CuzzinOlaf
New member
I know this is an early on question BUT have there even been any rumors as to when the 4Runner will change? Is it safe to say at least 2007?
Next 4Runner??????
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peter78
Super Moderator
Honda used ot be like clockwork, a brand new model every 4 years with a freshing up in 2 years. I remember the Civic would change and then the Accord would change in 2 years, then in two years the Civic would change. In the last few generations though they have slowed down to 5 or even 6 years. The Camry used to be every 4 years, but it too has slowed down to 5 to 6 years.Sac State said:
Trucks tend to stay a bit longer, I wonder if the Highlander is considered a truck or a car. It has been out since 01 and no change yet, except for the engine of course. I look for the 4Runner to be around in it's generation for a few more years.
Northof49
New member
Actually, the Highlander had a mild mild facelift when the new motor/tranny came in. Just headlights and grille, you have to have them side by each to tell basically.....Just like the Corolla, Matix and Camry this year. Sneaky Toyota.....
Toyota's all over the map with timelines. The cars, like stated, are 5ish years, but then the mechanics of the last gen Tacoma lasted from 95.5 - 2004 ! 2 fairly extensive facelifts and a few package changes in between, but that's about it....
Basically, I'd guess (and even wager some $'s) that 2 things will happen before the next gen 4Runner:
1) FJ Cruiser intro
2) Totally new Tundra intro
Once those two hit the market, I'd say a new 4Runner would pop up within 2 years thereafter......
Toyota's all over the map with timelines. The cars, like stated, are 5ish years, but then the mechanics of the last gen Tacoma lasted from 95.5 - 2004 ! 2 fairly extensive facelifts and a few package changes in between, but that's about it....
Basically, I'd guess (and even wager some $'s) that 2 things will happen before the next gen 4Runner:
1) FJ Cruiser intro
2) Totally new Tundra intro
Once those two hit the market, I'd say a new 4Runner would pop up within 2 years thereafter......
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Mark86
Super Moderator
I think the 4Runner may get a different grill and foglight design. Maybe they will add a voice command navigation system and bluetooth for the Limited's. Look at the Rav4 and Highlander. They got a slightly different look for 2004. Also, does Toyota have a new type of brake light they are putting on the Highlander and Rav4? It looks a lot brighter than the one on the 4Runner. They seem to be a bright pink instead of a standard red. Also, maybe they will give the 4Runner the same kind of gauges that are seen on a Lexus. Now the Corolla, Camry, and Avalon have them. That seems to be Toyota's trend for every 2-3 years.
The 4Runner is relatively brand new, 05 being the 3rd MY for it and it's in the beginning of the 3rd year, I would say minor upgrades every year to 2 years but maybe like the 3rd gen near the end of it's cycle they will give it a face lift.
4Runners have always had excellent resale value and you don't retain excellent value like that having cars with short lifecycles, it also helps that it's a quality product.
With that said, just look at the model lineup and whatever is oldest is due for a redesign, plus the all new FJ and damn I can't wait for the new Tundra
4Runners have always had excellent resale value and you don't retain excellent value like that having cars with short lifecycles, it also helps that it's a quality product.
With that said, just look at the model lineup and whatever is oldest is due for a redesign, plus the all new FJ and damn I can't wait for the new Tundra
something like 44% of all cars in accidents where a total lose cause all the technology in them added up to exceed vehicle cost:arrow:
Hitman
New member
peter78 said:
But just think how much better their resale value would be if they had a longer cycle between model changes.
I don't really think Honda has such outstanding resale value.... maybe a bit better than average. And that is probably due to their excellent reliability more than anything else.
My brother, who works for Mercedes Benz (corporate headquarters in NJ), was telling me that MB is planning on significantly shortening their product cycles. The idea is to introduce an updated/facelifted version of each vehicle more often than the current cycle because people who buy Mercedes vehicles are more concerned with driving the newest model than anything else. I guess that would be good for their bottom line because they'll be selling more new cars in a shorter period of time.
Look at the Mercedes ML. It seems like it has been out forever with very little change. The new version is due out at the end of this year as an '06 model. If they keep it the same for the next 8 years, there's not much reason to buy a new one (for a lot of owners), but if they redesigned it in 3 or 4 years, a lot of owners would probably buy the newer version. And if you factor in the typical 3-year lease, then even more people would upgrade to the new one...
MFG's do care about resale value. If the resale value is poor the lease cost will be higher for the consumer and they will have to offset this cost with rebates and rediculously low interest rates.
Go look at the residual of a Grand Cherokee on a 4 year lease compared to a 4Runner.
Your lease will be based on the Cap Cost (Price of the Vehicle New) - the Residual. Take this and add interest and the lease period and you have your lease cost.
If the residual on a 48Month lease is only 29% than the difference between the Cap Cost will be much larger which will equal a higer monthly payment.
Just my 2 Cents
Cheers,
Go look at the residual of a Grand Cherokee on a 4 year lease compared to a 4Runner.
Your lease will be based on the Cap Cost (Price of the Vehicle New) - the Residual. Take this and add interest and the lease period and you have your lease cost.
If the residual on a 48Month lease is only 29% than the difference between the Cap Cost will be much larger which will equal a higer monthly payment.
Just my 2 Cents
Cheers,
Hitman
New member
MacVay said:
If Chrysler cared so much about resale value, then why aren't they doing anything to make it better? The Grand Cherokee has been around forever in its current design. I know that an all-new Grand Cherokee has recently been introduced, but could you image how bad the resale value would be if they changed them every 4 years??
Look at Ford-- for a few years now, you could walk into just about any Ford dealer and get about $8000 off the sticker price of an Explorer. It's not that the Explorer isn't selling well, it's just that the supply is insane. Some of the local Ford dealers in my area have what seems like an endless supply of them just sitting on the lot.
So what does this do to the Explorer resale value when they're selling them so low? I feel sorry for the people who bought theirs 4 years ago and are now trying to sell it.... the value dropped significantly. I suspect Ford is more interested in selling volume at a lower cost, which will always hurt resale values....
One thing that will be added to the next model 4Runner will be optional lockers. At least an optional rear locker. This will happen IF the FJ comes out and IF the FJ has a locker option. If so, expect the FJ to eat into the 4Runner sales. When that happens, the marketing gurus will figure out that people would have purchased a more expensive (base price) 4Runner over the FJ if only the 4Runner had a locker option.
It's bad marketing to have an suv locker option at the low(ish) end and then nothing again until the LC.
It's bad marketing to have an suv locker option at the low(ish) end and then nothing again until the LC.
Hitman
New member
Faeylyn said:
Hmmm... do you think that would make or break a sale to the average 4Runner owner? I mean, with the technology in today's 4Runner, does the average buyer care about lockers?
It would be interesting if Toyota had decided to do that for the '05 model year and then compare the sales numbers to the year before.
Northof49
New member
I don't think it would make much difference. Most competitors offer nothing of the sort, and 95% of the buyers not on this board are dumfounded enough by all of the systems already on it. I'd love to know the percentage of center diffs that have ever been locked heheHitman said:
After working for Toyota, I can tell you that the time between model redesigns will continue to shorten. I would expect the 4Runner to have a facelift every 3 years and a new model redesign every 6 or so. A higher unit sales model like the Camry could see those times reduced significantly.
Hitman
New member
bdelc said:
Well, it's been 3 years for the 4Runner and it looks exactly the same (03-05 model years) without any changes.
I doubt any kind of major redesign will happen for at least 3 more years minimum. After all, it seems that Toyota was one of the first ones to introduce this type of SUV styling. Now the others are following..... like Nissan with the new Pathfinder and even the Xterra.