Got to take a new SR5 around the block here in Portland. Helped that I just bought a CPO 2008 from them a couple of weeks ago. Impressions:
Interior:
Much more "modern" interior than the 4th Gen. Some nice enhancements and updates all around. A little heavy on the plastics and overly detailed textures. Overally, I don't think it is a big change in the philosophy of the 4 Runner as much as it is just an update to bring the 4R up to the modern creature comfort standards of other $35k+ vehicles. The 4th Gen was really just an evolution of the 3rd gen and the interior was pretty dated by contemporary standards. The 5th gen catches up to where the latest tech is for most vehicles on the road are at today.
+ Better climate controls. No more buttons for temp/fan control. Nice!
+ 120v Outlets In the Front.
+ Better iPod connectivity baked in.
+ Better window switch placement.
+ God help me for saying this, but I need my coffee - better cup holders.
+ Fold flat rear seats (the seat bottoms flip up and the seat backs fold down).
+ The upholstery on the seats seems nicer and more durable.
= The switch gear feels of very high quality and offers good haptic feedback, just like the 4th Gen.
= Just as "tight" fitting as the current 4th Gen in the interior department. Appears less spacious because of the black interior, but feels the same.
- Mish mash design with a lot of busy details and fiddily features.
- More interior fittings and trimmings leads to the impression of slightly lower quality. The plastics and such are good, but there are a lot more little bits and this is a negative point in my view.
- The slide out tray in the back eats up a lot of space and strikes me as utterly useless. Looks hard to remove cleanly without needing to replace a lot of interior trim. I wish you could order a Trail without it.
- No rear C pillar mirrors. Sucks; that was a classic elegant solution to a common problem that I liked a lot (even though my 3rd row seat equipped 4th Gen doesn't have them).
- No readout of tire pressures. Toyota goes to all the bother of installing a TPMS, but doesn't give you access to an actual tire pressure display... Stupid.
Exterior:
The 5th Gen is a lot more blockish than the pictures lead one to believe. It is a relatively tight, aggressive design... until you look at the front and rear light clusters. Manufacturers are big on visibility, so the bulbous nature of the housings is ALL about maximizing the angles that turn signals and break lights can be viewed by other drivers. Other than that, I like the exterior a whole lot.
Performance:
Honestly, it felt almost identical to my 4th Gen. I did not get to drive it enough to get a really solid impression much beyond that. The 5th has more power, but that is negated by higher weight. The suspension, as has been documented with various photos, is virtually identical.
+ Stock tires on the SR5 I was in are 265/70/17s. There appears to be enough space to upsize with just a little lift or perhaps some fender trim massaging.
+ The transmission seems a lot smoother. Allows you to more easily select gears (sort of a manu-matic setup, worked well).
+ Sounds nicer. A bit meaner in the stock exhaust note.
+ I do like the manual transfer case instead of the electronic knob. Less crap to break in the long term.
- No full time 4x4 in the SR5 or Trail. This is a MONUMENTAL mistake on Toyota's part. Felt tail happy in the Portland rain, just like my 4th Gen does in RWD (mine lives in 4H).
- Sucky stock tires. Toyota should step up and put Revos or Silent Armors on these things (especially the Trail). In production quantities at the factory, we are talking a $50 difference between the craptastic stock tires and something much better. Nobody will notice the $100 this would add to the vehicle's sticker price, but the driving experience would increase dramatically.
Final Verdict:
I've owned a 4 Runner (a 2008, SR5, 4x4) for 3 weeks now. I traded in a 2006 BMW 325i (6 speed, sports pack) for it. Honestly, I thought I was going to hate it (as the sort of guy who has owned a race car and tracked his 325i 6-8 times a year), but I couldn't afford a car and a truck and I am starting a business that requires I haul crap around. I got a 4 Runner because of the bulletproof reputation, decent on-road manners and the fact that I could perhaps find some fun in going offroad. I've fallen madly in love with it. I still have paper dealer plates, but i put 3000 miles on it in a month, threw on a Daystar lift, got a Hi-Lift jack (mounted to the roof rack), bought FJ rims on craigslist and upsized to Goodyear Silent Armors. People ask why I would trade a new BMW in on a 4 Runner and I say "They are both fantastic sports cars, just for very different sports."
Part of why I love my 4 Runner so much is the vehicle's versatility. Just like with the BMW 3 Series, Toyota has found a harmony in offroad performance with on-road manners and comfort. I didn't get to take the 5th Gen offroad, but I am assuming it probably does just as well as an unmodified 4th Gen. The on-road performance remains excellent, while a lot of the creature comforts that make a long commute or hundreds of highway miles bearable have been upped. This is good.
Overall, with the 5th Gen, I walk away with two major feelings:
1- Wait a couple of years for Toyota to mix the option sheet properly. The Trail is the one I want, but I really want that rear sliding tray gone and the full time 4x4 brought back. My feeling is that Toyota will respond in that direction.
2- The 5th Gen is not a 'Drive it into the ground' vehicle. I bought a non-XREAS, V6 4th Gen with the intention of putting an easy 200k on the clock (avoiding XREAS repairs and V8 maintenance like the plague). My feeling with the 5th Gen is that the chassis and powertrain could do that, but you would be battling a bunch of interior bits falling to hell and creature comfort systems left either broken or with big repair bills behind you.
Overall, I liked it quite a bit. Aside from the two things mentioned above, I would love to have a Trail. Now, if Toyota wants me to eat the trade in bill hard, I would buy a diesel 5th Gen Trail in a femtosecond...
