I am in the market right now and just cannot fully commit to a new 2021 4Runner. Ive had my 4th Gen since it was new in 2005 and with the ancient Trans and Engine they are still using it makes it hard to justify buying another when there are so many more capable transmission and engine combos.
Ya I get that its been working all these years but its showing its age. The body design of the 4runner is looking long in the tooth also. To me they need to look at what was done with the Bronco and possibly style the new 4runner similar to the fj's or old school land cruisers but with a more modern feel. That would be a winner if you coupled it with a new trans and engine. Make it a truly stock capable off-roader built to last 300K miles. THEN they will smoke the Bronco and take a huge dent out of Jeep sales.
This was me about 2 weeks ago. I bought a 2018 TRD ORP and I just could not get over what a side-grade it was from my 4th gen. Same motor. Same transmission. Same tow capacity. A very lacking Entune system, and the aftermarket options stink (at least the 2020s came with CarPlay). Same poor MPG for the power on tap. Visibility was much worse than the 4th gen. KDSS is very cool, that was the only thing I was excited about.
My 07 SR5 4WD came with automatic climate control, and that was missing from the newer one. I love A-TRAC and crawl control, but they took the place of the sunglasses holder that I used every day as I wear prescription glasses.
The 2018 TRD ORP is a very nice, capable vehicle. But, my 4th gen feels like it is 90% of the 5th gen for 15% of the price. I just couldn't justify that when the old one is still perfectly reliable.
The dealership I bought it from allows a 5 day return policy, and I was happy to take it back.