Hi All,
Again, thanks for such a warm welcome to the forum!
I know this topic has been talked about A LOT! In fact you guys helped me when I was looking but I thought since I finally have a 2013 TE I thought I would give you my first impressions in case others find it useful.
First off, it took about 2 months to get the thing once I put a deposit down. Apparently they are not easy to come by in the Boston area. I even had a friend of mine who works for Toyota try to locate one for me with no luck. He did come in handy later when we did find one because he could get into the allocation system and tell me that it "was still on the boat somewhere in the ocean" - for about a month!
I honestly don't remember my very first thoughts when I drove my first 4Runner back in 2000 other than I loved it. However when I bought my 4th gen 2006 in November of 2005 I remember, vividly, thinking "Oh my God, this thing feels like a car!". Then 2 weeks ago when I first drove my 5th gen 2013 I thought, "Oh my God, this thing drives like a truck!" Which is a very good thing!
My 2000 felt like I could get through anything. In winters (back when New England got a lot of snow on a regular basis) I remember other cars and trucks shoveling out of 18" snow storms, slipping and sliding off the road, stuck etc. My 2000 was a beast and I never had to dig the thing out, it would just power through whatever I put in front of it. I did not do too much off roading with it, mostly tame stuff but there were a few times... It performed amazingly well and was a solid truck. The 3rd gens, as you all know had part time 4X4. At the time, I did not know the difference...it just worked.
My 4th gen 2006 was a great truck in many, many ways. It was a very comfortable ride and had nice interior features like the leather wrapped steering wheel, automatic climate control and overall decent interior materials. However I never felt like it was a beast or that it could get through anything. The 4X4 system always felt weak somehow like it was not fully engaged somehow. I know a lot of you guys are going to disagree with that, but it was just my impression of it. Sure, there were upsides to it being full time 4X4 because you could turn it on (with a dial, I hated a dial) and not think about it. But when you got in the sh** it just fell so short for me. In fact I got it stuck, more than once in both snow and dirt. The snow was pretty deep but I had the mind set of my last 4runner and thought it could handle it. Overall I did love the truck. It drove like a sports car (relatively) and I could whip the thing around and I got to know it intimately so I knew what it could and could not do. It was also fast for an truck. I remember stomping on it for the first time and thinking "holy sh**, this thing moves!" I think it was a great truck, served me well and I truly enjoyed it and was sad to see it go, I really was!
Fast forward to December 2013. Now, I have only had the 5th gen for a couple of weeks but I feel like there are just so many things that make the truck different, I feel like I can give a good preliminary review.
As I said, when I first drove it I thought that it felt like a truck. I felt like I was back in a 4runner, a true on off road beast (stock of course, in both versions - I am being a bit dramatic). But there is a stark difference in the feel of both trucks. The 5th gen is taller, bigger, roomier and has a much more solid feel - while moving, mind you. I know it is not that much bigger but it certainly give the feeling that it is. Like others have talked about here there are some drawbacks to the 5th gen. I have read people debate back and fourth regarding the engine, power and speed of the 5th gen. I honestly do not have it figured out yet. What I can tell you is that there is a substantial difference in the feel if nothing else. In the 4th gen, when you step on it, you did not have to go to far and you were moving. If you wanted to get on it and go, it did not take much and if you really wanted to move, floor it and you were going! The 5th gen is very different. It can feel like a dog sometimes. I find myself really having to push the throttle just to get moving out into traffic. Even this morning, merging on to 95, on a slight hill, there was a car beside me who was slowing down to let me in. I pushed further and further on the throttle and eventually had to floor it just to get out in front of him. Now, maybe I did not have to do that, but it sure felt like I had to. On the other hand I have thought maybe the throttle is just set up differently than the 4th gen. There are many times where if I just push the throttle further than I think (or remember from the 4th gen) I should, it moves just fine. I am leaning towards that thinking because I have a feeling I just need to get used to it. Also I can see (if that is true) why Toyota would make the throttle less sensitive for off roading.
