Ride quality on long trips question

[Batang.Gapo]

I test drove 2011 4Runner yesterday and totally impressed. The dealership did not have the color I prefer (Classic Silver) so I have to wait until next week.

I was totally impressed with this truck during my short distance test drive. My question is, how is it on long distance trip?

We do a lot of long travel during summer months and can't wait to drive my new 4Runner...

Thanks for your inputs in advance.

 

[mtbnole]

I test drove 2011 4Runner yesterday and totally impressed. The dealership did not have the color I prefer (Classic Silver) so I have to wait until next week.

I was totally impressed with this truck during my short distance test drive. My question is, how is it on long distance trip?

We do a lot of long travel during summer months and can't wait to drive my new 4Runner...

Thanks for your inputs in advance.

we did 600 miles when the truck was only 2 weeks old, and it was great. very comfortable with 3 people, 2 dogs and way too much stuff for a 4 day trip.

 

[simple06]

I drive out to Colorado about 3 or 4 times a year. It's about 850 miles one way. A little issue to me is the light steering and the vehicle is moved by the wind just a bit more than I would like. That said I can drive for 12 hours no problem.

 

[desertred]

I drove 1200 miles over two days when moving from Oregon to Colorado. I also drove 600 miles one way to visit my brother and family over the Christmas holidays. I found the 5th gen very comfortable throughout. I only stopped for gas and coffee during both trips. No need for "stretching" in between. The 5th gen has been the most comfortable car for long distance trips that I have owned.

 

[NYRunner]

Funny you should ask~

I justed walked in the door after driving home from VT to Long Island

I've had mine since May 1st and already have almost 18K on her, many of which are road trips all over the place, and in a nutshell
HELL YES :trophy:

My Limited has been a dream on long trips~ there are endless ways to position your seat and, speaking only from my experience driving a Limited w/ XREAS, the ride and even the handling and capabilities on the highway are most impressive. From what I've read here the TE and SR5 have a lot of nose-dive when braking etc...but I haven't driven them one before the other to compare.

On the other end of the spectrum, on Friday night it took me 7 hours to get up there and driving into the back end of that storm gave me a taste of how well these trucks do what they were designed to do... 1st, my ATT Navigator takes me over, no joke, more than 20 miles of iced and snow covered dirt road mountain-top passes, including several miles worth of 45 degree plus inclines and declines.

Then, middle of nowhere, it freezes up and my phone dies altogether and I didn't even know what road I was on or where. It took me almost 2 hours just to find a real road, and another however long to figure out where the heck I was....

Happily, I had 3/4 of a tank because I filled up in Mass, so I wasn't worried about that, but I was by myself this trip. With no phone one false move could have been put me in a little bit of a survival situation. I just looked at it as my own little adventure to get myself back to civilization.

This is the best part, and why I typed all of that........

Not one single time did the truck not do exactly what I told it to do!

I don't recall even hearing any of the traction control or other systems going off, and I did see at least one SUV spun into the trees or a ditch in one really iced over couple of mile stretch....

Smart for you for waiting for the color you want, you might as well love too! Congratulations, and welcome to the club!!!

 

[tsl90]

I drove our '11 Ltd for 5hr or so yesterday. For the record I miss our '04 Ltd and think it better met our needs in almost every way. My wife (it's her car) had told me she thought the new one had a nicer ride. Yesterday I had to agree. I think she may be right. On this count the 5th gen wins.

 

[Quentin]

It is a pretty awesome road trip vehicle. For example, I have a 12 mile round trip commute... but I've put 15000 miles on my 4Runner in 1 year. So, we obviously do a lot of roadtripping on the weekends. Doing the same driving in my GTI or my wife's MINI left me pretty tired because those car requires so much input while driving. The T4R just happily eats up the mileage.

 

[nashman69g]

Well, i got to test this out right when I bought it. I had my 1600 mile trip from Boston (where i bought it) to New Orleans. I think it rode very well the whole trip. Very smooth and quite.

 

[WFO_Racer]

We have taken our Trail Edition to Vegas from Southern California a few times since we bought ours a few months ago. Took it hunting to Arizona as well. Loaded down with guns ammo and gear still rode well.

Decent ride, all stock but it is not my wife's S class Benz in any way but it not supposed to be, different dynamics. The family never complained on the trips.

My only pet peeve is the damn speed limiter on long open stretches, having to feather the throttle at 116 is a PITA.

 

[scanny]

Last December we had a 8 hours drive from Ontario to Vermont. The 4Runner is affected by the strong winds more that other vehicles I drove, but it's sort of expected. The other thing is that seat has to many settings so it took me almost 100km to set them all the way it felt 100% comfortable. Other than that I was very pleased with our trip, as a highway cruiser 4Runner exceeded my expectations : )

 

[adio3x]

I did a trip from Missouri to Colorado in January. It was a 16 hour drive with 5 people in the truck, I was comfy the whole way. Did the 16 hours straight too lol.

 

[Awynt]

We took our 2010 about 800-900 miles (can't remember how far the in-laws are) over Thanksgiving, with a 15 month old, and it was splendid. Even with a headwind going there and coming back, it was one of the smoothest road trips I've ever taken. I was thrilled.

 

[homeyclaus]

We have been on one-day road trips every weekend since we bought our TE on President's Day. It's nice. It's not a Maxima, but for a SUV it's very comfortable, the seats offer very good support. For whatever reason, mine drives much nicer the more weight is piled in the back.

As was said, a TE will nose-dive a fair bit, although less so with people in the rear seats and a few hundred pounds of camping gear in there. I'll be putting in Bilstein shocks, which will likely firm that up a bit (last mod, I swear). Sadly, I can't put in a lift and still drive it to the client sites I need to go to.

 

[ckon]

When I first got it, I'd sometimes notice some low back and/or thigh discomfort but either the seat's broken in or my body has. Long rides and trips to Florida are very comfortable now.

 

[lastcall18]

Long time lurker... this just seemed like to post to reply to... My '10 SR5 rides great.. towed a two place covered trailer to Maine a few times.. no problems what so ever... . the only think that's killing me ... it it brutal in the wind... I've had a few white knuckle rides on the highway when it's a gusty wind... She get's blown all over the highway.... I thought my pickup was bad... but.. I still love the thing... pack the three kids and wife in and away we go....

 

[osin]

Recently I made a 10 hour trip with my wife, and we were both amazed how comfortable the ride was. Now we can't wait for the Memorial Day weekend

As for the nose dive, if you don't slam on the brake you shouldn't notice it that much. It all depends on the way you drive and what type of the vehicle you drove before.

My two complaints are well known on the forum: wandering on the highway and how noticeable are the wind gusts. Other than that, new 4Runner is perfect for the long trips

 

[Froglips]

Did a 6000 plus mile month-long trip in Feb - March from Atlanta to San Francisco and San Diego via Nebraska and Wyoming going out and Nevada, Utah and Nebraska returning. Found the 4Runner to be very comfortable doing 475 to 525 miles per day on the trip legs. As others have noted, the truck can tend to wander some at highway speeds, but mine is fully stock including the Dunlops. Gusty winds can toss it around a little.

 

[ckon]

I notice a lot of complaints about wind though I've never particularly noticed it in my Limited. Have I just missed it or is it a bigger problem on SR5s?

 

[chetJ]

I have noticed the wind issue very very slightly in my Limited too. We recently drove about 5 hours and loved the comfortable ride!

 

[polishpiper]

Actually, the long Road Trips were the best feature on the T4R. The thing I don't like is the city driving (stop and go....tip and dip). Luckily for me 90% of my driving is on the highway (when I'm not off-roading).