SOOO glad I got the gen5. I’ve had a Subaru turbo with a 5spd manual, that was great fun. But what I’ve observed in all the new sport utility /pickups is that they seem to be sacrificing utility and performance for fuel economy. I think these turbo charged 4 bangers went too far to the economy side. Not just Toyota; I test drove a new Colorado as well. Meh. Maybe put the tundra engine in the 4R, that would be much better.

I like the gen5 for its reputation of reliability and more basic appointments. I keep the radio screen off most of the time. I really dislike the feeling of driving a computer. You certainly don’t get that with the gen5. I need to figure out how to disable the “OMG BRAKE NOW YOU'RE GONNA DIE” nonsense; as it is you can only turn it off for the current trip and it reactivates at next start.

Expectations and what constitutes “bare bones” crack me up. A base model 4Runner is anything but bare bones compared to the vehicles I grew up with. Can you even find a vehicle with manual windows? Or manual transmission? I guess the fact they don’t come with a CD player anymore is pretty bare bones. That was a surprise.

As for hybrids or EVs, as long as there is any other choice I will never buy one. I’ve no problem for a diverse range of products for folks to choose, except that I’d advise those interested in EVs to look up aerial pictures of lithium mines and tell me if that’s saving the planet.

When you have a vehicle like the Gen 5 4 Runner and its past record of being one of the top vehicles out there, I can see where jumping on a new Gen 6 will take some thine to prove itself, say 3-4 years. 4 Runner owners are pretty much a group of their own and buy for today, as well as 10-20 years down the line, so asking them to jump on the new Gen 6 will take time and as we all know time will tell.

All I needed was to see the sloppy ugly engine bay and I decided I'll wait on a Generation 6. Just a horrible way to introduce a major redesign. It is as ugly and cluttered as a Chrysler's engine in the mid 70s. I will likely buy a generation 5 this week.