[Quentin]

For fun, I went back and looked at the reveal thread of the refreshed 5th gen...

• oh my god that is ugly.
  
• That might be one of those restyles that needs time to grow on you because my initial thought is yikes, that looks messed up.
  
• Also, looks almost impossible to add an aftermarket bumper to that. seems like one big piece on the front.
  
• That is one fugly decepticon.
  
• Not digging that front end is my first impression. If I wanted a Mitsubishi looking suv I'd have bought one.
  
• Fake skid plate off the Outback, chin gills and squinty lights off the Forester (but even squintier here and they even put fogs in the gills), they took one of the best looking trucks on the road and turned the front end into a Subaru that doesn't even know which Subaru it is.
  
• This new 4Runner is uglified and urbanized.
  
• I feel like I need to wash my eyeballs, but they just don't make water hot enough
  
• There's always battery acid!
  
  I don't know how I feel about the front end anymore either...all I've got to say is I'm 100% happy with my original 5th gen design more than ever
  
• I really don't like how it looks. The new JDM appearance of the front end of the face lifted trucks is appalling. It's a 4x4, not a sports car.
  
• WTF, if with that front end. Toyota you should be ashamed of yourself.
  
• Whatever engineer designed that front end should be fired.
  
• That's one of ugliest front ends I've seen on a vehicle.
  
• Looks like a g******n bug collector around the fog lights!
  
• It looks like a pigs snout with headlights.
  
• I really want to like it but it seems to me big T did us a favor ensuring our resale value.
  
• I've never seen a 4Runner so ugly. That front end is terrible!
  
• Agreed. I am very happy to have a pre-pig 4R. That front end looks like something a 14 year old boy would draw during English class. It looks juvenile, like a cartoonish monster. How far will auto companies push the "aggressive front end" trend? Personally, I like some aggressiveness but in moderation with some design talent. This really does look like the alien pic from a few pages ago.

I was one of the "not better enough to trade my '10"... and then went on to buy a '16 and a '23.

[Jetboy]

FWIW - I loved the look of the 2010 4Runner from day 1. I only owned a post-refresh 5th gen and I still like the front end styling of the pre-refresh trail edition better than anything since. I also think front bumpers look like poo on 5th gens. The body lines just don't work with front bumpers very well regardless of how they're styled. Only the partial bumpers seem to fit the aesthetic. That's a big part of why I stuck to a hidden winch mount and period bumper cover replacements as they were damaged.

I think the new one will probably grow on my over time. I'm sure when I see one on 37s I'll like it.

For me - this is probably peak 4Runner.

[CutthroatSlam]

Originally Posted by Jetboy

If those are correct - I'm not in love with the design. Looks like a truck they had to configure into an SUV on a budget to me. The design language doesn't work for me. I hope it's just a render and they did a better job in real life. The hood is too long. The windshield is too sloped and roughly 40% of the vehicle length is wasted by that ungainly front design. So the passenger compartment looks like it got smaller despite the longer wheelbase. Rear door windows are about 25% smaller than the 5th gen because they pushed the seat position so far back and rear doors are so small. Overall, to me, it sure looks like a big step back. Classic CALTY output - compromise for the sake of compromise. If this is real - I guess the LC250 has more chance of success than I thought it would. Feels like they intentionally nerfed the design to make room for the LC. Bummer.

The hardware side sounds like a nice update.

They already had this:

Hard to accept that this is an upgrade:



According to that it shares the same 112" wheelbase and length overall as the LC250. This looks almost unusable: (So it must have a 3rd row?)

They shrunk the 2nd row doors and the quarter panel windows. Looks like they did this because of the enlarged wheel wells to accommodate 33" tires. IMO this was a bad trade off. That second door is closer to the one on the FJ which was worthless. They traded a lot for a wheel option that only a small percentage of prospective buyers would use.

[Jetboy]

Originally Posted by CutthroatSlam

They shrunk the 2nd row doors and the quarter panel windows. Looks like they did this because of the enlarged wheel wells to accommodate 33" tires. IMO this was a bad trade off. That second door is closer to the one on the FJ which was worthless. They traded a lot for a wheel option that only a small percentage of prospective buyers would use.

I'm not sure how to solve it if they want to have 35's be a bolt on solution and still have a spare tire underneath other than making it a longer wheel base/vehicle. Maybe move the firewall forward 2-3 inches by shortening the hood and pushing the everything up a bit to the front plus move that axle back about 2 inches. That could add 4 inches to the rear door and make it really nice. It would net around 116" wheelbase. And that's fine with me for a 35" tire. Give it a nice rear door. And then keep the overall body length the same by moving the spare tire to a sideways swing rear door.

The LC250 rear door seems larger as well. Maybe it just looks that way? But it's basically the same vehicle with a different skin. Not sure why it seems so different between the two.

Edit: after looking more at the LC250 it's easy to see the difference. The LC250 has a significantly taller roof and more vertical windshield. So the front seats are likely about 2-3 inches further forward in the vehicle and the front doors are shorter lengthwise. The B pillar is then quite a bit further forward and the front/rear door length ratio is about 50:50 vs more like 60:40 on the 4Runner.

