Talk me into a 2016 Trail Premium w/KDSS

[proimion]

You're flirting with minivan territory my friend.

I nominated a Sienna earlier in this thread. I own a 2012 Sienna AWD and 4R and for daily family life and road trips with young kids, the Sienna outperforms the 4R in every category. And it isn't even close. Yes, the 4R can go off-road, but that is about the only advantage it has.

But some have an allergic reaction to minivans that I don't quite understand.

Young parents will spend tens of thousands on baby and kid gear over the years. They will modify their house. They will put pictures of their kids everywhere and talk about them incessantly. They will buy a baby jogger and take the baby on runs. Then when they have another little bundle of joy 3 years later, they will buy a double-stroller jogger that's amazingly equipped. Then a $1,000 Burley bike trailer.

In short, they will scream "I have a kid" and "I'm a parent" at every possible opportunity. And that is OK. Being a parent is great.

But then when it comes to a minivan, nooooo. Can't do that! Because...now people will look at me and laugh because I'm a parent and driving a vehicle that suits my parenting needs? Because I have to suddenly get "practical" (even though they've done so in every other area?). So they will make their life harder every day for it. How does this make any sense?

Ah, don't worry OP, I'm not really on your case here. I have taken the same journey. And quite honestly, I'm a Toyota nut. And I love the Sienna. Truly, love it. Not because of how I look in it, but because of how amazingly it has served my family every single day. And when a distracted driver hit us nearly head-on 60 MPH, we all got out with nothing more than seat belt bruises. Even the responding firefighters couldn't help but take pictures they were so amazed. It wasn't even a question I would get another Sienna.

Now that my kids are almost out of the nest, we'll phase-out the Sienna. But it will always be a favorite vehicle of mine.

And with that I'll end my Sienna Soliloquy. Best of luck with the new kid and the new vehicle, whatever that may be.

 

[Yelkceb]

I nominated a Sienna earlier in this thread. I own a 2012 Sienna AWD and 4R and for daily family life and road trips with young kids, the Sienna outperforms the 4R in every category. And it isn't even close. Yes, the 4R can go off-road, but that is about the only advantage it has.

But some have an allergic reaction to minivans that I don't quite understand.

Young parents will spend tens of thousands on baby and kid gear over the years. They will modify their house. They will put pictures of their kids everywhere and talk about them incessantly. They will buy a baby jogger and take the baby on runs. Then when they have another little bundle of joy 3 years later, they will buy a double-stroller jogger that's amazingly equipped. Then a $1,000 Burley bike trailer.

In short, they will scream "I have a kid" and "I'm a parent" at every possible opportunity. And that is OK. Being a parent is great.

But then when it comes to a minivan, nooooo. Can't do that! Because...now people will look at me and laugh because I'm a parent and driving a vehicle that suits my parenting needs? Because I have to suddenly get "practical" (even though they've done so in every other area?). So they will make their life harder every day for it. How does this make any sense?

Ah, don't worry OP, I'm not really on your case here. I have taken the same journey. And quite honestly, I'm a Toyota nut. And I love the Sienna. Truly, love it. Not because of how I look in it, but because of how amazingly it has served my family every single day. And when a distracted driver hit us nearly head-on 60 MPH, we all got out with nothing more than seat belt bruises. Even the responding firefighters couldn't help but take pictures they were so amazed. It wasn't even a question I would get another Sienna.

Now that my kids are almost out of the nest, we'll phase-out the Sienna. But it will always be a favorite vehicle of mine.

And with that I'll end my Sienna Soliloquy. Best of luck with the new kid and the new vehicle, whatever that may be.

I'm there with you. I have a Sienna and a TEP and the Sienna is incredible for just about everything family related unless you are going off road.
Yes they took my man card when I signed the papers, but everything in life is so much easier with the thing. Kids are happy, dogs are happy and most importantly, my wife is happy. Thus, I am happy.

 

[RotaryHeart]

Went from a RX8 with shocks springs sways and sticky tires to a TE w/ KDSS two months ago and I honestly don't hate it.

The only glaring faults with the suspension set up for the stock KDSS tails are the tires and the brake dive. I'm looking in to getting rid of the stock shocks and swapping the tires for something with stiffer sidewalls when they wear out. I can honestly say that my 4R is the one of the best mannered body on frame vehicles i have driven. It really doesn't roll as much as you would think and once the car settles into a turn so long as you don't make too many adjustments it seems happier than it should be.

Above 80 the tries and sidewalls REALLY do not inspire much confidence but you probably shouldn't be going that fast anyway.

 

[Lee_Kee]

I had a 2002 Sienna. It was a great vehicle for family use. AWD is available on newer ones. Sliding side doors and low floor means easy access to the rear facing car seat.

