I read an article on MotorTrend comparing the Tacoma (which the 2025 4Runner is based on for the most part) to the Ford Ranger and it pointed out a lot of flaws in the new Tacoma.

Loud when driving, wandering/hunting 8 speed transmission, numb steering feel to name a few things in the article. I’ve done a massive amount of updates to my 2015 4Runner Trail Premium to where it now actually feels like a premium vehicle, so while I was looking forward to the redesign I think this is putting the brakes on me buying the new model. I also kind of like the boxier look of the 5th gen but that one is minor.

Just wondering if my logic checks here with you guys? I’m kind of thinking the 5th gen 4Runner is going to be a sought after classic for a long time to come.

I'll start by saying I do not own a single Toyota currently but I have owned a couple Tacomas, 1 Tundra and 1 4runner (3rd Gen). My Son has an early 5th gen with 240K that runs solid.

I haven't heard the same issues with the new Taco about it being loud or having gear hunting like this MT article claims. All the groups I follow, owners are quite the opposite screaming of how much better it is than the 3rd G Taco, particularly with road noise, drivetrain etc...

I do agree that the 5th gen 4R will still hold value similar to how it does today. It's basically the landcruiser now that we no longer have it (not counting the new TNGA landcruiser). Many of the things that made the Landcruiser so sought after are to be found in the 5th gen 4runner. I think the more recent 4R with push button start and the better tech will be more sought after, especially the pro or unique color (calvary blue, army green, underground, lunar rock etc...)

I was super close to buying a TRDORP in underground last month but I walked. That one sold a week later and there isn't a single one like it still within 50 miles. It had some special regional package that I like a lot. Maybe Toyota is scaling back already.

I'd watch the beta testers do their work for the first 2 to 3 model years. The 2022 Tundra rollout was a disaster for Toyota. Turbo wastegate failures galore, bad fit and finish, rattles, etc with a hefty price hike to boot. That seems to have quieted down significantly two years later, even though they're still drastically overpriced.

Now we have a new turbo and turbo/hybrid 4-banger powertrain in the sibling Tacoma/4Runners for 24/25 respectively. We also have one of the largest YouTube enthusiast channels TFL with an embarrassing catastrophic front axle failure on their 2024 Tacoma when it was simply spinning wheels on a snowy incline.

Patience, patience. Let Toyota get the platform unscrewed before you plunk down $50K+ to beta test for them. As the saying goes, they don't build 'em like they used to.

biggest turn off for me is a big as s screen in a middle of dashboard. So cheap.

i had a 2008 tacoma and absolutely loved it, how it drove, how it sounded, the power, the trans shifting, it was literally a perfect truck for the entire 275,000 miles i drove it

i bought the wife a 2012 4runner and fixed it up, absolutely amazing vehicle. JBL stereo system in the limited, which had the big screen like the LEXUS, rear view camera was spot on, trans didnt do anything whacky, drove perfect, shifted perfect, did everything we asked for the 140,000 miles we owned it

She wanted something with rear AC and we got a 2017 limited platinum Highlander with redrock interior. Boy that things interior was nice, it looked good and drove good but the interior noise was WAY louder than i ever expected for the highest trim level Highlander. She hated how it drove, and the sliding center console thing and she only kept it 9 months before she wanted out of it.

She bounced around getting a new vehicle basically every 11 months and every time she pulled the
"i really miss my 4runner"
"i sure wish i had another 4runner"
So i started looking in 2020 for a white limited 4wd with auto running boards with the red interior... I literally looked nation wide until October 2021 when the TRD Sport was released and my search instantly changed to a white TRD Sport 4wd with auto running boards. It took me almost 2 years to find one, i paid for the moroney page and a vin decoder to search vins as toyota did allocations. Since you couldnt order, i had to search for vins with the options i wanted after they were allocated. In the 20 months it took me to find the one i bought, i only found 9 that matched my options. Either dealers were asking +$5000 over sticker, it was pre-sold, or they just wouldnt come down off their mark-up. I eventually got a dealer to sell me one and waited in anticipation.