It might be more of an optical illusion though - I overlayed a few stripes of LC300 over the 6th gen 4Runner and the B pillar is definitely more forward on the LC300, but not as much as I though at first look:

[qs933]

Originally Posted by Quentin

For fun, I went back and looked at the reveal thread of the refreshed 5th gen...

For even more kicks, go back to when the 5th Gen was first leaked around 2009. Or when it became apparent that there'd be a fixed mast antenna and a non-locking fuel door. And no V8.

Or back to the 4th Gen and the outrage around the gray plastic fender flares. So much so that Toyota had to introduce an "Appearance Package" with color-matched fenders halfway into the first year that eventually became standard.

I'm excited to see a 6th Gen in person. However, I've also realized that I'm more likely to hold out for the next gen RAV4 Prime instead.

[trainman605]

You can look at the new Gen 6 as compared it to the Gen 5 and see all the differences that the new model will have, new Turbo engine, 8 spd trans, every electronic device that the Gen 5 didn't have, plus a new body styling. Now is this a good thing, or not, remember the Gen 5 has been a very good model and making it better is going to take some top work from Toyota to make the Gen 6 that much better. Since we don't have much to compare it to the 2024 Tacoma is pretty much it for now and if you are ok with it then the new 4 Runner should work for you. I realize you don't have any longevity on this vehicle, so I guess time will tell, as all vehicles have to go through the test of time. My personal feeling on this is, the Gen 5 is proved itself over the years and you will not be able to take that away from it and 4 Runner buyers will always know this and will keep the Gen 5 high in price because the value is there.

[TK-422]

I do not think it looks bad at all. The extra curvature on the sides looks nice to me. Switching out the tried and true 4.0 V6 for an over stressed 4 cylinder is definite no go for me.

That and it will cost twice as much as my low mileage 2015 makes me willing to keep mine forever. Being retired and only having to fill up once a month really helps.

[phillyd2]

Originally Posted by Quentin

For fun, I went back and looked at the reveal thread of the refreshed 5th gen...

Ha - Good One. And while all that may be true after 13 years I still miss the V8. For me the Four may just be a bridge too far......

[probos]

It looks good, but I'm not massively impressed. IMO, front end is too much like the Tacoma. Lost some of it's own character. I'm sure they will sell a bunch.

[02SE]

I'm not liking the wheel flares that don't extend all the way to the bottom of the wheel wells. It looks stupid, but the RAV4 has the same look.

I'm not big on the short space behind the seats, if you want the floor flat. That would necessitate unbolting the rear seats and removing them from the vehicle, if I wanted to sleep in back.

Better fuel economy would be nice, but it will likely have a smaller gas tank. So the need to carry extra fuel remains.

I don't like the tablet stuck on the dash look.

Unless it really impresses in person, I'll likely stick with my 5th gen TRD ORP.

[Surfinguru]

All I can say is I'm REALLY glad I picked up a '24 ORP in January.

[KimchiJae]

Originally Posted by young

Yters have to be nicer to their 4runner as they borrow for "friendly" reviews. I want to see careless yters to push beyond runner's limit. I liked to watch that tfl to beat up and poked around the cars but the brand companies raged about their abuse with their cars. I hope tfl will make raw reviews about 4runner or I would have to unsubscribe their channels.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?si=x86yzrczjImoNWaf&v=RDcOOoDqcto&feature=yo utu.be

Throttle House went ham with their Land Cruiser press car. Despite Thomas' best efforts, the Land Cruiser still got them back home.

[4runner4J]

Originally Posted by young

Yters have to be nicer to their 4runner as they borrow for "friendly" reviews. I want to see careless yters to push beyond runner's limit. I liked to watch that tfl to beat up and poked around the cars but the brand companies raged about their abuse with their cars. I hope tfl will make raw reviews about 4runner or I would have to unsubscribe their channels.

That's why I always view these first drive reviews with a huge grain of salt. I mean they fly these guys in, put them up in nice hotels and feed them nice food. What else are they gonna do once they talk about the cars other than be nice. Their literal livelihoods are at stake if they dog on the vehicle and don't get invited back to future press drives.

[young]

Originally Posted by 4runner4J

That's why I always view these first drive reviews with a huge grain of salt. I mean they fly these guys in, put them up in nice hotels and feed them nice food. What else are they gonna do once they talk about the cars other than be nice. Their literal livelihoods are at stake if they dog on the vehicle and don't get invited back to future press drives.

Yeah, they screwed the subie car really good years ago but today, they would have to be nicer to them if they could borrow their subies and take it easy on them. I think Subie is still not too happy with them but other tubers still screw their new subies as soon as they come out. whatever.

[johnbt]

"All I can say is I'm REALLY glad I picked up a '24 ORP in January."

I avoided the rush and bought my '23 ORP in July.

I put it in the garage for 2 weeks and drove my '16 to Ocracoke Island for two weeks before my stepson got it. He was there for a week with his family so fair is fair.