The interior is good, not great, good. It is obvious that Toyota put the money into components and systems in the truck vs. a "pretty" interior. The leather wrapped steering wheel is gone, the automatic climate control is gone. The dash and other areas of the truck feel somewhat cheap. Even the doors feel noticeably cheaper - approaching tin can sound and feel when opening and closing the doors.
However, having said all of that, I love this generation of the 4runner! It is a solid riding, beast feeling machine that was built for tough situations. Everyday driving is improved (minus the engine performance - although the jury is still out on that). You feel the road when you drive and with the KDSS, you hug the road and trails like I have not experienced in a 4Runner. The crawl control and multi terrain select is fantastic and gets you out of situations that the 4th gen would be left spinning its wheels.
I am very happy that the part time 4x4 is back. In my opinion (I know I am going to catch it for this), it is far superior to full time 4X4. I have read people talk about never using it on dry pavement. I whole heartily disagree with that. I drove my 3rd gen in 4X4 all the time on dry/snowy pavement - for miles - on the highway - on side streets - everywhere when I needed it - for 6 years and never had a problem, not one. It is true that the diff will bind in sharp corners like a parking lot, pulling out of the driveway or tight turns on small streets. You just have to be aware of what you are doing and think about it to make sure you don't over steer and bind it up. Maybe I am totally wrong about this but all I can tell you is that I live in New England and need 4X4 quite a bit and I never, ever had a problem.
So those are my initial thoughts. Wow, that was kind of long...sorry. Again, overall I absolutely love the 5th gen and would not trade it for any other version. The difference is that this is an on/off road machine and there will be compromises for that, that I talked about. If you are looking for a more "creature comfortable" version then the 4 gen is for you. If you are looking for something that will perform in tough conditions then the 5th gen is your truck.
Thoughts, criticisms, "you are out of your mind" comments....
Quantum
Again, thanks for such a warm welcome to the forum!
I know this topic has been talked about A LOT! In fact you guys helped me when I was looking but I thought since I finally have a 2013 TE I thought I would give you my first impressions in case others find it useful.
First off, it took about 2 months to get the thing once I put a deposit down. Apparently they are not easy to come by in the Boston area. I even had a friend of mine who works for Toyota try to locate one for me with no luck. He did come in handy later when we did find one because he could get into the allocation system and tell me that it "was still on the boat somewhere in the ocean" - for about a month!
I honestly don't remember my very first thoughts when I drove my first 4Runner back in 2000 other than I loved it. However when I bought my 4th gen 2006 in November of 2005 I remember, vividly, thinking "Oh my God, this thing feels like a car!". Then 2 weeks ago when I first drove my 5th gen 2013 I thought, "Oh my God, this thing drives like a truck!" Which is a very good thing!
My 2000 felt like I could get through anything. In winters (back when New England got a lot of snow on a regular basis) I remember other cars and trucks shoveling out of 18" snow storms, slipping and sliding off the road, stuck etc. My 2000 was a beast and I never had to dig the thing out, it would just power through whatever I put in front of it. I did not do too much off roading with it, mostly tame stuff but there were a few times... It performed amazingly well and was a solid truck. The 3rd gens, as you all know had part time 4X4. At the time, I did not know the difference...it just worked.
My 4th gen 2006 was a great truck in many, many ways. It was a very comfortable ride and had nice interior features like the leather wrapped steering wheel, automatic climate control and overall decent interior materials. However I never felt like it was a beast or that it could get through anything. The 4X4 system always felt weak somehow like it was not fully engaged somehow. I know a lot of you guys are going to disagree with that, but it was just my impression of it. Sure, there were upsides to it being full time 4X4 because you could turn it on (with a dial, I hated a dial) and not think about it. But when you got in the sh** it just fell so short for me. In fact I got it stuck, more than once in both snow and dirt. The snow was pretty deep but I had the mind set of my last 4runner and thought it could handle it. Overall I did love the truck. It drove like a sports car (relatively) and I could whip the thing around and I got to know it intimately so I knew what it could and could not do. It was also fast for an truck. I remember stomping on it for the first time and thinking "holy sh**, this thing moves!" I think it was a great truck, served me well and I truly enjoyed it and was sad to see it go, I really was!
