small.

I took the Trailhawk off-road several times and was pleasantly surprised with the suspension and 4 wheel drive features. I never had a real problem with the Jeep the entire time I drove it.

In my opinion you get more for your money with the Trailhawk. Many may say the trailhawk front end is ugly but the 4Runner gets equally bashed by many as ugly in the front end. Personally I like them both.

The following is a short list of the pros/cons of each vehicle.

Trailhhawk:

Pros:
V6 Pentastar has way more power and gets better mileage than the 4.0 liter Toyota

Infotainment/ Navigation system: much more polished with 8.4An system (alpine speakers and Garmin Navigation) Remote start is built in and can be started from anywhere in the world from phone (in U.S. Market)

Passive entry (smart key) available in models other than Limited.

Real Leather Seats/ more comfortable seats.

Heated steering wheel

Quieter inside than the 4Runner.

Dash is not hard plastic like the OP states, it's more of a soft leather like material, overall interior is much nicer and has nice touches that the toyota doesn't have.

5 year 100,000 mile warranty.


A fully loaded Trailhawk can be purchased for 5-10k less than a fully loaded 4Runner Limited or TEP .

Cons:

Some complaints about the new 9 speed transmission

Cargo area smaller than competition.

Lack of availability for suspension upgrades and aftermarket parts.

Lack of availability of aftermarket wheels due to bolt pattern.

Built on a car frame.


4Runner

pros:

Reputation for having reliable engine and drivetrain.

Reputation of having high resale value.

Roomy cargo area.

Availability of aftermarket suspension lifts and parts are endless.

Built on a light truck frame.

More leg room in rear seats.

Cons:

Dated interior

Cheap plastics used in interior (scratches really easily too)

Navigation not user friendly/ pretty ugly. (Entune Premium)

Poor fuel economy

Engine lacks power

Poor lighting in interior

Lack of switch to turn on all interior lights

Rood noise while driving.

Lack of automatic lift gate.

Lack of option of smart key in any model except limited.

Remote start is extra $$

Here is a picture of my Trailhawk and another of the 4Runner.

4 Runner is getting Toytec Boss lift as well as TRD Pro Wheels and new Tires Tuesday!

 

[JSparky]

I'd wager a bet that the testers in this review didn't have ATRAC or Crawl Control engaged.. oh wait, Four Wheeler nailed the 4Runner for these "techno add-ons" in their 2013 shootout.

The Ultimate Factory 4x4 Shootout - Four Wheeler Magazine

These guys really do a poor job at outlining their test parameters. That said I'm actually quite fond of the new Cherokee, I think vehicles like that will suit a lot of peoples needs/wants/desires. I'm just calling out the ambiguous testing protocols some of these magazines use.

 

[STX4Runner]

Here's the linK:

2015 Four Wheeler of The Year - Super Showdown

TRD Pro 4Runner vs. Jeep Cherokee Trailhawk and Renegade



I know this will get me me flamed but being diehard Toyota fans you guys are a bit biased. You really need to spend some time behind the wheel of both vehicles before you can honestly say anything good or bad about either vehicle. I have owed both and have found good and bad in both vehicles. I didn't read the review but from personal experience I can tell you the Trailhawk is light years ahead of the 4Runner in technology and comfort.

I owned a 2014 Cherokee Trailhawk for 9,000 miles before trading it in for a 2014 4Runner SR5 Premium last July. The only reason that I traded it is was because we found out that we were having a new baby and we have 2 big dogs and the cargo storage area was too small.

I took the Trailhawk off-road several times and was pleasantly surprised with the suspension and 4 wheel drive features. I never had a real problem with the Jeep the entire time I drove it.

In my opinion you get more for your money with the Trailhawk. Many may say the trailhawk front end is ugly but the 4Runner gets equally bashed by many as ugly in the front end. Personally I like them both.

The following is a short list of the pros/cons of each vehicle.

Trailhhawk:

Pros:
V6 Pentastar has way more power and gets better mileage than the 4.0 liter Toyota

Infotainment/ Navigation system: much more polished with 8.4An system (alpine speakers and Garmin Navigation) Remote start is built in and can be started from anywhere in the world from phone (in U.S. Market)

Passive entry (smart key) available in models other than Limited.

Real Leather Seats/ more comfortable seats.

Heated steering wheel

Quieter inside than the 4Runner.

Dash is not hard plastic like the OP states, it's more of a soft leather like material, overall interior is much nicer and has nice touches that the toyota doesn't have.

