An extra 100-150 horsepower would be nice

IF you need someone to "talk you into it",,,,,,,

I bought my 2019 TRDOR in October 2018. Already have 40k miles on it, and average 21.5 MPG.

With this being my first new vehicle in 31 years, I feel a bit spoiled, and am very happy with mine. I don't have the gripes that many others voice on this forum (well, except the hood scoop glare when the sun is just right - LOL), but I think that's all perspective.

Like many, I've put tons of miles on my two previous 4Runners, so the reliability keeps me here. I've bought nothing but Toyotas since 1982 for that very reason.

Happy hunting!

I was in the same boat as you, but took the plunge in 2017. I still have my '05 though, and love it.

5th Gen Likes:
Same engine/trans as previous generation
Styling
back-up camera
Multi terrain 4WD options
Power outlets in cargo area
Softex


5th Gen Dislikes:
No locking gas door
No auto-locking rear hatch
No drivers A pillar grab handle
Oil filter location (a little more work to access)
Rear seats don't fold flat on vehicles without the sliding tray option

I have the V6. Honestly the only thing I’ve been hesitant about is the supposed lack of power compared to the 4th gen and the lack of real innovation in the Powertrain. On everything else mostly I’m already sold. Don’t need a lot of creature comforts but would at least like Nav or Apple car play along with Bluetooth. I also wish the towing capacity was higher.

My statement was mostly tongue in cheek. I don’t really need much convincing. At this point it’s honestly just having to wait. I don’t like multiple car payments so once the wife’s Lexus is paid off in the fall I will finally get the 4runner. But I am really concerned I’m gonna get in this 5th gen and it drives like a 4cylinder corolla with no power. A minor loss in power I doubt I will even notice. I don’t hot rod my 4th gen unless I have to.

Power isn't as anemic as people make it sound:

2019 TRD Off-Road Premium 4x4 5A 7.7 sec 16.0 sec @ 88 mph Car and Driver
2005 Sport Edition V8 4x4 5A 7.2 sec 15.7 sec @ 88 mph Car and Driver

Perhaps the V8's torque and the Gen4's lighter weight (about 300lbs. less) contribute to the feel, but there's only a few tenths' actual difference. And probably almost identical to what you drive today. So if you consider your 2005 to be anemic, then a 2020 will seem that way, too.

I bought my 17 SR5 three months ago to supplement my 68 F100 that I've been driving for 33 years.
I don't care for the T4R zig-zag shifter, though I see the reason for it (our Dodge Magnum has the same goofy thing).
Everything else is great. Headlights, brakes, acceleration, torque, mirrors. All good.
Does it handle like the Magnum? No. Can it haul as much as my or my Wifes pickup (07 Ram 2500 quad cab long bed 4x4 hemi)? No. Is it as fast as either of my 40 year old motorcycles? No.
It's not quite as capable as the Wranglers I looked, but close. It's better suited to transporting 4 adults than the Wrangler.
For what I want, it's darn near perfect. Even the Wife likes it (though she'll never admit it)

Sent from my SM-G955U using Tapatalk

Have you driven both? To me the power feels just like my old 3rd gen with the 3.4 in it no matter what car and driver says.
Love the way the 5th looks but the creature comforts,seats,blind spots and lastly the power just stopped us from taking the plunge. Find one with a supercharger,that would be sweet. I do live in the mountains where you need power for getting over the passes,I'm sure if you drive flatter roads it's just fine as is.

I came from a V8 2015 Tundra doublecab with 6.5ft bed to a 2015 4Runner TRD PRO. Some may say I down graded but I believe I upgraded.

As most Cons that people have is the lack of power which honestly doesn’t really bother me, especially coming from a V8. You can always slap on a supercharger to take care of this. The headlights can also be upgraded. The only thing that I would be stuck with is the poor mpg’s but its a little better than my Tundra but not by much.

