1engineer
Moderator
I drove by the Toyota lot last week and spied a Tundra TRD Pro in Inferno Orange. I really like orange. I like green too and also white, especially really white white. Anyway, I stopped to look at it because, ever since I saw the 4Runner TRD Pro in Inferno I decided that would be my next truck. Pictures looked great, yada yada yada. Well... I hated the color on the Tundra. Don't get me wrong, it is OK, but for me it did not wind my clock, so to speak. In all reality, being honest to myself, I would have just been buying the TRD Pro for the color. I don't need the suspension since my off roading is usually limited to slow mud. I do use my sunroof quite often and the TRD Pro is lacking that little tidbit so in reality, for me, the TRD Pro was mentally crossed off the list. Well, poop.
They had a TE Premium sitting there and I decided I would look at it. Got a salesman and went for a drive. Nice! New car smell, loved the Softex seats, and it drove just like my TE, nice and stiff around corners. I really, really liked the changes to the interior from the '12 I have. Problem is it had every option (port and factory) and aftermarket wheels on it to boot! It had remote start, bug shield, sunroof cowling, vent shades (I like those though) running boards and the kitchen sink hanging off the side. It had a sticker price of one million dollars... not really but you know what I mean.
I was intrigued enough by then though to drive the LE sitting next to it. Very nice ride! My co pilot wife is a real trooper to put up with me so I thought having the dual climate control option would be nice for her. During the test ride (which lasted about 20 minutes) I tried it out. Put hers on about 80 and mine on about 60. Turns out that just put the truck interior temperature at about 70 lol. When you are sitting two feet away from each other the temperature is going to be close to the same. Nice ride though and it handled well. I never was a huge fan of bigger wheels but it seemed to fit on this vehicle. Well, it was black, black and I do not play well together and it had a 3rd row, which is a non starter to me since the higher deck height would not let me haul my bike inside.
Beside the LE was a SR5 Premium. Never mind that I had only stopped here to look at a Tundra paint color. I was now on a mission. I would use a Blues Brother analogy here but the point is moot. Anyway, suffice to say I was on a mission. First, the truck was super white. I like super white as it is a really white white. It had port installed running boards and cross bars. It did not have the third row. I said "Let's drive it."
While driving the TE I had noticed the brakes had a much different feel than my '12. They were almost silent and had very little travel (maybe 1/2") before actuation. Nice. The handling around the city corners was nowhere near as soft as I remembered the SR5. It was softer but not sickening soft. My co pilot commented that she liked the ride of this truck. I took it out on the interstate. Nice and stable with no issues. As it was getting dark by then I turned on the headlights. Wow! Nice headlights on the new models! Crisp cutoff line, lots of light. We got back to the dealership and the guy started showing me the changes to Entune. Much more user friendly and feature packed than my '12 model. Suffice to say I drove away with a 2015 SR5 Premium in Super White.
After a few days (two) I now have driven it 500 miles and washed it once. I really wanted to highlight some of the changes between the '12 and the '15.
First, I immediately took off the running boards. They will be for sale a bit later up in the "for sale" thread. While I was under there I noticed the brake lines. Different from my '12 and possibly one of the reasons for the different brake feel.
Mud flaps- Yes, the lowly mud flap. It is now a softer material and hangs down a bit further. It is also smooth on the inner side. Why does this matter? Driving in the snow, slush and ice a smooth inner flap will not allow ice to build up quite as easy.
Headlights- Very much an upgrade!
Entune- Much better navigation and weather interface than I had on my '12. The backup camera is much clearer with those cool little lines in the picture. BTW those lines are the exact width of a regulation parking space. Huh.
Softex Seats- Very nice. Will be much easier to clean after a muddy mountain bike ride. Heated is also a plus for the co pilot.
Knob actuated 4WD- My '12 had the lever actuated 4WD. It was cool and retro but it still just manually actuated the ADD, which in turn uses a solenoid to actually shift the transfer case. Now I have an rotary actuated electrical switch to actuate the ADD. No biggie.
