Previous generation 4Runner was better

[bnekic]

The 4th was a great vehicle but the 5th is better for me because it is bigger has a more powerful V6 . My main gripe with the 4th was the seats were too close to the floor and uncomfortable no matter how you would adjust them and the JBL stereo sucked really bad.There is nothing you could do about the seats because headroom was already too close for me.The whole vehicle is larger all the way around and I believe it even has more ground cleareance.
If you would own a 5th you will not miss the 4th !! I like the pull stick for putting into 4wd( more reliable in the long run) and in/and out of 4WD fast !! No more blinking light and it does not go in until it feels like it..The 5th also is much quieter and rides much better.Back up camera, USB, Bluetooth,XM, Reclining back seats, no defective sunroof to worry about or $1200/shock Xreas to replace.100k mi spark plug change intervals.Dual VVTi has more power and gets better mpg.Should I keep going, you 4th guys are still living in denial !!

Agree +1

 

[RonMAIDEN]

I do notice there seems to be more of a connection between 3rd and 5th gen 4Runners and their owners. I also saw there was a lot of ire from 4th gen owners when the 5th gens were getting ready to come out.

I can understand the complaints of the lack of a V8 with some members but the other deletions were mostly ticky tack. I don't mind the 4th gens but they seemed to be the "soft-roader" gen of 4Runners while the 5th gen seems a return to a more truck-like rugged Runner.

 

[Hawkdog21]

I do notice there seems to be more of a connection between 3rd and 5th gen 4Runners and their owners. I also saw there was a lot of ire from 4th gen owners when the 5th gens were getting ready to come out.

I can understand the complaints of the lack of a V8 with some members but the other deletions were mostly ticky tack. I don't mind the 4th gens but they seemed to be the "soft-roader" gen of 4Runners while the 5th gen seems a return to a more truck-like rugged Runner.

Agree with everything you said

 

[-JD-]

I do notice there seems to be more of a connection between 3rd and 5th gen 4Runners and their owners. I also saw there was a lot of ire from 4th gen owners when the 5th gens were getting ready to come out.

I can understand the complaints of the lack of a V8 with some members but the other deletions were mostly ticky tack. I don't mind the 4th gens but they seemed to be the "soft-roader" gen of 4Runners while the 5th gen seems a return to a more truck-like rugged Runner.

I agree. I had both a 2nd and 3rd gen, but skipped the 4th, and am now waiting to pull the trigger on a 5th gen TE. I really feel that the 4th gen was were toyota started trying to make the 4runner appeal to everyone (ie. family car). Seems like they've made a conscious decision to reposition this new 4runner as a more dedicated off/on road vehicle....

 

[RonMAIDEN]

^^^^^^^^^

I agree since Toyota has plenty of SUVs to fill the family niche and with the eventual end of the FJ I think Toyota planned the 4Runner to take up that void.

 

[1engineer]

I had a 1st generation 4Runner. Now I have a 5G 4Runner. I think the 5G captures the "embodiment" of the whole 4Runner line. Sorta rolls them all up into one vehicle. Oh, My 5G rides just a bit better than my 1G. Can't take the back off though.

 

[Johnny Utah]

I agree. I had both a 2nd and 3rd gen, but skipped the 4th, and am now waiting to pull the trigger on a 5th gen TE. I really feel that the 4th gen was were toyota started trying to make the 4runner appeal to everyone (ie. family car). Seems like they've made a conscious decision to reposition this new 4runner as a more dedicated off/on road vehicle....

yeah i think the highlander can take that family role

 

[bluebullet]

I had a 2nd (gone), have a 3rd ('99 SR5) and a 5th (TE) and skipped the 4th. I am happy keeping both (3rd and 5th) as they are different. The 5th gets to go on road trips. The 3rd with a 5sp manual gets to do all the work in the snow and short trips to town. The '99 is still very reliable with only 128K miles. It was a vast improvement over my '94. Rack/pinion on the '99 eliminated all the front end issues the '94 had. 3.4L V6 a big improvement over the 3.0L V6. The 5th gen has similar improvements over the 3rd. Nice to buy a new car every 10-12 years even when the old one still runs fine.