During this time i also drove a new Tacoma, in anticipation that i might buy another one. My daily driver 4runner is getting close to 250,000, my 92 pickup started knocking from pinging from bad gas, so i was looking to replace my 92 pickup with a new tacoma. NO SIR....
They are right, the interior cab noise is CRAZY loud in the new tacoma, not sure how or why but the interior noise sounds like a honda civic with no interior, the road noise sounds like a unibody with no interior. The trans does hunt like a fuggin beagle chasing a racoon if you put it on cruise control. Totally not usable, even on flat ground no load, no hills, the trans is downshifting to maintain speed in cruise. NO SIR i wont own a new tacoma unless those two points get fixed

So.... I made a deal with the dealer i bought my 4runner thru, that i was going to fly out to Long Beach and pick the 4runner up myself. No PDI, i didnt want the dealer touching it, i didnt want it loaded up on a car hauler, i wanted to pick it up myself and drive it home. I wanted to be the only person who sits in the seat, peeled the plastic off the front end myself, no scratches from anyone. The dealer let me pick the 4runner up without them taking possession, i flew out, caught an uber to the port, showed some paper work to a guy, got the keys and headed home. I was so happy, it was so pretty, it was exactly what i wanted. I filled it up at a gas station up the road and figured the mileage and figured i could make it to Tuscon on the first tank of fuel so i set the GPS to a DelTaco in Tuscon and headed east. First thing, it drives nice, smooth, feels tight, doors are sealed WAY differently than in the past. If you dont slam the door its not closing, a soft nudge and the door wont close, the seals are stiff and you gotta really tell the door to close or it aint closing. It smells good, feels good, drives smooth, nearly silent inside, AND the first problem arises when i set the cruise control on the highway. FUGGIN HUNTING. The trans WILL NOT stay in a gear in cruise control FUGG ME... On i-10 from LA to Phoenix its minimal elevation change, long straight highway and the trans is constantly downshifting, upshifting, downshifting, literally 5 miles and 13 gear changes later i cut the cruise control off. NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO what is wrong with the freaking trans tuning............................... Well.... I get over it and ponder how i am going to make this 2000 mile trip back home without cruise control...... Meh i guess its ok i can live without cruise i guess.... I watch my mileage, and speed, and make it to north Tuscon before i gotta fill up again, then head to that DelTaco i have been wanting for so long. I pull into the DelTaco and click it in reverse for the first time to back up and HOLY CRAP.... I think there is a sticker over the rear camera i cant see crap. I put it in park and walk around back to see if i forgot a sticker over the rear view camera and nope, its clean, i wiped it off anyway and got back in and put it in reverse and :WTF i simply cant see crap on the screen, its the worst backup camera image i have ever experienced and i remember when the first backup cameras were introduced. My 2008 tacoma had the backup camera pictured in the rear view mirror and it was better than this, huge screen 2023 4runner. BOY i was tasting the sour taste of those grapes in my mouth right about now. The "technology package" which comes with the 360 degree cameras is an absolute waste of money, under no circumstance should this be allowed on a current model vehicle. The image quality was below sub par, its unacceptable.

Aside from these two gripes, i have not found anything about the 2023 TRD Sport that i dont like. It looks good, it drives great, it feels great, it is a great vehicle other than the trans cant stay in a gear under any sort of load, even driving with your foot, on an incline that would normally just bog a little, drop 5mph, this thing downshifts in an instant. You may as well just tip into the throttle at the beginning of a hill and speed up on your own, cause if you keep you foot level, and the engine starts to bog, that puppy is downshifting and its REAL quick to downshift 2 gears and get to 4500RPM with a quickness for absolutely no reason. My Tundra doesnt downshift at all, sure it bogs a little on hill climbs, so what it loses 200rpm and 5mph or so, yeah on a big hill climb it might lose 6-8mph, so what it speeds back up without downshifting and nobody notices anyting. The new trans tuning in the current tacoma and current 4runner wont do that. If it bogs slightly, loses RPM a little, its downshifting. IT WILL NOT maintain overdrive with the cruise control on. It downshifts constantly EVEN ON FLAT GROUND. IT sucks.

Hope you can get past those two slight imperfections, other than that i absolutely love the 4runner.

I'm a 4th gen owner and not in the market for a replacement, but I didn't see anything in the TFL test drive that would cause me to want to run out and buy a new 4Runner "just because". If I were in the market, I would certainly take a closer look at it and it would get a "mental" advantage over Jeep and Bronco just because it's a Toyota.