All in all there are quite a few changes from the '12 model til today's model. This vehicle has "matured" and most everything people complained of back in 2011 has been fixed. It is a very well appointed vehicle that should fit my needs for the next few years. It also has no sliding cargo tray and that is fine with me. I used it several times in my '12 but in reality I welcome the extra room that comes with not having one.
I drive between 25-30K miles a year. The vast majority of those miles is interstate travel. I live in an area that receives a lot of snow and I drive in the snow quite often. A crossover would probably be just fine for me, except I also drive off road three or four times a month, both for work and play. Again, my off roading could probably be handled by a Subaru or a Highlander with a few exceptions. For example, a few months ago I needed to be "helped" to a testing site by a log skidder. I got the TE stuck and the skidder lumbered over, hooked a cable through my front hook and pulled me through. This happens every now and then and I don't think a Highlander would take too kindly to being hooked to a skidder or a bulldozer.
I know, how do you get a 4Runner Trail Edition stuck? Won't you miss the KDSS and the rear locker of the TE? Well, it's easy to get it stuck. All you need is a clay base and 3-4" of watery mud on top of the clay. Add a slight slope and boom! You are not going anywhere unless you have chains. KDSS and a locker don't help. Well, rear locker could maybe help but usually that just means one more wheel is spinning uselessly in the mud. When you have the president of the company with you it's much easier to call for a bit of help, get a quick bit of help and be on your way without ever getting out of the truck. I have a jack, come alongs and blocks for personal use but I try really hard to never have to use them. I don't "Let's go get this truck stuck!" anymore (song reference anyone?). I really enjoyed the KDSS on road. Off road? Never went places that I could really tell the difference. This new SR5 seems to handle the curves just fine so far. I will probably put some Bilsteins on it though.
All in all it was a pleasant buying experience. I really like the new 4Runner. I know many of you reading this will buy a TRD Pro, a TE or an LE model for many different reasons and that's fine. I think it's great that Toyota still builds a vehicle that is extremely capable and provides different models for different uses. Thanks for reading.
Oh... someone mentioned pictures. It's a '15 SR5 Super White. I take crappy pictures. I will have a few blurry pics in the FS section showing running boards. If you want to look at pictures then look up [MENTION=66300]Intruder[/MENTION] or [MENTION=93894]J-BlickPhoto[/MENTION]s thread. Those guys can take a picture!
They had a TE Premium sitting there and I decided I would look at it. Got a salesman and went for a drive. Nice! New car smell, loved the Softex seats, and it drove just like my TE, nice and stiff around corners. I really, really liked the changes to the interior from the '12 I have. Problem is it had every option (port and factory) and aftermarket wheels on it to boot! It had remote start, bug shield, sunroof cowling, vent shades (I like those though) running boards and the kitchen sink hanging off the side. It had a sticker price of one million dollars... not really but you know what I mean.
I was intrigued enough by then though to drive the LE sitting next to it. Very nice ride! My co pilot wife is a real trooper to put up with me so I thought having the dual climate control option would be nice for her. During the test ride (which lasted about 20 minutes) I tried it out. Put hers on about 80 and mine on about 60. Turns out that just put the truck interior temperature at about 70 lol. When you are sitting two feet away from each other the temperature is going to be close to the same. Nice ride though and it handled well. I never was a huge fan of bigger wheels but it seemed to fit on this vehicle. Well, it was black, black and I do not play well together and it had a 3rd row, which is a non starter to me since the higher deck height would not let me haul my bike inside.
Beside the LE was a SR5 Premium. Never mind that I had only stopped here to look at a Tundra paint color. I was now on a mission. I would use a Blues Brother analogy here but the point is moot. Anyway, suffice to say I was on a mission. First, the truck was super white. I like super white as it is a really white white. It had port installed running boards and cross bars. It did not have the third row. I said "Let's drive it."