5 year 100,000 mile warranty.


A fully loaded Trailhawk can be purchased for 5-10k less than a fully loaded 4Runner Limited or TEP .

Cons:

Some complaints about the new 9 speed transmission

Cargo area smaller than competition.

Lack of availability for suspension upgrades and aftermarket parts.

Lack of availability of aftermarket wheels due to bolt pattern.

Built on a car frame.


4Runner

pros:

Reputation for having reliable engine and drivetrain.

Reputation of having high resale value.

Roomy cargo area.

Availability of aftermarket suspension lifts and parts are endless.

Built on a light truck frame.

More leg room in rear seats.

Cons:

Dated interior

Cheap plastics used in interior (scratches really easily too)

Navigation not user friendly/ pretty ugly. (Entune Premium)

Poor fuel economy

Engine lacks power

Poor lighting in interior

Lack of switch to turn on all interior lights

Rood noise while driving.

Lack of automatic lift gate.

Lack of option of smart key in any model except limited.

Remote start is extra $$

Here is a picture of my Trailhawk and another of the 4Runner.

4 Runner is getting Toytec Boss lift as well as TRD Pro Wheels and new Tires Tuesday!

I know I'm biased, but I actually think the Trailhawk Cherokee is kinda cool. I have seen a few in person, and aside from the funky front end (seriously, I cant even tell which set of "eyes" are the headlights!) they look aggressive and cool. And applaud Jeep for having off roaders in mind when they make these things, advertising them as off roaders and putting videos out there of it on trails like Hell's Revenge, something I think Toyota could do a better job at with the 4Runner, btw. I was mainly commenting on their weird test, where the TRD Pro wins three categories (including off road, and fourwheeler IS an offroad magazine), is picked as the personal favorite by 4 of 6 judges, doesn't suffer a breakdown, and still looses. Congrats on the new 4Runner, I hope you enjoy it and absolutely take it off road. You're probably on of the few who took his Trailhawk off road.

 

[Donkey]

He with the biggest ad budget wins...surprised to see fw mag is still in business, they jumped the shark many years ago.

A four wheeler mag project vehicle that was never spoken of again:

The Cherokee broke during the test and could not continue? Past performance is indicative of future results: Trade in quality index

 

[1engineer]

He with the biggest ad budget wins...surprised to see fw mag is still in business, they jumped the shark many years ago.

A four wheeler mag project vehicle that was never spoken of again:

The Cherokee broke during the test and could not continue? Past performance is indicative of future results: Trade in quality index

EXACTLY^^^. Guys, c'mon. What makes the world go 'round? Money. So following that vein what would get a vehicle that breaks down, is judged by on highway handling and road noise in an off road test and has no real aftermarket support? Advertising money! It's very simple really. It wouldn't matter if the Unimog was up against Jeep unless they spent buttloads of money advertising they will not win.

Oh, and a quick secret for the guy above who has both the Jeep and the 4Runner:
Warranties are nothing more than sales concessions. Usually big warranties mean big problems.

 

[KidVermicious]

Warranties are nothing more than sales concessions. Usually big warranties mean big problems.

This. The cost of all those repairs the Jeep is going to need are factored into the selling price of the Jeep. One way or another the owner is going to pay to fix it.

 

[Curly Jefferson]

Oh, and a quick secret for the guy above who has both the Jeep and the 4Runner:
Warranties are nothing more than sales concessions. Usually big warranties mean big problems.

So being a logical thinker like most engineers are, would you rather have a 100,000 mile warranty on your 4Runner if your engine or transmission died at 97,000 miles? Using that same logic, if Toyota is so good why not up the warranty like the rest of the competition if they never break down? Seems like that would boost the sales across the board. There is no such thing as a perfect vehicle and even if there were, many problems are caused by driver neglect and abuse.


I had a transmission go out at 105,000 on my Ram 2500 with a cummins engine and Dodge still warrantied the issue. That was pretty good in my book.

 

[Curly Jefferson]

This. The cost of all those repairs the Jeep is going to need are factored into the selling price of the Jeep. One way or another the owner is going to pay to fix it.

A better equipped Jeep Cherokee Trailhawk can be purchased for much less than a TRD Pro 4 Runner.

When the warranty is out on the 4Runner at 36,000 the same can be said about it.

 

[KidVermicious]

A better equipped Jeep Cherokee Trailhawk can be purchased for much less than a TRD Pro 4 Runner.

