Note: SR5 4WD had 7,000miles. Limited 4WD was brand new.
Engine and Transmission: Lots of power in the SR5, smooth transmission and better brake feel with more progressive modulation than the 4th gen. I have just done the rotors and pads on mine with OEM parts and the pedal feel has no better feedback than with the worn ones, it's just smoother. It really gets going when the revs get over 4,000rpm. It doesn’t feel that fast, but 40-70mph at full throttle is really as quick as you could ever want, it's surprising how quickly the needle rings up the dial when you want it to. The downside is that the engine is very raucous and unrefined at over 4,000rpm. Almost too noisy. I forgive my 05 in this area because its old, and perhaps I have grown too accustomed to the muted refinement of my other car, but it just seems a bit too loud for an over $30k vehicle. Engine sound is almost identical to the 4th gen and in loudness it's about a tie at max revs but in normal driving and cruising its acceptably quiet and an improvement over the 4th gen.
Transmission is very smooth up and down the gears. Kick down even by two or three gears is almost completely smooth. Under full throttle acceleration however the SR5 struggles to keep the body stable between upshifts and it squats noticeably. As the miles have racked up in my 05 the heavy kickdowns cause an uncomfortable jolt, but not unacceptable for a car with 110,000miles. The upshifts are still completely smooth in my 05, still on original oil. Shift precision is about the same in both.
The Limited with only 250miles felt noticeably weaker than the SR5, so I put it down to a few thousand miles on the SR5 being the difference here. Under 4,000rpm the Limited would downshift a gear on mild inclines to maintain 75mph. The transmission also resisted downshifts unless you gave it 2/3 or more throttle. The SR5 was strong at all revs, held gears longer and just felt right, so I think this is purely a run in period difference.
I lament the lack of a V8 option, but just because I love the muted sounds of a V8 at low revs and the wail at high revs. The V6 has all the power I need, but I hardly ever tow with mine so those who tow more than 2,000lbs regularly and want to feel like nothings back there may have a legitimate complaint here. Where's the TRD supercharger option?? : )
Road and wind noise is much reduced over my 05. I don’t remember my 05 being noticeably noisy when it was new though. Now at almost 6yrs old and with Revo2s it's very present and enough to be annoying if you can't find a good song to drone it out.
The Limited, being permanent 4WD transmitted vibrations through the steering under acceleration. My 05 does not do this when in 4Hi fulltime. The SR5 being a part time only 4WD lets you know its locked up - I tried a gentle turn in a parking lot and the binding was imminent. I would prefer multi mode 4WD as in the 4th Gen with a 2WD option. The manual version in the SR5 does have the benefit of engaging immediately which is key considering it cannot be used on solid surfaces and you don’t always have 50yards to roll on waiting for 4WD to engage in the 4th Gen.
The throttle tip in is smoother and more progressive. It has a longer travel which will help in traversing obstacles at low speed off road. The SR5 was less prone to grab a lower gear then my 05 and does a better job of in gear acceleration.
The engine cover on 5th Gen looks more sophisticated than the 5th Gen. I would just remove the 5th Gens.
Ride and Handling. The ride comfort in the SR5 is very good. The Limited felt more choppy, which I put down to the 20inch wheels and X-Reas. The SR5 is the smoothest riding vehicle I driven in a long time. It soaked up the man hole covers and patchwork tar in my neighbourhood with excellent composure, nary more than a whump sound from the wheels. The downside is that the SR5 tips from side to side and front to back feels like it has no stabilizer bars. I drove it back to back with my 05 on a loop that included railway tracks and short sharp highway ramps and hard acceleration. The standard tires (Michelin H/T) have low levels of grip and my 05 won this one for being more glued to the road and taking more speed into turns without getting unstable. Turn in, however, is much more precise than my '05. Even after new tires and alignment my '05 under steers noticeably when pushing into tight turns at speed. The steering is also a lot lighter in the 5th Gen which requires almost no effort at low speeds but feels a bit twitchy at highway speeds.
If you're used to a truck, the handling is 'good'. If you're not, the wallowy top heavy feeling will take some getting used to. Once I got familiar with its body motions though I was a getting more confident about its cornering ability, but I never felt confident enough to carry speed through corners like tight cloverleaf ramps or run down amber lights on left turns and whip it in. It's just too tippy and mid turn bumps unsettle it. This was less pronounced in the Limited and the Limited tires felt like they had more grip. The SR5 tires squealed without much encouragement. I am interested in driving a Trail Edition with KDSS now perhaps this will be the right combination - I am assuming it provides more stability when the stabilizer bars are engaged than an SR5. If not then looks like the Limited is the suspension option that suites me. Most people wouldn’t drive this car hard but I my driving style does not have to change much when I switch between my car and 4Runner, but with this one, I have to slow down and be more defensive. No doubt my 05 with X-Reas has more grip and less body roll. Never driven a 4th Gen without X-Reas so don’t know what its body motions are like.
