All makes sense. I hope we don't have to wait so long for 6th Gen. as I currently have 227000 miles on my Runner. I'm not sold on the the 5th as in my opinion my 4th Gen is far lighter, quicker and just handles better than the current generation. I've driven both extensively. I just wonder if the price of gas jumps again to $5.00/6.00 dollars a gallon. Watch the sale of 4runners sink like a rock. Again, just my humble opinion.

I'm wondering if Toyota, like many car brands, are focusing a lot of R&D and $ on electric technology. We've had the hybrids for a long time, so that gives Toyota a step up on some brands, but it appears that electric vehicles now have the infrastructure to support them as viable family autos and with the price of fuel going nuts, I see that the EV is more relevant than ever. It could be that Toyota simply doesn't have the resources or doesn't want to devote as much to these old trucks and realizes they are probably mostly on their way out anyway.

Test mules already on the road but not due for 2 more years? Ouch.

tundra i dont dispute as its been stated, fall 2021 is release of new tundra as 22MY

23MY/24MY 4runner would put the current 5th gen at 14/15 yrs old which would push it to the same as age the current 2nd gen tundra at 15 yrs old.

24MY/25MY tacoma would put that gen at a young generation at 8/9 yrs old which contradicts toyota extending out a generation to 10-12 yrs old. i can see a mid cycle refresh at 21/22MY (6yrs) like they did on the 4runner at 14MY (6yrs)

the tundra is an odd ball as it has gone thru 2 mid cycle refreshes at 2013 (14MY) (8yrs) and 2017 (18MY) (10yrs)

as far as the engine, i expect it to be the 3.5 v6 from the tacoma just geared different and different engine output just like they did for the 4.0 in the tacoma and 4runner (see 2012 tacoma 4.0 v6 vs 2014 4runner 4.0 v6)

but who knows what toyota is doing since they pretty much can keep a secret better than most on internals compared to most oem's.

best bet is to watch for announcements during the feb car show which i think is the chicago car show. that is when toyota lately has been announcing new generations compared to the old days when they announced them during jan car show

Jeep? Really? You’d trade off reliability, resale value, and longevity just because you don’t want to address a lack of power compared to the 4th gen? It seems like a bad idea...


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

My biggest concern with the 6th gen is where it will be built. Since most of the 4Runners are sold in North America, wouldn't it make sense to move assembly to the US or Mexico when they switch to the new platform?

No arguing here regarding reliability, but unfortunately if you're referring to a Wrangler, there's nothing on the road with a better resale value.

Jeep Wrangler tops list for high resale value | Las Vegas Review-Journal

I've always thought Wranglers were at or near the top, but all that article does is tell you who's #1, and it doesn't say by how much.

It says the Wrangler Unlimited has a resale value of 70.1% at 36 months and 58.1% at 60 months. If the grouping is tight enough, then in theory the T4R could be 11th on the list but still have resale values of 69.1% & 57.1% and not even make the top 10.

This is just my opinion on resale value. I have been driving Toyota’s for years. When I traded my 15 Tacoma sport in on my 17 4runner Pro I got almost what I paid for my Tacoma. I’m trading my 17 Pro in on 2020 Army green Pro and I’m getting almost what I paid for on my 4runner Pro. And yes both vehicles have a little over 12,000 miles on them. The only way I’m not trading my Pro in if I don’t like the army green in person. If I compare the highest Jeep Wrangler on Kelly blue book to my Pro the value on the Pro is so much higher.

Completely agree with most of your post, though I'm less well-versed on how quickly Toyota can move production lines and ramp up their production scale on TNGA.

The 4runner is a fantastic vehicle for the market segment it's targeting. Rather than doing away with the vehicle, I am glad Toyota continues to produce it and sales are strong. That being said, to keep things fresh, Toyota keeps adding special option packages to keep interest.

When Toyota was making TSS standard on their lineup, 4runner was one of the last ones to get it. If I'm not mistaken, the 86 and 4runner were the only ones excluded from MY17/18 when it became standard.

The interior... the head unit... is extremely dated and a testament to the power of plastic molds. The Land Cruiser is a very capable vehicle as well (granted it's twice the price), and the interior does not look quite so dated.

I've heard other people here make the argument that they'd rather the vehicle be reliable as all these creature comforts have a habit of breaking... Well, I sort of get that angle, but it's a bit of a cop-out IMHO.

It's gotten to the point where it seems like Toyota is not even trying to re-engineer and improve the vehicle much anymore besides changing a few styles here and there. It's a real shame. Toyota has even been late to the party (across all models) for integrating Android Auto and Apple Carplay. IDK if it's a combination of a licensing and pride thing or what. But, it's what one of those things where many cars in 2020 have 6-8" displays by default. Not all have Nav b/c that's generally an upgrade (even on Lexus). So, why not let people at least use their Andoid/Apple phones that are continually getting better/faster and constantly downloading revised nav software from Google/Apple? It's a total money grab by Toyota, but Acura, and other brands do the same thing so not singling out Toyota here.

But, sales keep increasing year to year so maybe there is no incentive for Toyota to rock the ship? That being said, if sales declined in hopes for a new generation, Toyota could use that as an excuse to slash the model altogether.

I’m not sure why people think Toyota is making so much money off the 4Runner. When you take all the costs involved in producing a vehicle, from design, assembly changes each year, marketing, recalls, etc. I don’t think they sell enough of them to make that much. And a full redesign on the new platform, and most likely moving production to Mexico or Texas, would take multiple years of strong sales to pay for. My guess? They are making the minimal changes each year because they haven’t decided if it’s worth it to keep making it.

why would they move production to the states when its the same platform as the Prado and GX which are both built in Japan?

Not now. When they move to the new platform. Whenever that is. The 4Runner is only sold in North America, so why wouldn’t they consolidate it with the Taco and Tundra assembly?

isn't the Prado and GX going to be on the same platform the T4R is built on?

They are also sold in other countries, where the 4Runner isn’t. I hope I’m wrong. I think being built in Japan is a huge plus. I just don’t see anyone else suggesting this might happen, and to me it just makes sense and is the direction all manufacturers are going. Build where it’s sold.