2010 4Runner Ordering Guide Report for the U.S.

[vando45]

Good. This bigger is better obsession with the V8 is just childish. There is not a 6 that cannot do what an 8 can in 99.9% of situations.

Can't tow, so I won't be getting one until they offer a V8. We know it will fit because they are putting one in the Lexus GX, just a dumb marketing move by Toyota. Not the first time either (can you say T-100?) Why not give us the choice?

 

[M1911]

Good. This bigger is better obsession with the V8 is just childish. There is not a 6 that cannot do what an 8 can in 99.9% of situations.

If you don't want a truck with a V8, don't buy one. But your assertion that choices that others make that don't match yours are childlish, is just, well, childish.

Look at it another way. 99.9% of what people do with an SUV can be done with a Passat wagon or similar, with better handling, better safety (less chance of roll over), and better fuel economy. Therefore, using your logic, this obsession with SUVs is just childish.

What is right for you is not necessarily right for others.

 

[eskimochaos]

Elemint. You just got pwned. Be my guest if you want to putts around in a 4 banger. I would much rather have the power and torque on tap from a big v8

 

[marcz62]

towing

I realize a V-8 would be better for towing. But I have a 6 and I tow a trailer about 35,000 miles a year with it and it is doing fine. At times I wish I had an 8. Like when I am in the mountains, but that isn't all the time for me. but I don't think I would be getting the 18mpg that I am now if I had the 8. Now if they do eventually offer the 8 in the 5th gen then I would probably go with that. :girl:

 

[eskimochaos]

I realize a V-8 would be better for towing. But I have a 6 and I tow a trailer about 35,000 miles a year with it and it is doing fine. At times I wish I had an 8. Like when I am in the mountains, but that isn't all the time for me. but I don't think I would be getting the 18mpg that I am now if I had the 8. Now if they do eventually offer the 8 in the 5th gen then I would probably go with that. :girl:

That's great that your satisfied with the v6; however, that doesn't mean that Toyota shouldn't offer the v8 as an option for whatever reason someone wants it whether it be speed, towing, power etc.

I'll never tow but I just prefer the passing ability on the highway, acceleration and overall deameanor of the 4.5k suv.

 

[sven]

Everyone buys everyone. Eventually. GM, Chrysler, Mercedes.

Nope. Profitable, well-managed car companies buy unprofitable, poorly-managed car companies. If nobody buys the unprofitable, poorly-managed car company, eventually it will end up in bankruptcy court where it will be bought, bailed out, or go out of business. I don't think you have to worry about somebody swooping in to buy Mercedes just yet. The same goes for Toyota.

Toyota doesnt have to be a niche car maker only...but they ought to make a few niche market vehicles along side their mainstream cars. This way they can be the automaker for everyone.

Especially in this economic climate, a cost-benefit analysis has to be performed for each niche market vehicle that a car maker sells. A vehicle has to generate enough income to justify it's existence. If not, then the vehicle must at least be a halo vehicle that creates intangible benefits for the company's image, or has public relations value (i.e. the Prius makes everyone think of Toyota as the greenest car company even though it makes many large gas-guzzling SUV's). I've never seen a breakdown of how many manual transmission FJ Cruiser's Toyota sells. You would think that if it were a popular choice, Toyota would also offer a manual transmission on the 4Runner.


I just can't figure out the reasoning behind some of Toyota's decisions:

1) Why doesn't Toyota sell a sports car anymore? They used to sell the Celica, Supra, and MR2. Were they losing money in this segment?

2) Why did Toyoya get rid of the front axle and manual transmission on the LandCruiser, and make it into a luxury SUV with a base price of $65,000? The almost identical Lexus LX570 at a base price $76,000 seems to have the large luxury SUV segment covered. The LX570 should keep its IFS and luxury interior, and market itself to the upscale mall-crawler/soccer-mom crowd. The LandCruiser should get a solid front axle, manual transmission option, and a less luxurious interior so that it's priced between the 4Runner and GX470. This way the LandCruiser could also "go back to its roots" of being a rugged, go anywhere SUV that's a little pricey but still within reach of the middle-class buyer.

3) Why does the 2010 4Runner Limited come with 20-inch rims and smaller 245/60 tires standard, while the SR5 and Trail Edition get 17-inch rims and larger 265/70 tires? I thought the Highlander and Venza crossover CUV's had the mall-crawler/soccer-mom segment covered with their 20-inch rim option.

