My take on the 5th Generation 4Runner

[Muti007]

Saw my first gen 5 on the road today. Looked like 1 of a hundred generic boxy newer SUVs. It lost the look, just as did gen 4 IMO.

Sorry, not interested.

 

[doodman]

Saw my first gen 5 on the road today. Looked like 1 of a hundred generic boxy newer SUVs. It lost the look, just as did gen 4 IMO.

Sorry, not interested.

Respectfully, I'd have to go with just the opposite. I'm noticing SO many Egg-U-Vs on the road nowadays that the boxy, rugged looks of the new 4Runner are refreshing. (As you might have discovered from this post, I am not fond of the egg-shaped vehicles unfitting to be called SUVs.)

 

[chimyz]

Let's see if I can show some unbiased opinion. Background, haven't been in or around Toyota for at least 20 years in terms of driving or doing anything other than going to the store in a friends or something like that. Second, my previous car that I just got rid of was a BMW 335 2 door coupe. I've had another BMW and a couple of Tahoes over the years as well. All with the use of only being road cruisers. I used to be into off road when I was younger and until the FJ, I had no real desire to have another rig like that. I was excited about the FJ, but I found a whole lot of impratical things that made it a deal breaker for me. I have a kid, two big dogs etc, so I need 4 full doors and rear windows that roll down.

In comes the 4Runner. My wife had mentioned them to me before the 5th Gens came out and I scoffed at the idea as I have not like a 4Runner design or looks since the 80s.

Now enter the 5th Gen Trail. One physical look and the decision was made, everything the FJ was lacking was in the 4Runner for me and I bought one immediately without even driving one. With that said, I am one week out of my BMW and three days into my Trail and all I can say is I have no regret whatsoever, all I can do is think about all the

fun I'm going to have in this vehicle!

I couldn't agree more with what you said above. One of my first vehicles was a 3rd gen 4runner ltd. I loved it. I think I put more than 250,000kms on it and would have kept it if i wasn't sick with repairing the rusted rear door. Still miss it to this day.

Since then I've had:
tacomas, sequoia, land cruisers....pretty much everything other than the 4th gen. I so wanted the FJ but it just doesn't work with children at all. And not enough room for the dog too. When this new one came out, I was all over it. It is a family version of the fj in my opinion but better. I had KDSS on my land cruiser and it is the best advancement ever! Also, I love the 2wd with 4 option, and love that it is a proper system with a stick.

Someone may ask why I didn't get a 4th gen?...well, they are butt ugly, crappy engine options, not typical offroad toyotas (can I say "urban" runner...lol) and I have test driven about 4-5 different ones over the years trying to replace my 3rd gen, and trying to like it, but they've all been crap.

To sum up, Toyota has hit a homerun with this... To run the rubicon then follow it up with finishing baja 1000 is amazing. I know the original poster is trying to justify his last year 4th gen purchase, and that's great, but why take it out on a far superior machine (that was at the same price)? Let's face it:
1st gen - segment setter
2nd gen - improvement
3rd gen - perfection
4th gen - mistake
5th gen - 3rd gen perfection replacement

I know I'm gonna get slammed for my comments, but I just can't see how someone thinks their 4th gen is a better machine because the plastic feels better , or the cupholder has a light or more adjustability? Let's look at real things like fuel mileage to horsepower, or articulation to stiffness in suspension, roomyness, and good looks. This is judging a book by it's cover, perhaps a test drive is in order.

 

[McGruder]

Perfect cargo space for the D28 though D15 and D28 here :banana: No offense taken here btw, though I don't share all the same opinions, but so what. You got most of it right, however I think you should give the V6 a test drive with the 270 hp mill. The V8 torque is very nice, but personally I'm done with the V8 gas mileage and this V6 strikes an excellent balance.

 

[Muti007]

Respectfully, I'd have to go with just the opposite. I'm noticing SO many Egg-U-Vs on the road nowadays that the boxy, rugged looks of the new 4Runner are refreshing. (As you might have discovered from this post, I am not fond of the egg-shaped vehicles unfitting to be called SUVs.)

I can see what youre saying, but to me anyway, the shape looks more contrived then form over function. And I dont always mind boxy, the Mercedes G Wagen is my favorite truck. But the new 4r just dont do it for me at all.

 

[Thai]

What did some of you expect? The 5th gen price is similar to the 4th gen, YET, it has a stronger frame, stronger axle, higher tech V6, smoother suspension (although i still find it amazing that Toyota managed to make the suspension better from the 4th gen! The 4th gen was a dream to drive), better off-road optional equipments, etc..

More stuff for same price = must cut corners elsewhere. For Toyota, this means cheapening the interior stuff. This has been a constant thing with most (if not all) manufacturers, not just Toyota. Sure, the current Camry's interior is a bit cheaper than the older Camry, but its powertrain is far superior, better stereo, etc.. For me, i rather have Toyota cheapening some of the interior (non-vital) stuff than cheapening the powertrain or suspension!

People mention that the 3rd gen had better interior materials. I agree 100%. However, people forgot about the drum brakes, small V6 (underpowered), ordinary stereo, suspension sag, so-so crash test results, etc..

Toyota is not a magician...for a dollar, they can only do so much with it, whether that means improving the interior or improving the powertrain. You get what you pay for.

And I dont always mind boxy, the Mercedes G Wagen is my favorite truck.

My favorite quote of the day!!!

 

[4R Fan In WV]

Let's see if I can show some unbiased opinion. Background, haven't been in or around Toyota for at least 20 years in terms of driving or doing anything other than going to the store in a friends or something like that. Second, my previous car that I just got rid of was a BMW 335 2 door coupe. I've had another BMW and a couple of Tahoes over the years as well. All with the use of only being road cruisers. I used to be into off road when I was younger and until the FJ, I had no real desire to have another rig like that. I was excited about the FJ, but I found a whole lot of impratical things that made it a deal breaker for me. I have a kid, two big dogs etc, so I need 4 full doors and rear windows that roll down.

