Sad Day!

[Koz]

Sorry to hear about your misfortune, truely a sad day!

Adjustable ride stiffness with the AVS, that's pretty cool, the new GX sounds nice. Did you try out the different settings?

Yes I did and you really feel the sport mode on the twisties. Since the 470 was a little top heavy they lowered the 460 (The 460 premium is even lower) and that combined with the adaptive dampering, air springs and KDSS, the on road demeanor makes the vehicle feel very nimble (Much more then the air springs and XREAS T4R). This is an amazing feat considering the GX now weighs 5300 lbs. I did not get to test the off road feel but I would think that has improved also. From what I read the 460 is a VERY capable off roader.

Koz

 

[Koz]

You don't buy used?

A GX 470, or another 4th Gen 4Runner and have an aftermarket solution like Airlift or remote air springs..

I don't understand how is it hard for Toyota to put one of the V8 in the 5th Gen when they have a powerhouse V8 engine lineup? And by not offering V8, how is it more of a positive than a nega when they will only offer it as an option, not to stock their lots with those.

I personally think the V8 was dropped because of the price of gas. When most people see or hear V8, they immediately think of bad gas mileage. Toyota really screwed up with the 1 mpg better 4 cylinder option. They would have sold more V8s then they sold 4 cylinders. The only thing attractive about the 4 cylinder is the $4K savings (To some people).

Koz

 

[Koz]

Two years ago I bought a used 2003 Limited. It is by far the best vehicle I have ever owned. I agree that the 5th gen is not a suitable replacement for a 4th gen. There are a lot of 4th gens out there and if you hold out and search hard enough, some have very low miles. Settle for the minor scratch or two and get something that you know will serve you well for many years.

I ALWAYS keep a vehicle till I give it away with way over 100K miles. By buying new, it will extend the time of ownership. This is why I usually get a vehicle new and fully loaded. I also am a couple months from retirement and I will be doing ALOT more traveling. I promised myself (And the little women) that we would take our time to explore our GREAT and BEAUTIFUL country. I did a short road trip (1 month) looping around the US a couple years ago and discovered there are way too many GREAT places and sites in this country to be seen and it would take YEARS to see them. I also love photography!

Koz

 

[Koz]

Hey Koz, I was looking at your other thread about your wreck and I noticed it was about the same damage as when I wrecked my 98 3rd gen. Did your airbags go off? Those things cost me more than all the front end damage combined!
(Our insurance is corrupt, so we opted to pay out-of-pocket)

I nose-dived into a pit at about 30mph, and after an 800 dollar small-town repair (courtesy of some guy named Ed.. or was it Jim?) It was running like new!

Sorry if I'm being irrelevant, I was just wondering what went wrong with your frame or whatever caused it to be considered "totaled"...

Surprisingly NO, the air bags did not go off. When hitting the guard rail the right corner of the vehicle hit the rail first and then while spinning damaged the rest of the front end.

There was approx $10K worth of damage to the body (Front and back) and then the frame needed to be replaced. I would not accept a used frame, only new OEM. When replacing a frame there are allot of other parts that would also need to be replaced because of disassembling.

Koz

 

[Koz]

there is not such thing as a toyota frame not being able to be repaired. all frames can be repaired.

being on the insurance side there are two things about a frame repair. if a frame is "bent" only it is reparable, if it is "kinked" then it is not repairable but as for a "toyota" frame not being repairable that is B.S. i deal with two very large toyota dealers and they repair them all the time. unless you want the ins co to take your truck get a second opinion. alot of times frames can be sectioned too(say a ft frame rail is no good onstead of getting a used frame you could get a frame section and it would be re-welded in. it is done all thie time on GM trucks as they have parts to do it.

The frame was kinked in several spots and TOYOTA determined it could not be repaired or sectioned. From what I was told the frame also has crumple zones (As many of the body parts) and when they are kinked it needs to be replaced.

Koz

 

[Koz]

I hope you're not implying that the 5th gen is inferior to the 4th gen along the build quality front. Sat in one. It's updated, newer, fresher, and fit/finish is just as good if not better than the 4th. If we all wanted seriously good interior quality, we'd all be ponying up for the L version anyways.

It's just too much of the pull up the wagons and form a circle BS on internet forums. If you're not in need of a V8, buy the newest one if you can afford it. It's not like the 5th gen owners spending $35K+ can't afford your beloved $15K 4th now well used and dated looking somehow impacted less by "cost cutting" measures. Child, please.