 

[hammersc]

V8 vs. V6 cage match! Live on pay per view this Saturday! $49.99

 

[jmc8387]

That would make Toyota just like GM: attempting to meet the need of every market and satisfying none.

You can't please everyone or meet every need. That's just a given with products that are mass-produced.

A little over a month to go. I can't wait.

Sure you can. Using the example above. Tata now owns Jaguar/Land Rover, not Ford as mentioned. In this case Tata has their mainstream vehicles "Tata," their luxury cars "Jaguar" and now their off-road devision "Land Rover."


Another example of meeting everyones needs...VW. The VW brand provides mainstream cars for the masses, then they have their Porsche division for their sports cars, and Audi for their luxury.

All of these brands have several models within that further cater to different needs.

Toyota is no different. Toyota, Lexus and Scion. All cater to different needs and even further with different models. They have no reason not to do this as it gives them a larger market share. Best example is of the Prius. When the Prius came out, it was a vary rare offering that very few people found attractive and bought. Same with the Scion division that caters to the goffey, young at heart people looking to find their youth.

So you cant tell me that auto companies don't try to meet the needs of all their customers. Anyways, my rant is done. Everyone looks at things differently.

 

[RonMAIDEN]

Same with the Scion division that caters to the goffey, young at heart people looking to find their youth.

I think Toyota initially was really pushing the Scion lineup to the younger crowd period but they have been a hit with people that simply want a decent quality,low priced car with good MPGs.

We have a Scion xB that seats 4 adults fine,gets 31mpg in the city and only cost us about $13k used w/13k on the odo and came with 17" wheels,aftermaket Pioneer HU and Tien lowering coils plus it had the Scion ground effects and rear spoiler.

If I wanted to find my youth it would be a car with much more horsepower.

 

[sven]

This way they can be the automaker for everyone.

That would make Toyota just like GM: attempting to meet the need of every market and satisfying none.

You can't please everyone or meet every need. That's just a given with products that are mass-produced.

Sure you can. Using the example above. Tata now owns Jaguar/Land Rover, not Ford as mentioned. In this case Tata has their mainstream vehicles "Tata," their luxury cars "Jaguar" and now their off-road devision "Land Rover."

Tata is like the Indian General Motors. You failed to mention that Tata is losing so much money on their Jaguar/Land Rover investment that Tata went crawling on it's hands and knees to the UK government to ask for a bailout to the tune of $734 million US dollars.

If a car company is going to "meet everyones needs" it better be profitable, otherwise it's going into bankruptcy eventually. It's called capitalism.

http://www.autonews.com/article/20090324/COPY01/303249932/1193

 

[jmc8387]

Tata is like the Indian General Motors. You failed to mention that Tata is losing so much money on their Jaguar/Land Rover investment that Tata went crawling on it's hands and knees to the UK government to ask for a bailout to the tune of $734 million US dollars.

If a car company is going to "meet everyones needs" it better be profitable, otherwise it's going into bankruptcy eventually. It's called capitalism.

http://www.autonews.com/article/20090324/COPY01/303249932/1193

Yeah, but if you live in the US, automakers can expect a handout from the American people forced upon them by the government. So in essence, screwed up companies are not allowed to fail here.

 

[cdoyle]

bummer that's it's official that there will be no V8. I guess that means I won't be getting a 5th Gen 4Runner. I'll just hold on to my 04 now, Toyota is making a silly decision here. It's really dumb to offer a great V8 with the 4th Gens, then come out with the all new 5th Gens that don't?

 

[hulk311]

V8 vs. V6 cage match! Live on pay per view this Saturday! $49.99

lol

I like how one guy says he won't be getting the new 4runner since it does not have a v8 in it, meanwhile he's got a 4th gen 4runner in his sig......that vehicle should last you another 10+ years/100,000 miles lol.:whipping2

 

[qs933]

So you cant tell me that auto companies don't try to meet the needs of all their customers.

They all can try, but the smarter auto companies know which markets make sense to pursue. Those that blindly try to be everything to everybody tend to fair rather poorly. Let me put this another way using your own examples.

You mentioned VW. VW decided that it needed to be in the minivan segment. Granted, VW realized it didn't make sense to engineer one from the ground up so they struck a deal with Chrysler to market a slightly altered Caravan as the Routan. Sales have been terrible.

Did the Routan meet the needs of the 9,600 people who bought one in 2009? Sure. Was it necessarily a smart product decision? Who knows (break-even was probably smaller given that it's a rebadged Chrysler), but with about 29,000 produced, that's a lot of excess inventory to shed.