Fast forward to December 2013. Now, I have only had the 5th gen for a couple of weeks but I feel like there are just so many things that make the truck different, I feel like I can give a good preliminary review.
As I said, when I first drove it I thought that it felt like a truck. I felt like I was back in a 4runner, a true on off road beast (stock of course, in both versions - I am being a bit dramatic). But there is a stark difference in the feel of both trucks. The 5th gen is taller, bigger, roomier and has a much more solid feel - while moving, mind you. I know it is not that much bigger but it certainly give the feeling that it is. Like others have talked about here there are some drawbacks to the 5th gen. I have read people debate back and fourth regarding the engine, power and speed of the 5th gen. I honestly do not have it figured out yet. What I can tell you is that there is a substantial difference in the feel if nothing else. In the 4th gen, when you step on it, you did not have to go to far and you were moving. If you wanted to get on it and go, it did not take much and if you really wanted to move, floor it and you were going! The 5th gen is very different. It can feel like a dog sometimes. I find myself really having to push the throttle just to get moving out into traffic. Even this morning, merging on to 95, on a slight hill, there was a car beside me who was slowing down to let me in. I pushed further and further on the throttle and eventually had to floor it just to get out in front of him. Now, maybe I did not have to do that, but it sure felt like I had to. On the other hand I have thought maybe the throttle is just set up differently than the 4th gen. There are many times where if I just push the throttle further than I think (or remember from the 4th gen) I should, it moves just fine. I am leaning towards that thinking because I have a feeling I just need to get used to it. Also I can see (if that is true) why Toyota would make the throttle less sensitive for off roading.
The interior is good, not great, good. It is obvious that Toyota put the money into components and systems in the truck vs. a "pretty" interior. The leather wrapped steering wheel is gone, the automatic climate control is gone. The dash and other areas of the truck feel somewhat cheap. Even the doors feel noticeably cheaper - approaching tin can sound and feel when opening and closing the doors.
However, having said all of that, I love this generation of the 4runner! It is a solid riding, beast feeling machine that was built for tough situations. Everyday driving is improved (minus the engine performance - although the jury is still out on that). You feel the road when you drive and with the KDSS, you hug the road and trails like I have not experienced in a 4Runner. The crawl control and multi terrain select is fantastic and gets you out of situations that the 4th gen would be left spinning its wheels.
I am very happy that the part time 4x4 is back. In my opinion (I know I am going to catch it for this), it is far superior to full time 4X4. I have read people talk about never using it on dry pavement. I whole heartily disagree with that. I drove my 3rd gen in 4X4 all the time on dry/snowy pavement - for miles - on the highway - on side streets - everywhere when I needed it - for 6 years and never had a problem, not one. It is true that the diff will bind in sharp corners like a parking lot, pulling out of the driveway or tight turns on small streets. You just have to be aware of what you are doing and think about it to make sure you don't over steer and bind it up. Maybe I am totally wrong about this but all I can tell you is that I live in New England and need 4X4 quite a bit and I never, ever had a problem.
So those are my initial thoughts. Wow, that was kind of long...sorry. Again, overall I absolutely love the 5th gen and would not trade it for any other version. The difference is that this is an on/off road machine and there will be compromises for that, that I talked about. If you are looking for a more "creature comfortable" version then the 4 gen is for you. If you are looking for something that will perform in tough conditions then the 5th gen is your truck.
Thoughts, criticisms, "you are out of your mind" comments....
Quantum