While driving the TE I had noticed the brakes had a much different feel than my '12. They were almost silent and had very little travel (maybe 1/2") before actuation. Nice. The handling around the city corners was nowhere near as soft as I remembered the SR5. It was softer but not sickening soft. My co pilot commented that she liked the ride of this truck. I took it out on the interstate. Nice and stable with no issues. As it was getting dark by then I turned on the headlights. Wow! Nice headlights on the new models! Crisp cutoff line, lots of light. We got back to the dealership and the guy started showing me the changes to Entune. Much more user friendly and feature packed than my '12 model. Suffice to say I drove away with a 2015 SR5 Premium in Super White.
After a few days (two) I now have driven it 500 miles and washed it once. I really wanted to highlight some of the changes between the '12 and the '15.
First, I immediately took off the running boards. They will be for sale a bit later up in the "for sale" thread. While I was under there I noticed the brake lines. Different from my '12 and possibly one of the reasons for the different brake feel.
Mud flaps- Yes, the lowly mud flap. It is now a softer material and hangs down a bit further. It is also smooth on the inner side. Why does this matter? Driving in the snow, slush and ice a smooth inner flap will not allow ice to build up quite as easy.
Headlights- Very much an upgrade!
Entune- Much better navigation and weather interface than I had on my '12. The backup camera is much clearer with those cool little lines in the picture. BTW those lines are the exact width of a regulation parking space. Huh.
Softex Seats- Very nice. Will be much easier to clean after a muddy mountain bike ride. Heated is also a plus for the co pilot.
Knob actuated 4WD- My '12 had the lever actuated 4WD. It was cool and retro but it still just manually actuated the ADD, which in turn uses a solenoid to actually shift the transfer case. Now I have an rotary actuated electrical switch to actuate the ADD. No biggie.
All in all there are quite a few changes from the '12 model til today's model. This vehicle has "matured" and most everything people complained of back in 2011 has been fixed. It is a very well appointed vehicle that should fit my needs for the next few years. It also has no sliding cargo tray and that is fine with me. I used it several times in my '12 but in reality I welcome the extra room that comes with not having one.
I drive between 25-30K miles a year. The vast majority of those miles is interstate travel. I live in an area that receives a lot of snow and I drive in the snow quite often. A crossover would probably be just fine for me, except I also drive off road three or four times a month, both for work and play. Again, my off roading could probably be handled by a Subaru or a Highlander with a few exceptions. For example, a few months ago I needed to be "helped" to a testing site by a log skidder. I got the TE stuck and the skidder lumbered over, hooked a cable through my front hook and pulled me through. This happens every now and then and I don't think a Highlander would take too kindly to being hooked to a skidder or a bulldozer.
I know, how do you get a 4Runner Trail Edition stuck? Won't you miss the KDSS and the rear locker of the TE? Well, it's easy to get it stuck. All you need is a clay base and 3-4" of watery mud on top of the clay. Add a slight slope and boom! You are not going anywhere unless you have chains. KDSS and a locker don't help. Well, rear locker could maybe help but usually that just means one more wheel is spinning uselessly in the mud. When you have the president of the company with you it's much easier to call for a bit of help, get a quick bit of help and be on your way without ever getting out of the truck. I have a jack, come alongs and blocks for personal use but I try really hard to never have to use them. I don't "Let's go get this truck stuck!" anymore (song reference anyone?). I really enjoyed the KDSS on road. Off road? Never went places that I could really tell the difference. This new SR5 seems to handle the curves just fine so far. I will probably put some Bilsteins on it though.
All in all it was a pleasant buying experience. I really like the new 4Runner. I know many of you reading this will buy a TRD Pro, a TE or an LE model for many different reasons and that's fine. I think it's great that Toyota still builds a vehicle that is extremely capable and provides different models for different uses. Thanks for reading.
Oh... someone mentioned pictures. It's a '15 SR5 Super White. I take crappy pictures. I will have a few blurry pics in the FS section showing running boards. If you want to look at pictures then look up [MENTION=66300]Intruder[/MENTION] or [MENTION=93894]J-BlickPhoto[/MENTION]s thread. Those guys can take a picture!