 

[Will733]

Yeah, really great thread here! EVERYTHING used to be better!
- The old Motorola razor was better than the iphone because it fliped to close.
- The old CRT TV's were better than flat screens because you could put pictures and vases on top of it.
- The old AOL internet connection was better cause you got to hear the bing bing bing errrrrrrrrrr noise every time you connect.
-The old typewritters were better than computers because you could jam all the keys at once to get it stuck.
-The old calculator watches were better too because you didn't have to reach into your pocket to use your cell phone to calculate someting.

You should tell Toyota, and I bet they'll cancel production on all the 5th gens for you and keep making the 4th gen forever instead.

 

[dxntxn]

Back To Its Roots - A Good Thing

Count me among the folks who skipped the 4th Gen. I owned a 1st, 2nd and 3rd Gen before I bought the 5th Gen.

I hated the styling of the 4th Gen and felt Toyota turned it into a mommy-mobile. I know a lot of people liked the 4th Gen, but it just wasn't what I considered a 4Runner should be.

I'm digging the whole Back To Its Roots thing with the 5th Gen. This looks and feels like what I expect from a 4Runner both inside and out. It has nice technology that's useful on a daily basis, but left out things you'd look for on a family vehicle (such as power liftgate and power third-row seats.

Toyota did a pretty good job of having 4Runners with distinct personalities with the SR5, Trail and Limited this time.

 

[Dlak]

5th gen IMHO is the best looking 4runner to date, now lets get off of consumer reports n#$% and listen to the people who actually own the vehicle for feedback. I've got 4 vehicles including the 4runner, 2 of them are german sports cars and have been driving the 4runner everday for the last 3 months just because I love driving it so much. I had to replace 2 batteries in the other vehicles because I negelected to start them up and drive them around a couple of times a week. I Love my 5th gen (and Yes I Am cheerleading my purchase!)

 

[DocMT]

Yes, I've read the consumer reports article, but I've also read a lot of other reviews that disagree with that one. That one bad review seems to get brought up a lot. I'm assuming you own a 4th gen?
could you link me to the mega thread? it cant' honestly be 'too much to list' ...

Currently I own a 4th gen. I also owned a 3rd gen for many years.

Just search for the thread. I don't have it directly linked or anything. It had all kinds of stuff that Toyota deleted on the 5th gen. If I remember correctly, the world "deleted" was in the thread title.

 

[DocMT]

Yes I read the article, and I can't believe the reviewer drove a 4th gen and 5th gen back to back, equiped the same. The article is one person's opinion of the truck. Some folks don't like trucks, and thats fine. The 4th gen. was on it's way to becoming something resembling an Explorer or a Highlander. I love my 5th gen., everything about it is better than my 4th, hopefully it will evolve into something even better.

It's not one person. Read up on the way CR performs their testing. A team of people are involved...it's not one person's opinion.

I think the truth here is that people who purchased the 5th gen don't want to admit that it falls short in many aspects compared to the vehicle it replaced. If I bought a 5th gen, I wouldn't want to admit it either.

BTW, how's that excessive nose dive working out for ya when you hit the brakes?

 

[1engineer]

It's not one person. Read up on the way CR performs their testing. A team of people are involved...it's not one person's opinion.

I think the truth here is that people who purchased the 5th gen don't want to admit that it falls short in many aspects compared to the vehicle it replaced. If I bought a 5th gen, I wouldn't want to admit it either.

BTW, how's that excessive nose dive working out for ya when you hit the brakes?

The ONLY opinions in this thread that count are people who ACTUALLY OWNED a previous version and a later version - then I will read with interest their opinions. The guys who do not own a 5G cannot possibly comment with any accuracy, unless they believe everything they see on the internet...:shrug:

 

[Will733]

It's not one person. Read up on the way CR performs their testing. A team of people are involved...it's not one person's opinion.

