Yeah, under powered, and it sucks. Buy a Chevy. WTF!!!???
This thing isn't underpowered. Philsey hit the head on the nail with that. If you wanna move it then stomp on it. Keep it higher in the torque curve with sport and it'll surprise you.
The 5th gen is anemic... As was the 4th gen... As was the 3rd gen... And so on and so on.
That is the only thing I truly dislike and can't stand about this vehicle. This was easily addressed in the past with the TRD supercharger and smaller aftermarket pulley. If TRD and Gadget decide not to release a kit for the 5th gen, I will seriously consider trading this in.
From Drive, move the shifter to the left a notch, then forward and back to select your top gear.Well, the twit salesman should have told me about the Sport mode. I'll take it for another test drive. Btw, how do you put it in S mode? Press a button? Shift to "S"?
Not as much as you might think. Maybe 2-3 mpg difference from babying it to beating it.Yeah, but where does mpg go then?
And that's my main concern: Will I be happy with it $40,000 later? So that's why I'm asking.
...... There's other powerful trucks out there.
Care to expound CTH?
Please stay in the general price range, general vehicle type, and reliability factor.
Let's further ass-ume OP already knows he can buy a used 4G V8.
Sequoia
Armada
Yukon
Durango (had one for 9 years and never a repair)
And whatever else feels more powerful with more gitty-up to the OP and makes him 100% happy to pay $40k for.
Now you're wising up.
If you have any concerns or reservations about ANYTHING that costs $40k, then walk away and keep looking til you find something that makes you 100% happy.
Especially if you are less than happy with something that is normal operating conditions for this truck. It won't go away and you can't change it.
There's other powerful trucks out there.
40K would only buy the stripped down trims/lowest level engines/drivetrains for those models wouldn't it unless you went used.
Not that I'm defending the 4.0 or being fanboi-ish of course I've been vocal about the engine myself in the past lol.
Whatever....hey, I'm not friggin consumer reports. OP can figure it out for himself.
One things clear, he's got a concern and its a common one. I just gave some common sense advise - the same in fact that most people here constantly preach to avoid having someone complain about their 5th gen AFTER they've already bought it.
You can get a brand new 2013 Nissan Armada at an MSRP of $48k and get that down to $43 without breaking a sweat. If you find a 2012 you can certainly do even better.
Those trucks can be gotten in the very near vicinity of the 4Runner or better.
A very well appointed Durango can certainly be gotten for less than a 4Runner.
"Full-Size" SUVs will have the magical "V8" with more power, but they also weigh more, making them slower, thirstier, and more of a pain to drive. I honestly couldn't imagine driving a heavier vehicle then I do now on a daily basis.
The 1GR-FE has plenty of power to haul the heavy 5th Gen Runner around, it is just the shift maps are geared towards keeping the RPMs low for MPGs....I doubt any of the other new V8 SUVs will have shift maps for power, and not MPGs.
If you really need the extra power, why not go for a used low mileage V8 4th gen, or a used GX470?