4th Gen vs 5th Gen Turning Radius

[Bumbo]

I have a friend who recently bought a 5th Gen SR5 2WD and one of the things he mentioned was that the turning radius wasn't that great.

I always thought the turning radius on my 4th Gen 4WD was excellent.

Are there any differences between the turning radius between these two generations, or with 2WD vs 4WD?

I was thinking that he isn't really a truck guy, and perhaps the cars he had in the past are flavoring that comment.

I came from full size trucks and feel the 4Runner turning radius was very tight in comparison.

 

[Rishi3]

My 2007 with spidertrax and 275's 4wd is pretty horrible, could be worse tho. Worth the sacrifice tho

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[Bumbo]

My 2007 with spidertrax and 275's 4wd is pretty horrible, could be worse tho. Worth the sacrifice tho

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Interesting...

I am running 255s with no spacers, I can pretty much go full lock to lock without rubbing.

Perhaps I am easy to please because the turning radius feels great. That said, is the 5th Gen the same?

 

[Dre's runner]

Turning radius in Toyotas are best in class I think. Drive any Chevy or ford SUV and it's a challenge in the parking lots. Unless the tires are oversized so much so that it prevents full steering 4 runners have some of the tightest turning circle. Unless your friend was driving a fiat or VW beetle before the the T4R?

 

[simple]

This was a big problem for me and one of the reasons I turned my 5th gen in and went back to a 4th gen. I had a 2015 SR5P 4wd. I hated U-turns in the 5th gen, and was honestly surprised when I could make them without making it a 3pt.

 

[RonJR]

Don't know about the 5th gen, but I'm impressed with the turning radius of my 4th gen. It's better than my 2nd gen, even though the wheelbase is 6 inches longer.

 

[Anonymous4Runner]

I have a 2WD v8 (04) and a 4WD v6 (07) - both turning radius are far superior compared to other vehicles I've driven including but not limited to the following: mom's BMW Z4 3.0i, brother's honda Accord '95, Chrysler and Jeep SUV rentals and a rav4 rental. Even the rav4's turning radius was impressive for the vehicle itself.

I've never had issues making tight turns and u-turns when driving Toyota. I had to adjust few times with other vehicles but it's all dependent on traffic behind you, conditions of road, your suspension system, etc.

P.S. both 4Runners' are completely stock

 

[Rishi3]

My 2007 with spidertrax and 275's 4wd is pretty horrible, could be worse tho. Worth the sacrifice tho

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Well I am 19 and it is my first car so... that's what it feels like when turning around in my street

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[ray k]

I have to agree with simple above. I have both a 4th and 5th gen. The 4th gen turning radius is great while I constantly have to stop in the middle of a u-turn, cuss a few times, back up, and then finish the turn in the 5th gen.

 

[AuSeeker]

Not sure how accurate this info is but according to Edmunds.com the "turning circle" is the same for a 2006 and a 2015 4Runners... 37.4'

You will have to click on the "See All Features & Specs" link.

https://www.edmunds.com/toyota/4runner/2006/features-specs/

https://www.edmunds.com/toyota/4runner/2015/features-specs/

That being said I love the turning radius of my 4Runner, sure beats the turning radius of my Suburban!!

 

[TEPUI]

I recently drove a stock 5th gen and the turning radius is considerably higher compared to my 4th gen with 285s. I had to back up a few times on a turn I usually drive through on my 4th gen. Another big difference was how the doors felt when closing them. The 4th gen doors feel much more solid, beefier, almost like a European car feel.

That said, i still love the 5th gen and would get one in a heartbeat. I'm pretty sure it will be my next car.

 

[Chewbaccam]

For a vehicle of it's size, the turning radius is pretty good. My Cayman turns barely tighter than it! In fact, when I took my first u-turn in the 4R, I was really surprised at it's radius. Doing a quick google, it says the turning radius is the same, so maybe your friend is coming from something like a 2 door Jeep Wrangler, who's radius is superior?

 

[Drunner97]

Pretty sure it has to do with the alignment numbers. When I first bought my 4th gen I thought the turning radius was terrible compared to my boat of a Tacoma with the longer wheel base. After I lifted it and got the alignment done, the 4th gen radius is as good as, if not better, than my Tacoma's now. So it's either a clearance thing (the Tacoma is an off road package and has more clearance stock than a 4th gen) or it's an alignment thing.

 

[4RunnerAquasport]

Pretty sure it has to do with the alignment numbers. When I first bought my 4th gen I thought the turning radius was terrible compared to my boat of a Tacoma with the longer wheel base. After I lifted it and got the alignment done, the 4th gen radius is as good as, if not better, than my Tacoma's now. So it's either a clearance thing (the Tacoma is an off road package and has more clearance stock than a 4th gen) or it's an alignment thing.

When I had the 2.5" lift and 33" tires done along w the +4 caster on my 5th, the radius seemed to be improved quite a bit. I recently bought a 4th from a forum member who stuffed 35" KO2s w 1.25" wheel spacers and it seems a little better than my 5th. Both are pretty good imho. Might have to do a comparison one day. Stock configuration on the 5th might be lacking but they aren't bad. Trading in an 01' S10 Blazer for my 5th and being a bigger vehicle the 5th turning radius wasn't as good of course, but not bad enough for me to really notice.

 

[Atlanta_man]

I had an embarrassing accident with a concrete barrier in my girlfriend's Acura RL a few years ago. I expected it to have turning radius at least as good as the 4 Runner. Not even close.

Bumped $1,000 of paint off that low piece of plastic on the front...

 

[Bluesky 07]

I had an embarrassing accident with a concrete barrier in my girlfriend's Acura RL a few years ago. I expected it to have turning radius at least as good as the 4 Runner. Not even close.

Bumped $1,000 of paint off that low piece of plastic on the front...

Funny, I saw your post just as I was about to say that my ‘07 easily turns inside my wife’s ‘03 Acura 3.2CL - their sports car of that era. The 4th Gen’s turn radius is quite impressive.

 

[2003V8LTD]

Not sure how accurate this info is but according to Edmunds.com the "turning circle" is the same for a 2006 and a 2015 4Runners... 37.4'

You will have to click on the "See All Features & Specs" link.

https://www.edmunds.com/toyota/4runner/2006/features-specs/

https://www.edmunds.com/toyota/4runner/2015/features-specs/

That being said I love the turning radius of my 4Runner, sure beats the turning radius of my Suburban!!

I saw that in Edmunds too but it has to be wrong. Our stock 2003 V8 turns _incredibly_ sharply. I would say it has the tightest turning radius of any car that we ever owned. We also have a 2017 V6, also stock, and unless I'm missing something, it sure feels like the turning radius is a lot wider.

 

[4r-4ever]

i have a 2005 and 2020 model. the 4th gen is best at it.

 

[BlackWorksInc]

My turning radius isn't great, but then again I had to artificially limit it a bit with my 35's.

 

[gm350reratliff]

I own a 4th and a 5th gen and I’m pretty sure it comes down to the alignment angles. I run SPC UCAs on my 4th gen and Total Chaos UCAs on my 5th gen. With the SPCs, I have about 1.5 degrees more caster than the TC’s allow. With that said, yes my 4th gen does have a tighter turning radius than my 5th gen but not by much. The big difference is in 4 wheel drive off-road. I can unlock the center diff in the 4th gen and still have a tight turning radius but in the 5th gen in 4 wheel drive, it pushes much more, causing the turning radius to be larger. On a tight trail, it’s pretty noticeable. For instance, on black bear pass, there’s only a couple switchbacks that I have to do a 3-point turn in the 4th gen but I have do 3 point turns on quite a few more in the 5th gen.