Yeah, there's a reason it costs less - it's a Jeep. "Better equipped" doesn't mean a damned thing when it's all bells, whistles, and bling.

Look, I'm glad you're happy with your Jeep. If it's working for you, that's great, and I mean that. But it can't wheel with a stock 4Runner, let alone a Trail or TRD Pro, and it won't be on the road half as long, or hold it's value half as well. For what most of the guys on this board want from an SUV, the Trailhawk isn't even in the same league, not by an order of magnitude.

 

[Donkey]

I purchased a Jeep with a lifetime power train warranty offered directly by the manufacturer. Turns out it was not worth the paper it was written on. About two years later the company was declared bankrupt and the warranty was terminated. My local dealership was closed. Friends who had always helped and worked with me to fix multiple Jeeps were suddenly without jobs. Until that point I was a loyal Jeep customer, putting up with the obvious quality issues but enjoying the solid axles, off-road features and the top down driving I've known for years. I'll never buy another Jeep product and it would be hard for me to purchase anything from fiat.

The new fiat cherokee seemed like such a good vehicle on paper but the final product is a poor value, quite a change from the function over form of the XJ. Production was halted for months due to issues with the transmission, a significant number of vehicles were already built. This is not a good sign of a properly engineered vehicle.

A well-optioned trailhawk is $37,460 and does not provide significant fuel savings when compared to a 4Runner. Compare Side-by-Side

I found the interior room pretty small considering how big it is on the outside. They may have a hit with the renegade for CUV buyers, only time will tell if it can hold up. This FWOTY is laughable.

 

[BlackWorksInc]

Here's the linK:

2015 Four Wheeler of The Year - Super Showdown

TRD Pro 4Runner vs. Jeep Cherokee Trailhawk and Renegade

I know this will get me me flamed but being diehard Toyota fans you guys are a bit biased. You really need to spend some time behind the wheel of both vehicles before you can honestly say anything good or bad about either vehicle. I have owed both and have found good and bad in both vehicles. I didn't read the review but from personal experience I can tell you the Trailhawk is light years ahead of the 4Runner in technology and comfort.

I owned a 2014 Cherokee Trailhawk for 9,000 miles before trading it in for a 2014 4Runner SR5 Premium last July. The only reason that I traded it is was because we found out that we were having a new baby and we have 2 big dogs and the cargo storage area was too small.

I took the Trailhawk off-road several times and was pleasantly surprised with the suspension and 4 wheel drive features. I never had a real problem with the Jeep the entire time I drove it.

In my opinion you get more for your money with the Trailhawk. Many may say the trailhawk front end is ugly but the 4Runner gets equally bashed by many as ugly in the front end. Personally I like them both.

The following is a short list of the pros/cons of each vehicle.

Trailhhawk:

Pros:
V6 Pentastar has way more power and gets better mileage than the 4.0 liter Toyota
Infotainment/ Navigation system: much more polished with 8.4An system (alpine speakers and Garmin Navigation) Remote start is built in and can be started from anywhere in the world from phone (in U.S. Market)

Passive entry (smart key) available in models other than Limited.

Real Leather Seats/ more comfortable seats.

Heated steering wheel

Quieter inside than the 4Runner.

Dash is not hard plastic like the OP states, it's more of a soft leather like material, overall interior is much nicer and has nice touches that the toyota doesn't have.

5 year 100,000 mile warranty.


A fully loaded Trailhawk can be purchased for 5-10k less than a fully loaded 4Runner Limited or TEP .

Cons:

Some complaints about the new 9 speed transmission

Cargo area smaller than competition.

Lack of availability for suspension upgrades and aftermarket parts.

Lack of availability of aftermarket wheels due to bolt pattern.

Built on a car frame.


4Runner

pros:

Reputation for having reliable engine and drivetrain.

Reputation of having high resale value.

Roomy cargo area.

Availability of aftermarket suspension lifts and parts are endless.

Built on a light truck frame.

More leg room in rear seats.

Cons:

Dated interior

Cheap plastics used in interior (scratches really easily too)

Navigation not user friendly/ pretty ugly. (Entune Premium)

Poor fuel economy

Engine lacks power

Poor lighting in interior

Lack of switch to turn on all interior lights

Rood noise while driving.

Lack of automatic lift gate.

Lack of option of smart key in any model except limited.

Remote start is extra $$

Here is a picture of my Trailhawk and another of the 4Runner.

