I took one for a quick spin and it is just too cool.
Anywhere I parked it drew a crowd within minutes; nothing but positive attention. Most of the all-new models Toyota has put out since the late 90's have been love it/hate....Echo, Yaris, Matrix, etc. This one doesn't seem to follow that path.....everyone I showed it to loved it, even if they had no idea what it was.
Suspension and ride wise, it's a cross between a 4Runner's ride and a Tacoma's ride.....which is a great thing. Definetly more solid than any "car-like" ride, but well damped and not bouncy or jittery at all. I prefer this type of ride to, say, a Camry-esq on-road ride.....but I'm a truck guy, so YMMV. Power is strong and torquey, althought the 6-speed still needs lower gearing. Steering feels nice and light and the driving position is spot-on. Better than the 4Runner's actually, with TONS of headroom (but no sunroof). The seats are much firmer good for some, not for others I suppose....I liked them.
Vision to the front and sides is awesome, because of the tiny a-pillars set way back. Blind spots look bad initially, but once you're in it, they're easy to adapt to. Plus you'll run over whatever you hit anyways. I drove a full-load C-pack....the stock stereo was killer. The triple gauge cluster with the clinometer is neat, and the flat dash and oversize controls make you feel like billy badass offroader, even if you're more of a johnny pavement pounder
It looks huge parked next to almost anything and will make anything short of an H1 or a lifted 1-ton look mundane and wussy. Parked it beside a full-load 3rd gen 4Runner that was kicking around and the length was close.....but it looked twice the 4R's size!! Also made the 3rd gen look sooo plain....and I LOVE how 3rd gens look, so that's saying a lot! All the features are bugged out up close....the massive roof rack, marker lights, rear mount spare.....everything sticks out! Too bad they wussed out on the rubber afterall though....so make sure to swap for five 32" BFG A/T's before it even leaves the lot......seriously.
Bottom line....I likes it. And a full full load 6-speed up here stickers for like $35K and change....and a base base SR5 V6 4R starts at just over $40K.....SCREAMING deal. No one believes it's that cheap!