Interior:
Much more "modern" interior than the 4th Gen. Some nice enhancements and updates all around. A little heavy on the plastics and overly detailed textures. Overally, I don't think it is a big change in the philosophy of the 4 Runner as much as it is just an update to bring the 4R up to the modern creature comfort standards of other $35k+ vehicles. The 4th Gen was really just an evolution of the 3rd gen and the interior was pretty dated by contemporary standards. The 5th gen catches up to where the latest tech is for most vehicles on the road are at today.
+ Better climate controls. No more buttons for temp/fan control. Nice!
+ 120v Outlets In the Front.
+ Better iPod connectivity baked in.
+ Better window switch placement.
+ God help me for saying this, but I need my coffee - better cup holders.
+ Fold flat rear seats (the seat bottoms flip up and the seat backs fold down).
+ The upholstery on the seats seems nicer and more durable.
= The switch gear feels of very high quality and offers good haptic feedback, just like the 4th Gen.
= Just as "tight" fitting as the current 4th Gen in the interior department. Appears less spacious because of the black interior, but feels the same.
- Mish mash design with a lot of busy details and fiddily features.
- More interior fittings and trimmings leads to the impression of slightly lower quality. The plastics and such are good, but there are a lot more little bits and this is a negative point in my view.
- The slide out tray in the back eats up a lot of space and strikes me as utterly useless. Looks hard to remove cleanly without needing to replace a lot of interior trim. I wish you could order a Trail without it.
- No rear C pillar mirrors. Sucks; that was a classic elegant solution to a common problem that I liked a lot (even though my 3rd row seat equipped 4th Gen doesn't have them).
- No readout of tire pressures. Toyota goes to all the bother of installing a TPMS, but doesn't give you access to an actual tire pressure display... Stupid.
Exterior:
The 5th Gen is a lot more blockish than the pictures lead one to believe. It is a relatively tight, aggressive design... until you look at the front and rear light clusters. Manufacturers are big on visibility, so the bulbous nature of the housings is ALL about maximizing the angles that turn signals and break lights can be viewed by other drivers. Other than that, I like the exterior a whole lot.
Performance:
Honestly, it felt almost identical to my 4th Gen. I did not get to drive it enough to get a really solid impression much beyond that. The 5th has more power, but that is negated by higher weight. The suspension, as has been documented with various photos, is virtually identical.
+ Stock tires on the SR5 I was in are 265/70/17s. There appears to be enough space to upsize with just a little lift or perhaps some fender trim massaging.
+ The transmission seems a lot smoother. Allows you to more easily select gears (sort of a manu-matic setup, worked well).
+ Sounds nicer. A bit meaner in the stock exhaust note.
+ I do like the manual transfer case instead of the electronic knob. Less crap to break in the long term.
- No full time 4x4 in the SR5 or Trail. This is a MONUMENTAL mistake on Toyota's part. Felt tail happy in the Portland rain, just like my 4th Gen does in RWD (mine lives in 4H).
- Sucky stock tires. Toyota should step up and put Revos or Silent Armors on these things (especially the Trail). In production quantities at the factory, we are talking a $50 difference between the craptastic stock tires and something much better. Nobody will notice the $100 this would add to the vehicle's sticker price, but the driving experience would increase dramatically.
Final Verdict:
I've owned a 4 Runner (a 2008, SR5, 4x4) for 3 weeks now. I traded in a 2006 BMW 325i (6 speed, sports pack) for it. Honestly, I thought I was going to hate it (as the sort of guy who has owned a race car and tracked his 325i 6-8 times a year), but I couldn't afford a car and a truck and I am starting a business that requires I haul crap around. I got a 4 Runner because of the bulletproof reputation, decent on-road manners and the fact that I could perhaps find some fun in going offroad. I've fallen madly in love with it. I still have paper dealer plates, but i put 3000 miles on it in a month, threw on a Daystar lift, got a Hi-Lift jack (mounted to the roof rack), bought FJ rims on craigslist and upsized to Goodyear Silent Armors. People ask why I would trade a new BMW in on a 4 Runner and I say "They are both fantastic sports cars, just for very different sports."
Part of why I love my 4 Runner so much is the vehicle's versatility. Just like with the BMW 3 Series, Toyota has found a harmony in offroad performance with on-road manners and comfort. I didn't get to take the 5th Gen offroad, but I am assuming it probably does just as well as an unmodified 4th Gen. The on-road performance remains excellent, while a lot of the creature comforts that make a long commute or hundreds of highway miles bearable have been upped. This is good.
Overall, with the 5th Gen, I walk away with two major feelings:
1- Wait a couple of years for Toyota to mix the option sheet properly. The Trail is the one I want, but I really want that rear sliding tray gone and the full time 4x4 brought back. My feeling is that Toyota will respond in that direction.
2- The 5th Gen is not a 'Drive it into the ground' vehicle. I bought a non-XREAS, V6 4th Gen with the intention of putting an easy 200k on the clock (avoiding XREAS repairs and V8 maintenance like the plague). My feeling with the 5th Gen is that the chassis and powertrain could do that, but you would be battling a bunch of interior bits falling to hell and creature comfort systems left either broken or with big repair bills behind you.
Overall, I liked it quite a bit. Aside from the two things mentioned above, I would love to have a Trail. Now, if Toyota wants me to eat the trade in bill hard, I would buy a diesel 5th Gen Trail in a femtosecond...
Last edited:
I'm going to have to look at the interior for myself.
