I am the proud new owner of a Silver 2012 4Runner Trail Edition last weekend. After purchasing the vehicle, I made my first road trip from San Diego to Big Bear. First impressions after the first week of ownership:
- Fuel economy after 2 tanks of gas = 19.2 – Points to consider: I regularly use cruise control, and set it at ~70 mph when on the highways. I have been driving mostly on the highways around Southern California.
- There is about a +/- 3 mph buffer zone when using cruise control
- Minimal dive in hard brakes, however there is no loss of control or visibility – this is a characteristic of all trucks I’ve driven and without reading online posts about it I wouldn’t even acknowledge it, let alone consider it a “flaw” as I’ve read here in some posts.
- No vibrations at any speed range
- Interior quality is better than I anticipated – There are several reviews stating the interior is made using low quality plastic and looks cheap. My opinion is that it's comfortable, very useful, and I’m digging the water-proof seats.
- I paid ~36K in Escondido, CA. I do not recommend the Toyota Dealership at that location. The finance manager was trying to provide misleading information in an attempt to get me to purchase accessories already standard on the vehicle (Like the Car alarm and scotch guard for the interior).
I’ll get a chance to do some off-roading in the next month. I’ll post some photos once I get back.