I like the new version, but it just feels like my 5G is just too good. It's done everything that I've needed it to do and exceeded my expectations. I know it's flawed in several ways and I knew it from the beginning, but despite that it is still a great vehicle. The biggest plus is its legendary reliability. Granted, I have a later model that has a few newer amenities over older years.

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My youngest works for Toyota and picks up his 2024 this week, specked out how he wanted it, plans on keeping it along time
I have a 18 looks and drives like new, not going anywhere

I think people with the older generation of a vehicle have a knee-jerk habit of poo-poo'ing on the new one upon release, especially when they haven't driven it. It makes you feel better about what you have, that you "bought the exact perfect one". Maybe it's a coping mechanism. In reality, most new generations are overall better than the prior ones (with some exceptions).

I think there is a near zero chance that:
-The new Tacoma/4Runner is louder than the outgoing generation while driving. Noise, Vibration, & Harshness are what every manufacturer chases on next generation designs, along with increased structural rigidity.
-The new Tacoma/4Runner gear hunt more, or even as much, as the not-exactly-world-class 5-speed and 6-speed autos in the outgoing ones. EVERYBODY talks about the hunting behavior of the 5 and 6 speeds. I've heard 2024 Tacoma reviewers repeatedly say the transmission shifting behavior is night-and-day compared to the notorious old Tacoma automatic. When people list positives of these outgoing transmissions, they list bulletproof reliability. That tends to be the end of the list.

Numb steering? Well, it's generally regarded as a characteristic of EPS racks, and EPS racks are chosen for efficiency and other reasons (such as the ability to be easily controlled by driver assistance systems).

I personally also like the boxier look of 5G compared to the very slanted 6G windshield, which was likely done for efficiency reasons. The Land Cruiser 250 retains a steep windshield and I really like how it looks. This new platform is probably going to be much improved over the old when it comes to thinks like rotting out from rust.

I just ordered a 2024 ORP in Underground. There are none around locally, I had a bit of a hard time finding a dealer that did not want to only sell what was sitting on a lot and force financing on me. Will find out more but could be waiting as long as October. I’ve been eyeing a new 5th gen Runner for a while and the redesign for next year made me pull the trigger if I ever wanted a new one the time is now lol.

I’m in no rush don’t really need a new vehicle but my 3rd gen won’t last forever, still keeping it for winter driving and abuse. I’ve had it for 8 yrs, if I had bought it new or lived south I would just keep it forever.

I daily drive a 2020 F-150 with the 5.0 V8 and 10 speed trans, while the almost 400hp is nice the trans is terrible, keeps needing to be reset sometimes when it downshifts it feels like I am being rear ended. The oil usage is also brutal. It’s a fleet truck I’ve had it since new have over 100k miles if I spent my own money on it I would not be happy as the owner. Just my .02

I don't think any newer cars are really well made anymore. that includes toyota. the older f150s v8 were indestructible. with turbos, cylinder management, and plastic crap parts all to meet environmental standards / earn grant money (it's really sad to see the 4runner go the same route after going strong so long as body on frame, NA v6, built in Japan) that is going to be the result. what's worse is prices keep going up. I'm all for conserving the planet and cleaner technology but in reality the consumers bear a significant brunt of all the costs (higher gas prices and more expensive vehicles, electric vehicles still aren't affordable and not enough charging locations).

I have a 2012 4runner with 165k miles and a 2010 rx350 with only 115k miles. the rx is a garage queen, in near perfect condition and doesn't really get driven at all. I won't sell it. it's been the most reliable vehicle I have ever owned with not a single non-wear and tear maintenance item in over 14 years (of being in the canada winter/road salt climate). the 4runner is not far behind but there has been the odd repair here and there, but nothing significant -granted it does have more miles (and some trail / battle scars) on it

The new 6th gen 4Runner is still body on frame (and likely more resistant to rotting out this time...), and still built in Japan. The only one of those three points that seems to be correct is the N/A V6 bit. If you can't trust a well-designed 4 cylinder engine, there's nothing wrong with that, but others can, and you will be restricted to the Nissan Frontier, or the used market.

I'm pretty sure the sky isn't falling. I don't think we're entering a new age of Tacomas and 4Runners being unreliable. I bet a lot of people saw the more modern 4th gen 4Runner, with all its extra complication, and thought "oh man the 3rd gen will be the last reliable 4Runner".... and then the 4th gen proved as or MORE reliable, with significantly less problem points and costly maintenance.