I'm sure the build quality of the 5th gen is as usual, top quality but the interior is not up to the 4th gen's Limited model. It looks CHEAP, sorry just my personal opinion. Also the design is horrid! My 05 Limited had a sticker over $43K. I looked at a 5th gen Limited and the sticker was over $41 and it didn't even have nav (among other things). I'm getting approx $25K my 4th gen. I would have preferred to keep my outdated 05 Limited over the new 5th gen, even if it wouldn't cost me anything! The 5th gen does absolutely nothing for me.

Koz

 

[Koz]

No way am I thinking the 5th gen is inferior and IMO the 5th gen is a return to a more truck like 4Runner and with the TE model it brought the 4Runner back to being more of a true SUV and is very capable right out of the box harkening back ot the feel of the 3rd gens.

4th gens are still a solid and capable vehicle but the 4th gens became a bit softer and pampered their owners quite a bit so it probably was a bit of a dissappointment to current or previous 4th gen owners when the 5th gen didn't return with a V8,full time 4wd,power antenna,LED tails or a freakin' burger tray. :hungry:

I understand the loss of the V8 since towing isn't the same with the current V6 but those people are the buyers Toyota expected some loss from but from the excitement and sales we are seeing from the 5th gens I think Toyota is happy with their decision.

I'm content with my 3rd gen and will be for a while and I wouldn't mind a V8 SE 4th gen for a daily driver vehicle but I will be eyeing a slightly used 5th gen TE in the next few years.

The only difference between the 4th gen and 5th is the new body/interior and the optional KDSS system only available for the TE (which is amazing). Oh yah, and the silly 4 cylinder!

Koz

 

[Koz]

A deeper reason..maybe behind, as Nissan Pathfinder don't have V8 also.
..ahh..business strategy maybe....

Not only does the Pathfinder have a V8, it's their 5.6L! But it is a Nissan.

Koz

 

[RonMAIDEN]

The only difference between the 4th gen and 5th is the new body/interior and the optional KDSS system only available for the TE (which is amazing). Oh yah, and the silly 4 cylinder!

Koz

Here's a rundown of changes and major deletions.
http://www.toyota-4runner.org/newreply.php?do=newreply&p=593747

I understand the loss of the V8 for the towing crowd and the V8 allowed less drama when passing but in a head to head race of 4th gens with a V8 vs the V6 they almost ran dead even in the 1/4 so it's not like the V8 is strides ahead of the V6 and off road it's a wash.
Toyota also sold more V6 equipped 4Runners than V8s so the demand might not have been there from Toyota's point of view and it's not like 5th gens are sitting on the lots collecting dust according to my friend who works for a dealership.

The FJ will be gone in the next year or two and I think Toyota geared the TE to fill that niche and nobody is complaining that the FJ doesn't have a V8.

I still believe the 4Runner will have a V8 in the next two years and you can't really expect Toyota to put one in the 2011 model considering the late rollout of the 2010 and Toyota wanted to see where sales were going after the sales of the 4th gens were continually dropping the last few years to perhaps it's lowest sales ever for any 4Runner.

I think we should be happy Toyota put out a 5th gen instead of discontinuing the model.

 

[JB.]

....in a head to head race of 4th gens with a V8 vs the V6 they almost ran dead even in the 1/4 so it's not like the V8 is strides ahead of the V6.

Why would you reference the V8 from the first two model years instead of the vvti from the ensuing 5 years? Surely you know about this. If you inisist on comparing apples to oranges, you should make that clear.

 

[RonMAIDEN]

Who said I was referencing the earlier year's V8,I'm talking the last couple of year's V8 vs the V6 in the 4th gens and both are great engines but the V8 doesn't make the 4Runner exceptionally quicker but does make the it a much more efficient tow vehicle.

 

[JB.]

Who said I was referencing the earlier year's V8,I'm talking the last couple of year's V8 vs the V6 in the 4th gens and both are great engines but the V8 doesn't make the 4Runner exceptionally quicker but does make the it a much more efficient tow vehicle.

Don't know where you get this. It was the early V8 that ran the 1/4 neck and neck with the vvti V6. The recent V8 is vvti just like the V6. The V8 makes more torque at every rpm and even revs a little higher. The difference is augmented when towing, but it's significant under any circumstance.

