Hi all:
Sorry this report is late, and again thanks to everyone who coached on the purchase of my silver 2015 4WD SR5 in late March. As you may recall, I got a great deal on my truck by flying to Denver.
Dealership report: AutoNation Toyota Arapahoe (Denver) was, as Blitzkreig had reported, excellent. I dealt with two salesmen, Greg and Blane, as they were team-tagging to cover days off. The 4Runner I wanted was advertised at about 12% off MSRP, and it appeared that there were no dealer or distributor options installed -- which was perfect. I flew to Denver on Thursday, and arrived at the dealership on Friday morning shortly after 9:00. The truck was ready for me to drive with just 14 miles on it, and was as represented... sort of. Blane said the dealership had put on the "Colorado Package" which they hadn't told me about so wouldn't charge me for it! (It consists of the clear film bra and tinting windows. The tint of the front windows doesn't match the factory tint in the rear, but it is close enough for the price).
Time spent at the dealership was about two hours. I was a cash buyer, which speeded up the paperwork, and the finance guy didn't try to sell me anything except the Platinum warranty, to cover electronic components.
I was on my way by noon. I'd deal with AutoNation Toyota Arapahoe again in a heartbeat....but won't have to since this 4Runner should last a decade or more.
Shakedown cruise. The four-day drive from Denver to Austin, over the mountains west of Denver and dropping down to Taos, Santa Fe and then through flat, windy eastern NM and west TX went well. In the mountains, driving between 50 and 60 for the most part, the truck got 24.5 mpg. On the second leg, from Santa Fe and beyond (and mostly between 60 and 70, and finally at the 1000 mile point with cruise control) mpgs dropped closer to 23mpg. TRIP TOTAL: 23.7mpg, measured on five fill-ups. Happy, happy owner.
Vehicle Break-in. Well, yeah, there are instructions in the manual, and I got one right: I didn't tow anything in the first 500 miles. No sudden stops in the first 250 miles? Well, that ship sailed when, two miles from the dealership an idiot cut me off at a freeway on-ramp and I had to hit the brakes hard. I had visions of limping back to the dealer with a crushed left front quarter after two miles. Disaster averted. As for not running at a constant speed for 1000 miles: I didn't use cruise control and hope that the mountain climbing and descending, as well as speed variations over a 15 mph range is good enough.
What I really like. The road manners are excellent! I took it on some rather twisty mountain roads (paved) at moderate speeds and there were no signs of roll! The driver's seat is very comfortable for a shortish person. And the hwy mpgs are very good.
What I don't like as much. The Nav system. I much prefer my Garmin system, both because I like the navigation better and because I can move it so that I can see it in the sun. Half the time I couldn't read the Nav screen. Looking into ways to mount my 5" Garmin now.
Also, the brakes seem soft: a lot of travel before they start to brake (note that in the first 4Runner I test drove, the opposite was true: they were alarmingly grabby.) Is this typical, or is it because I hit the brakes at mile 16, or ???
And, it is very, very silver. Seriously silver. There is almost no chrome and almost no black. Just silver. Time to get a selection of Plasti-Dip paints and follow the inspiration of Antman's daughter!
Next steps: The AVS Ventvisors have arrived. Bought Yakima RailGrabs today on the REI sale. In the next two weeks I want to build the sleeping platform so tonight's challenges were trying to figure out the slope of the folded second row seats (3 degrees?) and hunting for access to the bolts to remove the seat bottoms (haven't found access yet).
So that's the report. Thanks, everyone!
Sorry this report is late, and again thanks to everyone who coached on the purchase of my silver 2015 4WD SR5 in late March. As you may recall, I got a great deal on my truck by flying to Denver.
Dealership report: AutoNation Toyota Arapahoe (Denver) was, as Blitzkreig had reported, excellent. I dealt with two salesmen, Greg and Blane, as they were team-tagging to cover days off. The 4Runner I wanted was advertised at about 12% off MSRP, and it appeared that there were no dealer or distributor options installed -- which was perfect. I flew to Denver on Thursday, and arrived at the dealership on Friday morning shortly after 9:00. The truck was ready for me to drive with just 14 miles on it, and was as represented... sort of. Blane said the dealership had put on the "Colorado Package" which they hadn't told me about so wouldn't charge me for it! (It consists of the clear film bra and tinting windows. The tint of the front windows doesn't match the factory tint in the rear, but it is close enough for the price).
Time spent at the dealership was about two hours. I was a cash buyer, which speeded up the paperwork, and the finance guy didn't try to sell me anything except the Platinum warranty, to cover electronic components.
I was on my way by noon. I'd deal with AutoNation Toyota Arapahoe again in a heartbeat....but won't have to since this 4Runner should last a decade or more.
Shakedown cruise. The four-day drive from Denver to Austin, over the mountains west of Denver and dropping down to Taos, Santa Fe and then through flat, windy eastern NM and west TX went well. In the mountains, driving between 50 and 60 for the most part, the truck got 24.5 mpg. On the second leg, from Santa Fe and beyond (and mostly between 60 and 70, and finally at the 1000 mile point with cruise control) mpgs dropped closer to 23mpg. TRIP TOTAL: 23.7mpg, measured on five fill-ups. Happy, happy owner.
Vehicle Break-in. Well, yeah, there are instructions in the manual, and I got one right: I didn't tow anything in the first 500 miles. No sudden stops in the first 250 miles? Well, that ship sailed when, two miles from the dealership an idiot cut me off at a freeway on-ramp and I had to hit the brakes hard. I had visions of limping back to the dealer with a crushed left front quarter after two miles. Disaster averted. As for not running at a constant speed for 1000 miles: I didn't use cruise control and hope that the mountain climbing and descending, as well as speed variations over a 15 mph range is good enough.
What I really like. The road manners are excellent! I took it on some rather twisty mountain roads (paved) at moderate speeds and there were no signs of roll! The driver's seat is very comfortable for a shortish person. And the hwy mpgs are very good.
What I don't like as much. The Nav system. I much prefer my Garmin system, both because I like the navigation better and because I can move it so that I can see it in the sun. Half the time I couldn't read the Nav screen. Looking into ways to mount my 5" Garmin now.
Also, the brakes seem soft: a lot of travel before they start to brake (note that in the first 4Runner I test drove, the opposite was true: they were alarmingly grabby.) Is this typical, or is it because I hit the brakes at mile 16, or ???
And, it is very, very silver. Seriously silver. There is almost no chrome and almost no black. Just silver. Time to get a selection of Plasti-Dip paints and follow the inspiration of Antman's daughter!
Next steps: The AVS Ventvisors have arrived. Bought Yakima RailGrabs today on the REI sale. In the next two weeks I want to build the sleeping platform so tonight's challenges were trying to figure out the slope of the folded second row seats (3 degrees?) and hunting for access to the bolts to remove the seat bottoms (haven't found access yet).
So that's the report. Thanks, everyone!
