To cut to the chase - I am a first time father and my wife and I decided to ditch the G coupe for something more practical. Normally, this would be a minivan or some Highlander/crossover MDX type thing, but I could make myself do it. I am completely juvenile when it comes to cars, and crossovers strike me as girly (though probably best suited for our needs).

Anyway - I brought home a TE with KDSS and BFG AT KO 265/70/17 with ATX Mojave rims. I previously test drove an SR5 and bought this one sight unseen. It took me calling 5 different dealers in three states and pure luck, but it finally came together. My thoughts for anyone interested:

Interior: Nicer than I remembered the SR5 being. Must be the Optitron and NAV. All the buttons and switches have a really nice, dampened feel. Though the look is not luxury, the materials don't feel cheap and all the operations are smooth and well built feeling. A deceptively nice cabin.

Power:Somewhat lacking - but this was expected. I'm sure the tires sapped a bit of acceleration and the engine is new and tight. I expect it to open up a little once I get a few thousand miles on the ODO. I've driven nothing but sports cars for the past 5 years, including the s2000, WRX STI and g37 6MT. The 4runner gets where it needs to go, but the throttle response is not as quick and the torque not as pronounced. Again - I never expected it to compare to a sports car and so far I'm perfectly happy with it.

Handling: This is the big surprise - this thing handles surprisingly well. I don't know if it's KDSS and the stiffer sidewalls on the BFGs, but it corners reasonably flat and turn in is nice and responsive. Most SUVs I've driven are wallowy and unstable at speed - this one is planted and feels just right, similar to a large size sporty sedan.

Haven't had a chance to take her off road - I expect to in the next few weeks. These are just first impressions, but so far I love the thing. I usually love or hate a car at first sight, so this is a good sign.

The ATX Mojave and BFGs totally transform the look of this car. My TE was parked next to a stock Trail and it looked much more substantial - love the look. Probably will plan on blacking out the emblems this weekend.

This is a great forum - learned a ton just this past week.


EDIT: Picture host got trashed - pics of truck posted below

looks badass. congrats and welcome!

Rims have a nice .mil utility look to them that is pretty different than most others. Looks good.

Awesome truck robot! I just got a new TE a couple of weeks ago myself and my impressions are similar to yours. At 800 miles I already notice a bit more power from the engine but I think the feeling of low power has a lot to do with the Auto Gearbox striving to achieve fuel economy over performance. You notice if your plodding along and you put your foot on the gas it takes a while for the gearbox to decide if it wants to downshift. It feels like once your moving it just wants to be in 4th gear all the time to save fuel. When I want more power I found it lot more sprightly when using manual mode. Manual mode is something I'd expect in a sports car but it was actually really useful - particularly for engine braking when going downhill. Driving down from bigbear last week - 8000 feet to sea level - in auto mode I pretty had much had no engine breaking and had to ride the brakes. Using manual mode I barely had to touch the brakes.

@Beakerbox - I agree, the autobox is definitely conservative and tends to sit up in the higher gear. I've been bumping it into sport to drop the gear when passing. Haven't owned an auto in a long time, so it's going to be an adjustment.

Having some fun today - blacked out the emblems with Plasti-Cote - turned out pretty nice and should be easy to remove later.

Truck looks sic, keep the mods going!

Congrats and welcome robotkiller!
Was this TE used when you bought it or did you have the dealer put on the Mojave's and BFG's on?
Either way,looks killer and the way they should have come from the factory IMO.Especially with the gray Teflon Mojave's matching the mag gray TE color.

Nice 4Runner, and those wheels are a killer on it. Looks real nice.

i agree those wheels and tires do look sweet on there. I have a black trail and those wheels don't match as well. Liking yours! also makes the AT look pretty damn cool. Might have to consider instead of Toyo MT> hmmmmm maybe.

Thanks! It was new - I called a out of town dealer who had a shoreline blue trail that he traded out for the Mag grey w/KDSS,etc. I lucked out by having a Discount Tire in the same town as the dealer and they coordinated installation of the wheels/tires. Dealer let me keep the TPMS sensors and gave me a $1000 credit for the old wheels and tires, which I thought was fair. I was able to pick up the truck ready to go, which was nice.

Wheels do match up well with Mag grey - better than I thought it would. Definitely happy with it.

Beautiful TE I'm jealous! As far as power and throttle response do yourselves a favor an get a k&n drop in air filter. Stock air filter is really restrictive and I noticed a difference immediately. 42 bucks on amazon.

Thanks - funny you mention that. I'm looking up TRD CAI vs K&N right now. I remember a nice increase in throttle response and growl when I dropped a K&N cone intake in my old s2000. The K&N is definitely cheaper, so it's tempting.

That looks awesome! We need a good side view shot.

Let me be the first to say that your kid is lucky to be carted around in such a bad ass ride. Well done Dad!!!!

looks good...congrats on the new ride!