 

[Koz]

The V6 and V8 (4 gen) were always very close (In the 1/4). The current V6 (5th gen) is making pretty much the same HP as the V8 (4th gen) but has also porked out several hundred lbs. This extra weight has probably negated the extra HP and keep it from out running the V8.

All this is really immaterial because no one bought the 4Runner with the 1/4 mile as their deciding factor for their purchase. As JB stated there is difference in torque everywhere in the rev band and it comes on much sooner (Max @ 1K rpm sooner). This is why there is such a big difference in the tow rating (2000 lbs.).

If Toyota can get their head out of their a$$ they would put the new 4.6 V8 (301hp-329lbs.) in the 4Runner. I'm SURE it would be the engine of choice. It would get the same gas mileage as the V6 with a considerable performance gain. The GX now weighs 500 lbs more then the 5th gen 4Runner and gets 20 mpg. It also may be quicker. I really don't know what they were thinking!

Koz

 

[Top Shelf Synthetics]

If Toyota can get their head out of their a$$ they would put the new 4.6 V8 (301hp-329lbs.) in the 4Runner. I'm SURE it would be the engine of choice. It would get the same gas mileage as the V6 with a considerable performance gain. The GX now weighs 500 lbs more then the 5th gen 4Runner and gets 20 mpg. It also may be quicker. I really don't know what they were thinking!

Koz

They've had floormats and gas pedals to worry about!! haha

Sorry to hear about you rig man!

 

[Jed]

Koz,

I see a 2011 Hemi Jeep Grand Cherokee in your future.

 

[Koz]

Koz,

I see a 2011 Hemi Jeep Grand Cherokee in your future.

The only HEEP that looks interesting is the SRT8 but it has the tow rating of a Rav4 and it is still a HEEP!

I need a REAL truck, that can tow over 5K lbs.

I will be pulling the trigger on a GX460 Premium tonight. Special order, the wait will begin.

Koz

 

[Jed]

The only HEEP that looks interesting is the SRT8 but it has the tow rating of a Rav4 and it is still a HEEP!

I need a REAL truck, that can tow over 5K lbs.

I will be pulling the trigger on a GX460 Premium tonight. Special order, the wait will begin.

Koz

Hmmm...the SRT-8 is a boy racer Jeep....and I haven't even seen them in the new body style yet. I heard they will make them again though.

Still, a 2011 Grand Cherokee Hemi can easily tow over 5K, so I'd say it has the "real" truck stuff you need. But if you don't like Jeeps, I guess it doesn't matter to you.

 

[Thai]

If Toyota can get their head out of their a$$ they would put the new 4.6 V8 (301hp-329lbs.) in the 4Runner. I'm SURE it would be the engine of choice. It would get the same gas mileage as the V6 with a considerable performance gain. The GX now weighs 500 lbs more then the 5th gen 4Runner and gets 20 mpg. It also may be quicker. I really don't know what they were thinking!

Koz

I think that most manufacturers are looking to lower their average fuel economy...so, adding a V8 may negatively lower their company's average fuel economy (via EPA), which may lead to penalty from Mr. Obama's administration??

The V8 from GX460 would be nice, but i would probably still pick the V6...because speed is not my priority and 4-LO provides plenty of torque off-road for me. But then again, i drive a Prius...so, you know that speed is not important!

 

[Koz]

I think that most manufacturers are looking to lower their average fuel economy...so, adding a V8 may negatively lower their company's average fuel economy (via EPA), which may lead to penalty from Mr. Obama's administration??

The V8 from GX460 would be nice, but i would probably still pick the V6...because speed is not my priority and 4-LO provides plenty of torque off-road for me. But then again, i drive a Prius...so, you know that speed is not important!

I'm not a betting man but I would bet the new 4.6 would get the same gas mileage as the 4.0. It made the new GX (weighing over 5300 lbs.) the class leader in mileage. Why wouldn't you want an engine that produces approx 50 lbs more torque and gets the same mileage?

If I had to commute I would be driving that ATP Prius. It's like a little spaceship that runs on fumes!

Koz

 

[Koz]

Hmmm...the SRT-8 is a boy racer Jeep....and I haven't even seen them in the new body style yet. I heard they will make them again though.

Still, a 2011 Grand Cherokee Hemi can easily tow over 5K, so I'd say it has the "real" truck stuff you need. But if you don't like Jeeps, I guess it doesn't matter to you.

I think the Hemi HEEP is nothing but an overpriced hunk of junk! I'm not sure which is worse, the Land Rover or the Hemi HEEP!

Koz