First Driving Impressions on New 4R

[Brazos]

I bought my wife a new 4R back at the end of May. This vehicle replaced our 2001 Ford Expedition. We bought the SR5 4WD with the V6 engine. We go to Colorado several times a year so I made sure I had 4WD with this vehicle. I had my first real opportunity to drive on our latest trip from TX to CO last week.

First the vehicle drives great. It may be the best driving vehicle I have owned. The V6 seems to be just right power wise for the 4R. The vehicle is tight and quiet. My dad drove it while in CO and said it was the best riding 4WD vehicle he had ever driven.

Second is gas milage. My Expedition got 15-16 mpg back and forth to CO. No matter how I tried we just could not get any better than that doing all hwy driving w/ the cruise set on 74-75 mph. The 4R did better as I hoped it would. On the way to CO I pulled a boat. The boat was a Clackacraft drift boat (you fly fishermen know the type boat) loaded with fishing gear, golf clubs, etc. The boat is 16' but only weighs about 325lbs. Add the trailer and gear I figure it weighed about 800lbs. Not a heavy boat but still not going to help with gas milage. Inside the vehicle was my wife, B-in-Law, daughter, me and loaded with luggage. So this is about as loaded as the 4R can get. In our 750 mile trip to CO I took the milage twice. The first time I got 17.6 mpg and the second time I got 18.3 mpg. I was surprised. I really figured we would get around 14 mpg and anything above that would be great. On the way home it was just my wife and daughter + me and we left the boat in CO. I took the milage once and got 24.6 mpg. My wife accidently reset the trip meter and was not able to get a second mpg average for the trip back. All of the above driving w/ and w/o the boat we had the cruise set on 74-75 mph.

The 4WD system worked great. I had to use it to get the boat out off the river during our trip. It works seamlessly. The Hill Start Assist system was great for this as I work have to back down a steep grade the load the boat.

I did not find anything about the vehicle objectionable. There were a few things that took some getting used to before I felt comfortable operating (such as the cruise control, wipers, etc.) but once I got used to them no big deal. These items were just part of learning a new car.

Overall I think this is the best vehicle I have purchased. It works as advertised. Now we will just see how well it holds up in the long run.

Brazos

 

[alaskaman]

ain't they sweeeeet!

Welcome.

 

[CJ3Flyr]

Welcome. It sounds like you "understand" now, kinda like the old ads that siad "it's a Jeep thing" but very different in a good way :bigok:

:cheers:

 

[Brazos]

By the way the mpg figures were hand calculated. The computer was off by 2-4 mpg. Once I figured out I should reset the mpg computer at time of fill up the computer was pretty close (w/i 1 mpg).

I did a lot of research on the 4R before I bought it. This website was a big help. It was time to replace the Expedition (which by the way was a good reliable vehicle). I wanted 4WD but was ready to downsize a little w/ the hopes of 5-10 mpg better fuel economy. So far it appears the 4R is meeting my goal.

I like the 4WD system a lot though I have not taken it for a true off road trip and most likely won't. I have a 2006 Jeep Wrangler Unlimited TJ that would serve that purpose. I wish my TJ had some of the 4WD features the 4R had such as locking differentials, hill start assit, down hill control, etc. I know the Jeep Rubicons and the new Wranglers have some of this but on a 4R it is standard equipment and not included in a high dollar option package.

This is my first vehicle I have bought that is not American made. I have had nothing but sucess with American vehicles and will by more. I just could not find an American vehicle that compared to the 4R. The 4R just seemed to be the best balance of everything I was looking for with a great track record for reliability. One of the things I look for before buying a vehicle is how many of these vehicles do I see on the road. There are 4R of all different age classes driving up and down the highway. That tells me they are well made. If they weren't the old ones would be in the junk yard.

Brazos

 

[alaskaman]

FYI. the 4Runner is made entirely in Japan. I have never been so impressed with a vehicle. 19K and ticking like a swiss watch.

 

[CJ3Flyr]

I like the 4WD system a lot though I have not taken it for a true off road trip and most likely won't. I have a 2006 Jeep Wrangler Unlimited TJ that would serve that purpose. I wish my TJ had some of the 4WD features the 4R had such as locking differentials, hill start assit, down hill control, etc. I know the Jeep Rubicons and the new Wranglers have some of this but on a 4R it is standard equipment and not included in a high dollar option package.

Brazos

The 4wd on the T4R is one of the things that sold me. All but the hardest core off-roader has trouble finding fault with it. I love the fact you can run 4Hi and 4Lo in the pavement due to the center differential. I love being able to use 4Lo at a boat ramp. When off of hard surfaces you can opt to lock the center differential which conveniently stops the VSC from cutting the engine power in the muck. The lock button on the panel to the left of the steering wheel is what locks it, it