In comes the 4Runner. My wife had mentioned them to me before the 5th Gens came out and I scoffed at the idea as I have not like a 4Runner design or looks since the 80s.

Now enter the 5th Gen Trail. One physical look and the decision was made, everything the FJ was lacking was in the 4Runner for me and I bought one immediately without even driving one. With that said, I am one week out of my BMW and three days into my Trail and all I can say is I have no regret whatsoever, all I can do is think about all the fun I'm going to have in this vehicle!

Agreed. My wife drives the '06 Sport Edition and I drove an Audi A6 2.7 Turbo Quattro sedan prior to buying the '10 TE. Like Grape Ape, I have no regrets leaving behind a fine german sedan for the '10 TE. I am really pleased with the evolution of the 5G over the 4G. The only thing I wish Toyota wouldn't have deleted was the multi-mode 4WD in 4G models.

 

[024RunnerSE]

Let's face it:
1st gen - segment setter
2nd gen - improvement
3rd gen - perfection
4th gen - mistake
5th gen - 3rd gen perfection replacement

Favorite quote of the year LOL

 

[Giskarded]

I couldn't agree more with what you said above. One of my first vehicles was a 3rd gen 4runner ltd. I loved it. I think I put more than 250,000kms on it and would have kept it if i wasn't sick with repairing the rusted rear door. Still miss it to this day.

Since then I've had:
tacomas, sequoia, land cruisers....pretty much everything other than the 4th gen. I so wanted the FJ but it just doesn't work with children at all. And not enough room for the dog too. When this new one came out, I was all over it. It is a family version of the fj in my opinion but better. I had KDSS on my land cruiser and it is the best advancement ever! Also, I love the 2wd with 4 option, and love that it is a proper system with a stick.

Someone may ask why I didn't get a 4th gen?...well, they are butt ugly, crappy engine options, not typical offroad toyotas (can I say "urban" runner...lol) and I have test driven about 4-5 different ones over the years trying to replace my 3rd gen, and trying to like it, but they've all been crap.

To sum up, Toyota has hit a homerun with this... To run the rubicon then follow it up with finishing baja 1000 is amazing. I know the original poster is trying to justify his last year 4th gen purchase, and that's great, but why take it out on a far superior machine (that was at the same price)? Let's face it:
1st gen - segment setter
2nd gen - improvement
3rd gen - perfection
4th gen - mistake
5th gen - 3rd gen perfection replacement

I know I'm gonna get slammed for my comments, but I just can't see how someone thinks their 4th gen is a better machine because the plastic feels better , or the cupholder has a light or more adjustability? Let's look at real things like fuel mileage to horsepower, or articulation to stiffness in suspension, roomyness, and good looks. This is judging a book by it's cover, perhaps a test drive is in order.

Thats interesting, that someone would call the engine options on the 4Runner crappy. From pretty much every resource I've read it seems like the 4 V6 and 4.7 V8 are tried and tested platforms which were a major upgrade over the relatively weak 3rd Gen engines.

About the looks, while the boxy shape is nice, the plasticy protruding gimmick that they call headlights and taillights are just laughable. I do like the overall space in the driver side on the '10 4Runner over the 4th gen, but compare it to most any other SUV in terms of driver legroom and the 4Runner (4th or 5th) are left wanting.

 

[024RunnerSE]

Thats interesting, that someone would call the engine options on the 4Runner crappy. From pretty much every resource I've read it seems like the 4 V6 and 4.7 V8 are tried and tested platforms which were a major upgrade over the relatively weak 3rd Gen engines.

About the looks, while the boxy shape is nice, the plasticy protruding gimmick that they call headlights and taillights are just laughable. I do like the overall space in the driver side on the '10 4Runner over the 4th gen, but compare it to most any other SUV in terms of driver legroom and the 4Runner (4th or 5th) are left wanting.

I don't think he meant that the engines themselves were crappy, but I think he meant the power output for two engines being practically identical. I drove a LTD AWD 4th gen 4Runner and it felt very sluggish to me compared to my cousin's V6 4th gen and my old FJ-Cruiser.

 

[rjsd]

26.2K not 35K

I guess when the '99s cost mid $30k 11 years ago and the 5th gen SR5s cost the same you gotta expect some things to be cheapened.

I have an 11 year old 99 3rd gen SR-5 gen 4x4 locking rear dif 115K & still NO defects.
Price paid 26.2K still high for the year but far from mid 30K.
.

I agree with the org posters comments on the 5th gen 4runner although I was in the market for one I am now back on the fence so I am happy that Toyota had been unable to supply the 4runner I was looking for at the time I was looking.
I'm waiting for 2011 to see if they take care of some of the small issues such as the locking gas door, window controls in a more usable position, a bit more power out of the current motor would be fine & I don't need the V8, may be even some running boards.
Some might still be "hoping for change" but I do not see the ecomony improving over the next several model years so I think if Toyota wants to maintian market share they will not be raising the price much if at all.
I have noticed that the price I have been able to negociate with dealers has continued to fall & now stands at 400 over invioce for the sr5 4x4 w/third row seat.

Good Luck

 

[RonMAIDEN]

I know the sticker on my mom's '99 Limited was a tad over $37k and another member posted his '99's window sticker and was about $33k so maybe some people got deals back then but most stickered at over $30k for a '99 4wd and the Highlander package was priced a little south of the Limiteds.

MSRPs were roughly $21k-$36k so there's quite a range dealers were asking depending on region and options.

http://www.carsdirect.com/1999/toyota/4runner