The Pros (for me at least) is that I can now park in my garage. The Tundra could not fit and was always parked outside, always getting dirty and dusty from the weather. Weather does so much damage to a vehicle over time.
I can now maneuver easily through crowded parking lots. The Tundra needed more effort and it was a tight squeeze getting in and out of parking spots as I had to hold the door so I wouldn’t door ding the vehicle next to me. I received several door dings from other cars from drivers and passengers who didn’t care for my truck. A full size truck is too wide for these itty bitty parking spots. Especially if you have kids that you need to take in and out.

I do miss the Tundra truck bed for when I need to haul stuff but I can always borrow my fathers Tacoma or rent a trailer for such things.

Noticed the new Honda Pilot has the same towing capacity as the 4Runner....not that it was a lot to start with...but sad that its the same as a honda

All to say I love my 4Runner. It does lack power, but it is very capable and is up for almost any job (except towing lol). No frills interior that is functional and spacious. BOF construction. Lots of aftermarket support, including a Magnuson S/C that will fix the power issue.

If you want more space and power, I would strongly suggest going with a GX. A lightly used one won't set you much further back than a new ORP 4Runner.

I've not driven both. Everywhere I research (not just Car and Driver), I see the V8 and the current V6 within a few tenths of each other in both 0-60 and quarter mile. In my world and experience, that's not much, especially since it's a truck and not a high-performance car. And no, the 3rd Gen isn't even close, in feel or in acceleration/elapsed times. I had a 2001 just before buying my 2019, so I do know the feel. I also get that high altitudes sap the power of any vehicle, as I've experienced a number of times. Especially fun in my 1988 with the 22R-E, LOL.

I'm simply trying to give the OP some facts on the performance differences.

I absolutely love mine, I can see myself getting another 4Runner 5-10 years down the road. It needs a bit more power but it's enough for a daily. The oem lights are awful too, but other than that I have no complaints. I was reluctant about TSS but I love the adaptive cruise control on the highway when you are behind people who don't like to use cruise control. They keyless entry is very nice as well. I can go on and on but I'm sure the others have touched base on all the other things.

I have yet to take it out for a good ride in the trails since I picked it up in the winter and they are snowed in, but spring is coming.


Edit: I don’t know how people think this has bad blindspots, they must not be able to see over the steering wheel because you can see literally everything around you.

For a big suv, it’s not very roomy for tall people. Expect to move your seat all the way forward if placing a car seat in the back.


2001 SR5 4x4 Premium
2017 SR5 4x4 Premium

OK, because you asked, and because probably not many folks here have actually had long term (or any?) experience with prior generations of 4Runner.

I had two prior generations, the last being a 3rd gen (2000 model year) Sport model. Bought in 2000 and sold in 2016 with with just over 100,000 on the clock, so not driven much compared to some here. It was bulletproof - over the entire ownership period I spent less than $2000 on ALL maintenance/repairs - that included consumables like brakes and tires. Remarkable! So when I sold the 2000 I just bought the current equivalent without wasting much thought on it - a 2011 Trail, used this time but low miles, maintenance history, etc. I've had the trail for 3 years/20,000 miles now.

The 5th gen is a more cheaply made vehicle, period. In my opinion Toyota is now building to a price point rather than a quality standard. That's not to say it's not still a great vehicle, it's just not as robust, nor built with as much attention to detail as the prior generations. I'm sure I'm going to get flamed here but that's certainly my reality. Here's my off the cuff list of why, some are big, some are small, all are annoying to someone who had a better prior experience:

• Glovebox light only turns on if headlights are on.
• Rear hatch window can no longer be controlled with the remote like on the 2000 4runner
• No more electric defoggers for rear side windows like on the 2000 4runner
• Rear heater no longer has separate heat exchanger like on the 2000 4runner (this makes a HUGE difference)
• Missing grab handles on door pillars like 2000 4runner
• Can’t use defrost with recirc like on every other car I’ve ever owned, and on the 2000 4Runner (HUGE difference if you live in very cold climate)
• Excessive nose dive when braking (50% solved with upgrade to bilstein 5100s all around, but result is still not as good as 2000 4Runner)
• Excessive body roll when cornering ((50% solved with upgrade to poly sway bar bushings all around, but result is still not as good as 2000 4Runner)
• Wiper on rear hatch doesn’t make a full arc - SO annoying for such a small thing (just got back from 3 days skiing and back window is solid gray - Holy F the wiper is still annoying)
• Door lock switches aren’t symmetrical right-to-left (were symmetrical on 200 4Runner, didn't need to thimk to use them no matter what side you were on)
• Window controls on top of door rather than down by door handle (uncomfortable to use, vulnerable to rain/snow, just super crappy ergonomics)
• Radio screen dims to illegibility if headlights are on during the day, and the radio is included in the dash brightness control knob circuit
• Windows regularly freeze shut during cold weather (I have to open my window every morning and this is maddening - I've tried EVERYTHING to no avail)
• Comparatively atrocious interior ergonomics (center console, cubbies in dash, etc - see lock switch & window controls above)
• Electronic dimmer on rear view mirror not nearly as effective as manual dimmer.
• Excessively large spoiler means you can’t open rear hatch when hauling stuff on roof
• As designed the slide out cargo tray is COMPLETELY useless except as a baby changing table - can’t actually use it to haul cargo as the name implies
• Cascading electronic failure modes (i.e. if the gas cap is loose causing the check engine light to come on, 4wd quits working until you clear the code)
• Roof rack cross bars don’t extend far enough forward so the rear hatch can’t open when using a rooftop box
(Also related to ginormous spoiler on rear hatch, and annoying “shark fin” antenna)
• No power antenna like on the 2000 4runner
• No locking gas cap like on 2000 4runner
• Why in god’s name does it have reclining rear seats??? Most people don’t even know they recline!
• No courtesy/dome light in rear cargo area
• Functionally challenged phone/ipod interface - it's well and truly bad, but maybe it's gotten better since 2011? Definitely can't be worse unless they made it a design objective...
• Excessive delay in throttle response
• Too much plastic in the rear cargo area: less plastic = more cargo, DUH!
PS if you take the plunge look up Antman's extra storage mod, it's very useful but a stupid thing to have to do to gain back a couple cubic feet of storage
• Almost no soundproofing
• Still very prone to frame rust (on new england salted roads) even when well cared for
• “Party Mode” stereo is the most unbelievably stupid “feature” I’ve seen in any vehicle ever. A sad triumph of marketing over engineering.
• Massive amounts of empty space in engine compartment - give me some tool storage bins there so I don’t need to hack something together.
• Oh, and my sunroof did indeed break - out of a string of 7 vehicles with sunroofs this is the only one where it’s been a problem.
• And last but not least - limited slip diff only available on Limited model. Really? Another depressing triumph of marketing over utility.

Some of these can be categorized, like ALL the electrical components are all just a tier or two lower quality - window motors, lock actuators, heater fan, etc (and sunroof in my case). Some have a real impact on utility like the removal of the separate rear heater core, or the lack of power antenna and locking gas cap. Some are small things that shouldn't have been allowed past even basic design reviews. Some _might_ be classified as preferences? Also, I didn't mention the size, but this is a WAY bigger vehicle and I'm not sure why. It also gets precisely the same gas mileage as my 2000 did, virtually no improvement over 11 development years.

Anyways, those are my thoughts. If I were to do it again I'd honestly probably go for the land cruiser, but it's just so freakin big and packed with electronics at this point that it's not all that attractive either. I guess I'd look at an early GX 470 as well. Tough call, though. I'm still hopeful on the reliability - but I also miss the lack of focus on the "utility" part of the sport utility equation.

Just my honest $.02. Good luck with your decision.