Okay, just picked up my new TRD Off Road today, first impressions after a short drive are very positive.
I had never driven one before, not even for a test drive, I purchased just on the basis of reviews and information I gathered from this forum, thanks to everyone here for that.
Having never driven one I really did not know what to expect.
My daily driver for the past two years has been a GENESIS G70 sports sedan with over 370hp so I was kind of a little concerned that I would take a serious step back in acceleration and overall responsiveness. Previous to my G70 I had been a die-hard Forester user, having owned 3 of them over the past 12 years. I did look at Subaru again but the latest version of this SUV has now dropped the XT (turbo version) and honestly I was really disappointed after my test drive, under powered and something felt awkward with the suspension as well, a definite step back from my older XT Foresters.
The 4Runner on the other hand surprised me, okay I was not expecting that pinned to the back of the seat response that a high powered sports sedan is capable of. However the acceleration response was more than adequate for me and I was actually better than expected, I have Sprint Booster on the way and I am not sure I really need it now?
Another area of concern that was brought up by some on the forum was engine and road noise, in my case I find it to be quite low and totally acceptable, so not an issue for me.
A few negative comments, actually more of a mild gripe about what I miss compared to my G70
- No blind spot monitor/ alert, this should be mandatory on all vehicles in my opinion.
- No front camera or proximity alert and rear camera resolution is poor and distorted.
- Low intensity interior lighting, easily fixed by switching to LED bulbs of course.
- No heated steering wheel
- A little too much gloss black trim on the interior.
Future planned mods include a mild lift, upgraded suspension, AT tires and a sleeping platform of some type.
Can’t wait to take it off road and on a long road trip.
I had never driven one before, not even for a test drive, I purchased just on the basis of reviews and information I gathered from this forum, thanks to everyone here for that.
Having never driven one I really did not know what to expect.
My daily driver for the past two years has been a GENESIS G70 sports sedan with over 370hp so I was kind of a little concerned that I would take a serious step back in acceleration and overall responsiveness. Previous to my G70 I had been a die-hard Forester user, having owned 3 of them over the past 12 years. I did look at Subaru again but the latest version of this SUV has now dropped the XT (turbo version) and honestly I was really disappointed after my test drive, under powered and something felt awkward with the suspension as well, a definite step back from my older XT Foresters.
The 4Runner on the other hand surprised me, okay I was not expecting that pinned to the back of the seat response that a high powered sports sedan is capable of. However the acceleration response was more than adequate for me and I was actually better than expected, I have Sprint Booster on the way and I am not sure I really need it now?
Another area of concern that was brought up by some on the forum was engine and road noise, in my case I find it to be quite low and totally acceptable, so not an issue for me.
A few negative comments, actually more of a mild gripe about what I miss compared to my G70
- No blind spot monitor/ alert, this should be mandatory on all vehicles in my opinion.
- No front camera or proximity alert and rear camera resolution is poor and distorted.
- Low intensity interior lighting, easily fixed by switching to LED bulbs of course.
- No heated steering wheel
- A little too much gloss black trim on the interior.
Future planned mods include a mild lift, upgraded suspension, AT tires and a sleeping platform of some type.
Can’t wait to take it off road and on a long road trip.
