I'm planning on purchasing a 4R in a few weeks and I need some info. Forgive me, but I'm not very knowledgeable when it comes to cars/trucks. Shouldn't the new 2005 V8 get better mpg because of the new technology than the old? Why doesn't the V6 with the new 5speed trans. get better gas milage than the old 4speed V6? Seems to me you would have a lower gear ratio for better pickup and higher gear ratio for better mpg with the new 5 speed trans. Are people generally happy with the stock radio? I'm not going to tear apart the dash to put in a new radio, but when I listened to it on my test drive -- to me anyway -- it sounded like s**t for a $32,000 vehicle. I test drove a RX330 and talk about slow -- no pickup at all. That's why I am seriously considering the new V8, but with gas prices the way they are -- and I'm kind of an old guy and anything but wealthy -- can I expect to get at least 17 city and 21 highway miles with the new V8 once it is broken in? I drive very conservatively. This is a great forum by the way. All you men and women seem to have your s**t together. Thanks.
New guy w ?'s
- Thread starter arra
- Start date
Register to hide this ad
sharp4runr
New member
The V8 may get better mileage since the VVTI will be benificial during highway driving. I guess results will vary and we'll have to see by real world experiences. Same with the V6 because of the extra gear. With my V6 I get about 17-18MPG with mixed driving. As far as I know, the 2k5 V8 is still rated at 15-21 and the V6 is at 17-21.
I have the JBL system and I wasn' too happy with it until I got an extra amp and subs. To me the JBL system was lacking in the low end and I'm happy with the new subs. There are other audiophiles that say its complete crap, but its fine by my standards. If you get the regular radio, a lot of people have changed to the Scion xA/xB head unit and have great results.
Gas mileage will always vary by the user and environment so 17mpg with the V8 is out of the question especially if you have more highway miles than city. A lot of city driving and you'll probably get closer to the 15....
You can't go wrong with the 4runner though.
I have the JBL system and I wasn' too happy with it until I got an extra amp and subs. To me the JBL system was lacking in the low end and I'm happy with the new subs. There are other audiophiles that say its complete crap, but its fine by my standards. If you get the regular radio, a lot of people have changed to the Scion xA/xB head unit and have great results.
Gas mileage will always vary by the user and environment so 17mpg with the V8 is out of the question especially if you have more highway miles than city. A lot of city driving and you'll probably get closer to the 15....
You can't go wrong with the 4runner though.
Gas mileage
I get 19-20 on extended highway trips doing about 70-75 mph. If I keep it around 60-70, I can almost get 21 mpg. Doing 80 drops it down to about 17-18 mpg.
I had a low of about 14 driving up the Grapevine in Southern Cal staying around 70-75 with a 30+ mph headwind.....air resistence is exponential to the speed and a combined speed and headwind of 100+ mph kills gas mileage.
Around town, I get 16 or so.
I'm a very casual driver, no lead foot but will keep to about 5 mph above the speed limit.
I get 19-20 on extended highway trips doing about 70-75 mph. If I keep it around 60-70, I can almost get 21 mpg. Doing 80 drops it down to about 17-18 mpg.
I had a low of about 14 driving up the Grapevine in Southern Cal staying around 70-75 with a 30+ mph headwind.....air resistence is exponential to the speed and a combined speed and headwind of 100+ mph kills gas mileage.
Around town, I get 16 or so.
I'm a very casual driver, no lead foot but will keep to about 5 mph above the speed limit.
Welcome to the forum 
Northof49
New member
You're an old guy that drives slow, but the RX330 doesn't have enough power :wtf:
The 1 time I drove one, me and my Dad were doing over 100mph up a steep mountain pass in the thing.....they really aren't that slow. Amd if you're worried about gas mileage, comfort and stereo performance, it would be a better choice than the Runner.
The 1 time I drove one, me and my Dad were doing over 100mph up a steep mountain pass in the thing.....they really aren't that slow. Amd if you're worried about gas mileage, comfort and stereo performance, it would be a better choice than the Runner.
Last edited:
Sorry, I didn't mean the RX330 was slow, but the pickup on it, to me, was not impressive. Certainly the 4R with the V8 seemed again, to me, to be quite a bit quicker. And just because I'm old doesn't mean I don't like to punch it once in a while. The radio issue, I have a 1996 Chev Blazer with a better sounding radio. And it's just a stock radio from the factory. I'm just a little surprised Toyota would put in such a cheap sounding system in a $32,000 vehicle. I haven't been able to test drive the new V8 and am looking forward to that to see if there is a noticable difference between the old V8 and new V8. I still haven't taken the V6 off the table yet, but hell, I'm getting old. I want a truck that can haul ass when needed. Thanks for all your replies.
RL Lemke
New member
The RX300 & 330 are great mommy vehicles. If I recall right the standard tampon dispenser is available in pretty pink also. Built on the Camary platform, the RXs are perfect for going to the mall.
The 4Runner is a real off-road capable vehicle. If I were a mall person, I would pass on the body on frame construction vehicles, in favor of a car. Since I am a backcountry adventurer, I am willing to suffer the ride and lower relative fuel mileage of the 4Runner. BTW: The Bose stereo on the 4Runner sounds fine blasting down dirt roads as the seatbelt holds my happy carcass firmly in the seat.
The 4Runner is a real off-road capable vehicle. If I were a mall person, I would pass on the body on frame construction vehicles, in favor of a car. Since I am a backcountry adventurer, I am willing to suffer the ride and lower relative fuel mileage of the 4Runner. BTW: The Bose stereo on the 4Runner sounds fine blasting down dirt roads as the seatbelt holds my happy carcass firmly in the seat.
Hank
New member
FYI: The tranny in the 2wd RX330 lags more than the tranny in the "awd" (as the stupid salesperson kept correcting me) version. I test drove both prior to making my ultimate decision to get my 4R (my girlfriend & dad really wanted me to get the Lexus). 2 well known car mags tested the 0-60 times for both:
2wd: 8.7sec (suffers from torque spikes)
awd: 7.8sec (more responsive tranny)
2wd: 8.7sec (suffers from torque spikes)
awd: 7.8sec (more responsive tranny)
I don't know about the premium JBL sound sytem, my truck has the more basic sound system and it certainly doesn't sound anywhere near as good as the system in my '98 Camry but that wasn't my primary focus in buying the truck - I wanted a reliable truck with offroad capability.