Highway straight line stability - a 4th Gen weak point. The 5th gen does feel more stable by at least 20%. Didn’t have any strong cross winds though.
Fit and Finish
Interior - There is less soft touch materials than the 4th Gen as we all know. It doesn’t bother me on the top of the dash and I like the rippled surface there, but I don’t like the Big Jim toolbox feel around the window buttons, door pockets, console and trunk area. The instruments hang down section is well put together. I actually liked the simplicity of the SR5's controls and like the chunkiness of the radio and AC controls.. I am sure you could still operate everything with thick ski gloves on and it feels big truck like. I can live without the dual zone auto AC in the Limited. The blinker and wiper stalks are of a better quality plastic and are more damped in action than the 4th Gen. I couldn’t read the radio LCD on the Limited with polarized sunglasses on, but I could on the SR5 and prefer its larger text. I found it odd in the Limited that the steering wheel station buttons would move up and down presets when on FM, but when on XM it flipped between FM and XM with the same buttons. Perhaps this is customizable. Front seat support in the 4th Gen is a weak point. I have experienced back ache in trips over 1hr since day 1. The 4th Gen squab padding is too soft for my liking. I didn't drive either 5th Gen for an extended period, but the seats seem firmer. The Limited doesn’t have a 2 memory function on the seats which it had on the 4th Gen. I store 2 settings in my car, one for city and one for interstate (a bit further back and drop the steering wheel). I would use 2 memory functions. I prefer the charcoal finish of the plastics in the 4th Gen to the black finish of the 5th Gen. I don’t like the staggered layout of the cup holders and without an extendable arm to secure small bottles, they rattle around.
Exterior - Pretty much the same as the 4th Gen except for the tinny sound of doors and hood when closing and plastick sound when the door handles come to rest. Possibly this can be cured by dynamatting inside the door panels and adding some thin weather stripping in the door handles and around the hood braces. The Limited's hood was shimmering in the wind, that was low rent. I don’t like the lines where the bumpers meet the body. It looks too tight and there is a waviness between the plastic and metal. The line between the headlights, grill and hood was also inconsistent. The blizzard pearl was a different shade on metal than on the bumpers.
Improvements over 4th gen (design and standard features) Taller seating position and taller, bigger windshield.
Rear parking sonars on SR5, back up camera in rearview mirror of Limited without needing Nav (I think these are standard features).
Info read out on top of centre stack displays mpg, temp, direction and time all at once.
2011 rear seat head rest flip forward to tumble the seat forward, which means then can be more useful for support when up and don’t have to be removed the way you would on the 4th Gen which had very small rear headrests (unless you have 3rd row)
Rear seat middle section and be flipped forward for loading things like ski's, so 2 passengers can still sit normally in the back.
Windshield wipers have pulse function.
Drivers side overhead grab handle
Integrated rear spoiler with concealed wiper
Auto up/down on all windows
Key fob integrated into key on SR5 / Comfort access on Limited (I don’t like comfort access, I kept misplacing the fob..)
Blinker repeaters and puddle lighting in wing mirrors
400W outlet in centre console and trunk area
Additional 12volt outlet in trunk
Front door pocket cup holders move from the back to front of the pocket, easier to access.
12 cup holders…that’s half a case of beers at once! (2 in each door, 2 in front, 2 in rear armrest)
Optional slide out tray in trunk - easier packing and a place to sit
2 interior lights on the trunk panel and 2 speakers and party mode
Reclining rear seats
Optitron gauges on Limited and Trail
Hidden windshield washers and heating elements
Improved window switch location
What has been removed from 4th Gen No auto starter on SR5 - I kept forgetting to hold the key to crank the SR5
Lack of 2 memory function on power seats
No tailgate pull down strap, but instead 2 recessed grips on the tailgate which I much prefer
Windshield has no shading on the top
Sun visors don’t have 2nd visor underneath to use when the main one is extended over the door
Auto climate control only on Limited
Grab handles on A and B pillars (I use to get in an out)
Hood insulation pad on SR5
Alloy spare wheel on SR5
Projector headlamps and LED taillights
Running boards and mudflaps standard and factory installed
Integrated antenna
Soft close tailgate
Locking, interior release gas cap
Burger trays in front and rear
Rear air suspension on Limited
Dual tone horn (2010s)
Tailgate emblems and 4WD emblems
Leather steering wheel only on SR5 with premium pack-leather option and Limited (included on any 4th Gen with steering audio controls)
So…..would I buy one now? I think I am just over the fence. Yes. It's just a matter of when. I still enjoy my 05 very much but it lustre is fading with age. I wish I could be patient enough to wait for the mid life update on the 5th Gen to see what it brings, but I don’t think it's going to happen. I have toyed with the idea of upgrading to an 08 Limited a few times, then seeing what the mid life update brings. If it's not significant, just keep the low mile 08.