4 Runner is getting Toytec Boss lift as well as TRD Pro Wheels and new Tires Tuesday!

I've highlighted some key points that should be expanded on.

First off the Pentastar motors have a horrible reputation for reliability, to the point one of our parts guys who worked for Jeep noted they stock over half a dozen cylinder head assemblies ON the shelves Not to mention other issues with those engines that break down.

The 9-spd tansmission is having issues beyond the supposed "calibration" reflash needed and is out of the gate proving unreliable at best.

While the Trailhawk is a nice package overall, it is unfair to try and compare the Cherokee with the 4Runner. Chry-crap has always tried to sell their vehicles with extra gizmos and electronics that regularly have issues and fail (there is a reason why modules for Chry-Corp vehicles are hundreds of dollars, vs. a thousand or more for most any other brand.) More electronics/fancy crap doesn't mean much when its not reliable, all it does is translate into more cost for the owner when it fails.

Conversely I think Toyota is a bit too conservative with their technology and should probably offer more things standard; but their business model in regards to options has been pretty good considering that the Entune units tend to be their biggest issue reliability wise at the moment (where as many other gadet loaded brands are having constant electrical issues in various "creature comforts."

Also, the motorized tailgate is just an investment in future problems. We are having spotted issues with even the Toyota systems and honestly I see a lot of failures in other manufactuers. These systems also don't seem to be as good as plain door (even in "manual mode" there is too much resistance in opening/closing and you can hear most designs turning the motor even though it's not energized) and many have less opening arc than plain doors (i.e. they can't open as high.)

The fact that all of Jeep's off-road vehicle save for the wrangler are built on UniBodies is a major strike against those vehicles. They may be fine on some lightly maintained fire-roads, but regular off-roading that the 4Runner handles with stride will stress the frame and cause issues; this has been a huge point of contention with JGC owners of various generations I have met who regularly off-road their vehicles.

I will also point out that it seems FourWheelerMagazines' criteria for judging these vehicles is highly inconsistent and obviously biased to the Jeeps (I don't think it would have mattere if it was a Toyota 4Runner or not.)

I actually had the opportunity to watch Renegades in action at our local off-road run where Jeep had a press release going on. You could see they couldn't handle steep inclines (they went backwards down than up later in the day because they couldn't make it up) and they couldn't handle much more than basic obstacles, if that. The Renegade should not have even been put in the same category as the 4Runner, maybe the Rav4. As for the Cherokee, I would say it barely squeaks by as common ground against teh 4Runner in Trailhawk skin mostly because it gains some off-road prowess through that trim.

Speaking of which, note that multiple examples of these Jeeps falling short of their off-road expectations are noted in the article and other articles prior to this. Even inspite of those failures they were supposedly "better" off-road than the 4Runner or any comparable 4x4?

Not entirely sure what "cheap interior plastics" means considering that almost EVERY vehicle I see these days looks like it has cheap plastics in it. Nor do I understand the "dated interior" comment, the 4Runner looks just as modern as most SUVs, its just more angular than the "futuristic" swoopiness of the Jeep I guess which means its ancient? You want to talk about dated interiors look at 4Runner interiors from the 4th Gen up and compare them to any GM truck or SUV; those things looked like they were stuck in the 90's well into 2010.

The 4Runner's engine performance is unfortunately a result of Toyota's focus on fuel economy rather than anything else. The "Eco" mode built into the ECM just doesn't let the new Dual VVTi 1GR-FE perform the way it should in terms of shift mapping & throttle response. A very big point against the 5th Gen 4Runner in my book.

Bottom line is that the article is obviously biased towards the Jeeps which historically always look nice on paper or at press releases; but fail to perform off-road for long (the Wrangler expcepted mainly because its a 4WD done right in comparision to these CUV wannabes, even with its own gremlins.) The 4Runner should have won based on their criteria and it obviously performed better than either vehicle based on their criteria. I'm confident the result would have been the same had the 4Runner been replaced with another non-Jeep vehicle based on how the article is written.

When you review vehicles like this magazines like to carefully omit and/or "forget" reliability and real world issues that affect their test vehicles in favor of easier comparisions. In the real-world the new Fiat based offerings fall far short of their advertising.

 

[diverscale]

How in the hell can they find that horrible jeep cherokee interior more appealing than the 4runner's?

Is the reviewer on drugs? I guess he likes the look of alien ship cockpits.