boondoggle
Member
That's not dark chocolate…!!!
Don't mean to offend but I hate the 5th gen body style
- Thread starter Carsonsmom
- Start date
That's not dark chocolate…!!!
I don't really like the body style, but over time it will grow on me/people. What I don't like is how cheaply made it feels compared to the 4th Gen and then both compared to the previous generations.
I was honestly hoping the 5th Gen was going to look like a 200-Series Land Cruiser. It's somewhat strange that Toyota strayed so far from the design of their other trucks/SUVs. Call me a wuss, but I like the look of the current LC and Highlander a lot.
Family member works at a Toyota dealer, she says they don't sell very many 5th Gen 4Runners and when they do, it's typically to a female mother. The used 4th Gens go QUICK.
Still would be super happy if Toyota would offer a base Land Cruiser w/ leather as an option and none of the other gizmos.
I was honestly hoping the 5th Gen was going to look like a 200-Series Land Cruiser. It's somewhat strange that Toyota strayed so far from the design of their other trucks/SUVs. Call me a wuss, but I like the look of the current LC and Highlander a lot.
Family member works at a Toyota dealer, she says they don't sell very many 5th Gen 4Runners and when they do, it's typically to a female mother. The used 4th Gens go QUICK.
Still would be super happy if Toyota would offer a base Land Cruiser w/ leather as an option and none of the other gizmos.
<<<<
Senior Member
Not with stock tires that look too small for big and boxy body.
zonianbrat
New member
When I first saw them I thought...man toyota really has effed up. The stock tires and ugly wheels just killed it. Not to mention from behind they reminded me of a bus. Then I became a member of this forum and seen what people have been doing with them and they definitely have grown on me a lot! I still love the "flow" of the lines on the 4th gen better but when a 5th gen is equippped...they look really good and I'd darn sure drive one!
1fast_e
New member
I felt the same way when they moved from the 3rd gen. The 4th gen had to grow on me but the 5th looks great imo.
I guess to each their own
I'd have to test drive one before I put the nail in the "I ain't gonna have a 5th gen" coffin. Maybe I'll do that next week just for $hits & giggles. I've already driven the 2012 Highlander. I like the looks and features, but even with my 95% on-road driving, I couldn't stand it. FWD bias and it just felt long, narrow & unsteady.
NJshadow93
New member
Here is my take on it: the 5th gen looks tough but the 4th gen looks sexy. Either way, I like both. As for 3rd gen and under, great looking trucks but they definitely look dated.
4th gen.
The 5th does look too boxy, it's too expensive to be sporting that antenna, the height is nice, but where is the V8 option?
A viable upgrade option for me is the Lexus GX470, but at that price point you don't take it off-roading nor abuse it like you would a 4Runner.
So what are the plusses? It's higher than a stock 4Runner, much like a lifted 4th gen.
Anything else, anything else that makes the 5th gen shine over a comparable 4th?
The 5th does look too boxy, it's too expensive to be sporting that antenna, the height is nice, but where is the V8 option?
A viable upgrade option for me is the Lexus GX470, but at that price point you don't take it off-roading nor abuse it like you would a 4Runner.
So what are the plusses? It's higher than a stock 4Runner, much like a lifted 4th gen.
Anything else, anything else that makes the 5th gen shine over a comparable 4th?
Martinjmpr
New member
IMO (admittedly biased), no. About the only thing I can think of is that the non-limited 5th gens at least have a lever for the T-case (but then again, if that lever just activates an electric servo that shifts the T-case, it's no more reliable than the 4th gens electric dial selector.) I do miss the J-shifter on my 3rd gen, at least with that I always knew I could get it into and out of 4wd, no matter what.
I honestly think that the business office at Toyota realized that the 4th gens offered too much for their price point and their fear was that it was cannibalizing sales from the more expensive LC100 and Lexus line of vehicles. So, I think they made a deliberate choice to "de-content" the 5th gen to move it "down market" so it would not compete with the more "luxury" vehicles Toyota sells.
I also wonder if they made the 5th gen a bit more "off road" friendly because they wanted to dump the FJC and figured they needed a more rugged vehicle to fill that niche.
As others have said, a lifted 5th gen with big tires looks pretty good, but with stock tires they jus look weird, like a hippo on roller skates.
BlackWorksInc
New member
I have grown to light the exterior of the 5th Gen, I hated it at first. But over the years its grown on me and after seeing one or two seriously built up rigs with bumpers, tire carriers, lights, ect its got a certain toughness to it that I like.
That being said, the high belt line is something I'm not a fan of. Its the reason I am not interested in the 5th gen as a vehicle (that and the lack of the 4.6L V8) the high belt line shrinks visibility on the vehicle compared to my 4th gen, it also screws up the interior. one thing I love about my 4th gen is that with the seat as low as possible (I like being closer to the center of gravity in my cars) I can comfortably rest my arm on either the armrest or the window sill with the window down. In the 5th gen my arm is a little more than 90 degrees and becomes uncomfortable to do so. The high belt line also moved the position of the window switches and along with the hybrid Tundra/FJ Cruiser interior is just not as comfortable as the 4th Gen.
The 5th gen has some interior pieces and features that I do like (I like the option of a manual shift lever, or even the dial selector with the safety button.) But overall the vehicle is just not as comfortable as my 4th gen and IMHO the 4th Gen is one of the best "curvy" SUVs on the market.
Snesley Wipes
New member
This has to be the one of the best, and most accurate analogies i have ever heard...
They're too busy staring at their iDistractions
I used to not like the look of the 4th Gen, then I started shopping for one and it grew on me enough that it's now my favorite. My biggest disappointment with the 5th Gens is no V8. I love my V8!
While I dislike the 5th addition, I still give it credit. At least they didn't make is all curvy and crossroad, like many other models out there. It still looks like a truck. I prefer the later 4th generation. I bought a 2003 4runner originally. The start of the first part of the 4th generation, as my wife says, looks like a station wagon. I hate the boxed off wheel wells.
LTDSC
New member
i really like the 5th gen's. If they werent priced insane i would have gotten one. I love my 4th gen but really if you put them next to eachother there is mass amounts of similar design qualities just updated.
Also they're a lot bigger inside which helps for a Sasquatch like myself.
Also they're a lot bigger inside which helps for a Sasquatch like myself.
Atlanta_man
New member
Prices are crazy on these things, yet they will sell every last one.
Martinjmpr
New member
What's funny to me is that I was driving a 3rd gen and didn't really like the 4th gens until the 5th gen came out. Once the 5th gen came out, the 4th started looking better and better to me.
After a long trip in June, I realized my 3rd gen just wasn't up to the task of towing so it was either get a 4th gen or get something else. Main contenders were Xterra or the 05+ Pathfinder. X-terra was attractive to me only because of the possibility of getting it with a manual tranny, but after looking at them I realized that the MT was the only thing the X had going for it.
The Pathy is actually a very appealing vehicle to me and IMO just as good looking as the 4th gen. As I said above, the main reason I decided against the Pathy was the limited aftermarket, IRS, and lack of a multi-mode T-case.
After a long trip in June, I realized my 3rd gen just wasn't up to the task of towing so it was either get a 4th gen or get something else. Main contenders were Xterra or the 05+ Pathfinder. X-terra was attractive to me only because of the possibility of getting it with a manual tranny, but after looking at them I realized that the MT was the only thing the X had going for it.
The Pathy is actually a very appealing vehicle to me and IMO just as good looking as the 4th gen. As I said above, the main reason I decided against the Pathy was the limited aftermarket, IRS, and lack of a multi-mode T-case.
