2012 TE First Impressions

[SeldomSeen]

I purchased a silver 2012 TE with KDSS & Entune almost 2 weeks ago and thought I would post my first impressions. The TE replaced a 2001 Mitsubishi Montero. The 2012 TEs are in really short supply in Northern California at the moment - according to the dealer there were only 2 available in the region (and my independent research seemed to confirm the short supply). The vehicle I purchased had to be transported from another dealer ~150 miles away.

I chose the T4R TE for likely the same reason as many others here - it is one of the few remaining mid-size SUVs that is designed for off road use in the stock configuration. I had narrowed my choices down to a double cab Tacoma, the TE, and considered Jeeps briefly.

I'm surprised how well the TE handles on the road - preumably the KDSS? It exhibits much less body roll when turning/cornering than the Montero (which admittedly isn't saying much). Pretty nice considering it is a body-on-frame SUV with an off road tuned suspension.

I had a chance to take it off road for a couple of hours last week and get it a little muddy. Not surprisingly, it handled great and I was able to test that both 4HI and 4LO were working on some very steep, rutted fire roads.

After a couple of fill-ups I have been getting 17-19 MPG with a combination of city & highway driving that includes some hills on my commute (and I have a bit of a heavy foot).

There are only a couple of things I miss from the Montero:

Automatic climate control - I had gotten spoiled and don't much like having to fuss around with the fan/temp/vent settings. I wonder if it would be possible to replace the manual control module with the automatic module from the LE? Probably not worth the cost & effort even if it is possible...

Heated Seats - but in reality I only end up using them a few times a year, and I think it will be less important with the cloth seats (I had leather on the Montero and Highlander).

The TE has more power, better gas mileage, and more leg room than the Montero. It also has hands-free Bluetooth and the iPod interface, which were both a must for whatever vehicle I purchased (but I haven't gotten Entune to work yet, so the jury is still out on that feature). I guess that's what happens when you wait 10+ years to replace a vehicle.

Really the only thing I dislike about the TE is the choice of OEM tires - it sure seems like a "Trail Edition" should have a more aggressive tread in the stock configuration. Fortunately, that can be remedied easily.

I am a happy camper so far. I really enjoy driving this vehicle - my first 4Runner. I probably won't end up doing a lot of modding, but I do enjoy seeing what others here have done. T4R.org was also a great resource when I was researching what to buy - thanks to all who contribute here.

 

[4Runnerspv]

Congrats on the '12 TE!
I have a black '11 TE. I am coming from an '06 Tundra. This is my first 4Runner, I was thinking of another Tundra or a 4Runner. I am really happy that I decided on the 4Runner.

 

[TOPDECK]

Yes TE was VERY hard for me to find down here in Southern California too. We searched for over a week, and found only two dealerships who actually had one. I say "actually" because it seemed like some dealers websites would say they would have one, but if you called they said "it just sold, but we have a Limited here" or something along those lines. A lot of song and dance.

I had to drive 100 miles to San Diego to get mine.

I concur with your observations. It handles very well on the road, and I was very pleased with the performance off-road as well. It climbed over rocks and ruts without even blinking. The tires do seem a little pedestrian but I was surprised at the grip they offered in dry rocky terrain. Still need to be changed out though I think.

My only gripe is with the factory nav's iPhone integration. I wish you could search by artist alone without having to first search through genres. In addition, you can plug in any thumb drive or HDD and play songs, but it wont play iTunes .m4a format from them. But, it will through an Apple device. Kind of sucks, but that probably isn't Toyota's fault.

 

[SeldomSeen]

Update: I was able to get Entune to work today. I'm not sure what the problem was the first couple of times I tried. However, I don't know how much I will actually use it.

 

[TOPDECK]

Update: I was able to get Entune to work today. I'm not sure what the problem was the first couple of times I tried. However, I don't know how much I will actually use it.

It took me a second to figure it out too. I guess it is kind of like an off-road IQ test. If you are smart enough to figure out all of these dials, switches, and buttons then you are smart enough to be off-road safely. LOL

Looks like we passed!

 

[tlflow]

if you like it now, wait til you get some tires on there ...