I think the truth here is that people who purchased the 5th gen don't want to admit that it falls short in many aspects compared to the vehicle it replaced. If I bought a 5th gen, I wouldn't want to admit it either.

BTW, how's that excessive nose dive working out for ya when you hit the brakes?

The nose dive is working out quite great for me DocMT, thanks for your concern! Just the other day I was able to tie a watermelon to my bumper and smash it just by driving 65mph on the freeway and then slamming on the breaks as hard as I could. It was very enjoyable and I highly recommend it if you have not tried this yet yourself, but I am assuming you have already done so as you appear to be a very intelligent guy with a lot of time on his hands.

 

[Fareastplaza]

I tested the 5th and it handles spectacular. Personally I just can not get over the boxy look. I think it looks like an extended FJ cruiser or downsized hummer. Yet to each their own as long as your happy. I just keep my 4th maintained perfectly and hope I will someday like the looks of a new 4 runner again.

These external body designers are very professional. Car design is just like fashion. You may not like the latest design, but after few years, when you look back, you will have a feeling how ugly the old design is. This is power of FASHION. They push you to accept what ever they brought for you.

I still remembered when the new design of CR-V came out, I was thinking HONDA may hire PHD (permanently Head Damage) to work for. Now, when I saw older CR-V on the street, I feel it's old school thing. :witch:

 

[03_4x4Runner]

These external body designers are very professional. Car design is just like fashion. You may not like the latest design, but after few years, when you look back, you will have a feeling how ugly the old design is. This is power of FASHION. They push you to accept what ever they brought for you.

I still remembered when the new design of CR-V came out, I was thinking HONDA may hire PHD (permanently Head Damage) to work for. Now, when I saw older CR-V on the street, I feel it's old school thing. :witch:

After 2 years of seeing 5th gens it has not grown on me yet. From the side they look ok, but the front and rears are ugly except for the trail edition.

 

[sandcrawler]

I think the truth here is that people who purchased the 5th gen don't want to admit that it falls short in many aspects compared to the vehicle it replaced. If I bought a 5th gen, I wouldn't want to admit it either.

i think the truth here is that people who purchased a 5th gen (like myself) and previously owned a 4th gen (like myself) possess a more qualified opinion than those who are still clinging to an almost pathological defense of their 4th gen while still slinging the same mud that got them banned from this forum a few months ago, forcing them to re-register under a different handle and rack up 600+ posts in a scant 4 months of membership — like you, Jed.

BTW, how's that excessive nose dive working out for ya when you hit the brakes?

and this nastiness is exactly what i mean... sounds exactly the same as your spew (under your original handle of Jed) in this thread Nose Dive While Hard Braking! where the mods intervened and it was basically the beginning of the end for old Jed... you priming the pump for another banning, Jed/DocMT?

folks should read through the thread... same guy, spewing the same bull. seriously

 

[Curt Sauve]

It's not one person. Read up on the way CR performs their testing. A team of people are involved...it's not one person's opinion.

I think the truth here is that people who purchased the 5th gen don't want to admit that it falls short in many aspects compared to the vehicle it replaced. If I bought a 5th gen, I wouldn't want to admit it either.

BTW, how's that excessive nose dive working out for ya when you hit the brakes?

I have a 2011 Limited 4x4 with XREAS suspension, just like my 4th gen. SE had, there was no nose dive on the 4th and there is no nose dive on the 5th Limited. I didn't think Toyota could build a better truck than my 08' SE V6, but the 11' LTD is better in every way, but thats just my opinion. As for the 5th gen. SR5 I have no opinion, I have never even sat in one.

 

[dpr422]

I have both (05 SE V8 and 11 TE) -- truth be told, I was disappointed the v8 was not an option on the 5th Gen, but Toyota did add certain features to the 5th that won me over, especially the extra space in the cabin. The 5th is more comfortable for me and the KDSS is amazing.

In the end, it is only a matter of opinion and preferences.. If you do not like the 5th Gen, go buy another car..