Talk me into a 5th Gen. It probably wont take much effort. Ive been gone from the forum for a long long time. Life happened. I've got an 05 that I bought new in 2005 with 257,000 on the odometer. She still runs great but she's tired. I'm gonna be in the market this summer or fall so I have a bit of time. What are the things you don't like about your 5th gen? What do you love? Throw it all out here to help me make a decision.

Needs more power, poor brakes, not very good stock ground clearance, and poor old school incandescent lights are my 4 biggest complaints (lights easy enough to fix though). Try out a used GX460 driven by a mall mom first before you buy a new 5th gen since it has a V8 and a 6 speed tranny (as opposed to 5 for 4Runner). You would have to get used to the rear barn door though if you chose the GX.

new 2016 sr5 runner July 2016.
I never brought it back to dealership. no failures. I do all the work on it.
NO FREE oil changes LOL...

the problem I have is the seats are hard as a rock .. so I put a AZZ cushion and a lumbar cushion .. solved that problem. I sometimes drive it 12hrs on hywy and no problem on body pain or circulation ..

I will bring it back this spring to do the air bag replacement..

I did remove all rust on the frame [welds]..the tires still good no wear issues. tires look like the same . I put on the paint, synthetic wax ... works good. put a 1 inch spring spacer on the front springs. stiffer less droop on braking .. vehicle looks level.
put running boards on it .. easy to remove the snow on roof and washing it..
I did remove the roof cross bars a PITA to wash and remove snow ..
I had to replace the rear diff oil at 3Kmiles was a dark gray color..
all fluids look great . engine does not use any oil 7K oil changes.

I love looking at it.
I love the "truck" sound the engine makes.
I love its capabilities even in stock form.
I love the room and spaciousness you feel.
I love the build quality.
I love the softex seats.
I love all the little cheap mods you can do to make it yours and make it more convenient.

I've learned to live with meh acceleration
.. with the poor lights which I have since upgraded
.. with the creeping at stoplights if you're not absolutely mashing on the brakes
.. with high gas consumption

Bought a 2020. I looked at the 19's but the 20's interior is greatly improved. Only had it 6 weeks but I honestly love driving this thing. It's been a long time since I've had a vehicle I've enjoyed driving this much.

I don't have an issue with the power but I also haven't added 800lbs of aftermarket gear. If I decide to do that I'll also add a supercharger.

Its the best generation looks wise and every bit of the quality its known for. Though mine only has 20k.

Love the power it has and the breaking for a big vehicle. I was very disappointed in the headlights brightness, but was an easy $12 fix with H9's.

The MPG's suck ~18mpg on average but that's to be expected.

I'm looking forward to breaking 300k on it!

7 years and 65K, no repairs, no problems, no rattles, no squeaks. 7 year warranty expired unused. I like the 9.6 inch ground clearance. I have a trail and get good use of the Multi-Terrain control. It has been on rough roads, snow and sand dunes many times.

I've had mine for just over a week, and a hair over 1k miles. Absolutely love it. Came out of a diesel ColoRADo, and couldn't be happier. Yes, it has less torques, but it's certainly more fun.

Already taken it to Death Valley. Slept in the back. Put about 200 non-road miles on it. Thing absolutely rocks. The 2020 is fantastic.

Oh, yeah... the creeping at a stop light is totally a thing. Believe it or not, the headlights are better than the Colorado headlights were.

I went in the dealer looking at Tacoma’s and ended up with a 4Runner. Couldn’t be happier. It’s quieter then my wife’s 15 BMW X5 and has more bells and whistles. Plus it will blow away the X5 off road.I love the roll down rear window.

i was in a similar situation with a 2004 Limited V8 & 248K miles. she also ran great, but i've been eyeing the 5th body for like 10yrs. so i opted for a '16 limited

dont likes:
headlights are dim
slow acceleration

likes:
looks good
holds it's value
blizzard pearl color
push-start
keyless entry
leather
trd looks

Have you driven one yet? is your 4th gen a V8? My wife really liked the look of the 5th gen and after test driving a few she no longer wanted one due to the anemic power they have compared to her 4th gen with the V8 among a bunch of other things,just couldn't justify the expense. The 5th does look awesome and a supercharger would eliminate the power issue. Why didn't Toyota put a V8 in these?

I agree a V8 would have been nice but NOT the 4th generation V8 which is weak compared to the 5th gen V6.

Of course people who drive a V6 like they would a V8 (low revs) might be disappointed- but if you drive the V6 as it should be driven it beats the old V8 in acceleration and feels way more responsive.

I wish they would put the 5.7 L V8 from the Land Cruiser in the 4Runner.

Because you want to swagger up to the counter... slap your coins down, and tell the barkeep: "Gimme another."

I was thinking something similar.

So you have a 4th gen that’s lasted 15 years w/ 257k on the clock still running strong and you need more convincing? Toyota always has had shortfalls in areas but make up for it reliably, durability and resale value. But if you’re looking for all the bells and whistles go buy a Jeep and tell me all about it 15 years.

Because the 4runner is one of the last "proven, simple, tried & true, bulletproof" vehicles left.

Vehicles are getting more and more complicated. My F150 has port and direct fuel injection and 2 turbos. It's been great so far, but I would bet $1000 that a new 4runner will be more reliable than a new F150. I bet the next gen 4runner will be more complicated also.

Buy into 15 more years of "simple goodness"!