In broad strokes, sure -- Lexus is the luxury division, Scion is the youth division, and Toyota is the general-purpose division. They are reaching multiple markets.

But to expect Toyota to try to satisfy every micro-niche for the 4Runner that exists -- off-roaders who want a manual; trailer-pullers who want a V8; gas misers that want a 4; tree huggers who want a hybrid; people who want a mast antenna; people who want no antenna; people who want a shark fin antenna; people who want red, blue, green, black, purple, orange paint; etc. -- is simply not realistic with a mass-produced vehicle.

They had to make some difficult decisions on what will be produced to maximize appeal. Some people aren't going to be happy and that's OK. No one should feel obligated to buy a vehicle that doesn't meet their needs.

 

[cdoyle]

lol

I like how one guy says he won't be getting the new 4runner since it does not have a v8 in it, meanwhile he's got a 4th gen 4runner in his sig......that vehicle should last you another 10+ years/100,000 miles lol.:whipping2

Not sure what is funny?

Never said my current 4Runner is falling apart of anything, but there are things I was hoping they would improve on with the 5th gen (HVAC system for one thing).

but I won't trade in my current V8 for a V6 just to get that fixed. So that means that Toyota won't get anymore $ from me.

 

[hulk311]

This is a crazy idea but bear with me here fellow members....why not get the 5th gen and just put a S/C or T/C on it?...



:biggrin2:

 

[jmc8387]

This is a crazy idea but bear with me here fellow members....why not get the 5th gen and just put a S/C or T/C on it?...



:biggrin2:

Does TRD make a supercharger for the 4.0 V6? I thought it was just the 3.4, 4.5, 4.7 and 5.7 motors.

 

[hammersc]

In broad strokes, sure -- Lexus is the luxury division, Scion is the youth division, and Toyota is the general-purpose division. They are reaching multiple markets.

But to expect Toyota to try to satisfy every micro-niche for the 4Runner that exists -- off-roaders who want a manual; trailer-pullers who want a V8; gas misers that want a 4; tree huggers who want a hybrid; people who want a mast antenna; people who want no antenna; people who want a shark fin antenna; people who want red, blue, green, black, purple, orange paint; etc. -- is simply not realistic with a mass-produced vehicle.

They had to make some difficult decisions on what will be produced to maximize appeal. Some people aren't going to be happy and that's OK. No one should feel obligated to buy a vehicle that doesn't meet their needs.

Well put.

I was in my truck yesterday on a road trip and at the 4 or 5 towns I went through, while sitting at the red lights and while driving down the highway - I car watched. More so than I normally do (which is a lot). All day I never saw the same car twice. I saw lots of accords and camry's and explorers, etc but none exactly the same. Must have seen 1000 cars or so.

You know what that tells me (obviously)? It's harrrrrd to make an automobile that pleases everyone. Everyone likes something different. Everyone. The guy that posted above me somewhere likes red cars, I hate them. Guy who posts next probably thinks I'm an idiot for driving a rwd 4 runner, but it fits my needs perfectly. Different strokes. And you know what? I think it's great. Unique cars, unique personalities - you can express yourself if you want with your car or you can just get adequate transportation - it's all good. It's America. Freedom of choice and lots of cars to choose from. Hundreds. Maybe thousands. It's a beautiful thing. Buy what you like and what fits your needs. And don't stress over what your neighbor or whoever drives. I need to listen to my own advice, too.

 

[vando45]

lol

I like how one guy says he won't be getting the new 4runner since it does not have a v8 in it, meanwhile he's got a 4th gen 4runner in his sig......that vehicle should last you another 10+ years/100,000 miles lol.:whipping2

With 310 HP and improved mileage I might have been tempted to upgrade. Not now.

 

[jh26]

What's the GVWR?

I realize a V-8 would be better for towing. .... but I don't think I would be getting the 18mpg that I am now if I had the 8.

I do. I have a v8 4wd and typically get 18mpg driving to work, and 19mpg on 2 lane highway driving (a bit less on the high-speed roads).

I have a ~4000lbs camper that I tow, and several boats too, so the v8 is rather nice. But the primary reason for the v8 over the v6 for me was that the v8 met the IRS Section 179 requirement for having a GVWR over 6000 lbs. I haven't seen the GVWR for the 2010 yet, but that would be the biggest deal killer for me.

My dad just bought a Tundra with the new 4.6 v8 - very nice drivetrain! Takes 9 quarts of oil too. Wow - I guess Toy still hasn't really figured out the sludge problems.