Highlander might be an option. AWD and more car like. Perhaps better gas mileage than 4Runner.

I have a '16 T4R TEP w/KDSS. I really like it. Manual 4WD. Doesn't have blind spot monitoring or some of the safety features that Sienna and Highlander have available. It's a comfortable, high-clearance, 4WD with excellent off-road capability.

Your decision...

 

[renau001]

my wife is happy. Thus, I am happy.

You got lucky here. In general, I think the wives are usually the ones against the minivan. I try to convince my wife all the time it's the way to go. One day I'll wear her down, maybe.…………probably not.

 

[Gibby0087]

birth of our first born is requiring that I pick up a car with a bigger backseat to accommodate a rear facing child seat. We have a 2001 SR5 as a second car, so the reliability/no-maintenance is a big plus for me.



Being honest with myself, I do need AWD/4WD but it's a very rare circumstance that I will need the Trail's extra off road capabilities. We do a lot of camping, mountain biking, snowboarding and are often tossing a paddle board into the back, so something durable is appealing (don't want something with an ultra nice interior that I'll be nervous about tearing up).



I test drove a SR5 Premium and was hoping the on-road handling would have gotten better since 2001, but it hasn't. Not a deal breaker, but a let down. I'm looking forward to test driving a KDSS equipped truck to see if that helps.



Expensive! Certainly the most I've ever paid for a car, but the resale value and reliability/maintenance costs over time might make up for that.



Sorry for the rambling....been spinning wheels on this decision for a while....hoping someone here will talk me into it or out of it!

I'm in same situation we had twins. I had bought my dclb Tacoma with the intension of it being a family vehicle. But with rear facing seats I wasn't able to drive (seat wouldn't go back far enough)
So we made the decision to trade in for a 16' 4Runner limited. I fit in drivers seat with a car seat right behind me.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[OnTheEllipse]

And with that I'll end my Sienna Soliloquy. Best of luck with the new kid and the new vehicle, whatever that may be.

Thanks. Honestly, if the Sienna looked like the Odyssey, I'd be test driving one. The exterior look of a car is usually the last thing I care about, but the Sienna is a hard sell for me. I do like that it's a Toyota and has AWD. FWD knocks the Odyssey out of contention for me.

I'm in same situation we had twins. I had bought my dclb Tacoma with the intension of it being a family vehicle. But with rear facing seats I wasn't able to drive (seat wouldn't go back far enough)
So we made the decision to trade in for a 16' 4Runner limited. I fit in drivers seat with a car seat right behind me.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

wow, twins! good luck to you!


Drove my 2001 4Runner on a 7-8 hour round trip this weekend with the family. Haven't driven a KDSS, but stock just isn't going to work. Leaning CPO RX350 right now as I've driven those plenty, but I'll take another look at the Sienna.

Thanks for all of your opinions!

 

[karmatp]

I have a SR5 and love how it rides. I did add load range C KO2's which stiffened up the ride and honestly, it reduced braking nose dive somewhat. I think the stock Bridgestone tires were way to floaty, the truck rides better with that mod alone. I then added Bilstein 5100's, set the front to .85 for slight 1" front lift. With that mod, my SR5 drives fantastic. I know have pretty much no nose dive and my ride is much firmer and it does not float like stock.

So my take is save your money on KDSS. Do some cheap mods like I did and your ride will improve a great deal and you will have more money for diapers.

 

[Mac_5]

Never had a 4runner until just recently so take this as such. First test drive was a TEP without kdss. We thought "Wow, this is so much nicer than the unibody SUVS we'd driven." Not knowing any better we drove a SR5P next. This was very disappointing. Way too much body roll during stopping and corners. At this point we weren't sure if we even wanted a 4runner. Next we ended up test diving a TEP with and without kdss. Both handled much better than the SR5, but the difference between kdss and non-kdss was minimal. Wife liked the color of the kdss version best so that's what we ended up with.

 

[Engineer]

Never had a 4runner until just recently so take this as such. First test drive was a TEP without kdss. We thought "Wow, this is so much nicer than the unibody SUVS we'd driven." Not knowing any better we drove a SR5P next. This was very disappointing. Way too much body roll during stopping and corners. At this point we weren't sure if we even wanted a 4runner. Next we ended up test diving a TEP with and without kdss. Both handled much better than the SR5, but the difference between kdss and non-kdss was minimal. Wife liked the color of the kdss version best so that's what we ended up with.

Congrats on the 4runner but the SR5 and Trail w/o KDSS have the same suspension components (unless things have changed)

 

[Danimal]

The RX doesn't jive with your need for space. My wife drives an RX350 and my 5th gen is the family road trip vehicle because the RX has about half of the rear cargo room. It's a great car, but we really only use it for around town or on 4-5 hour road trips to see family where we aren't bringing much junk.

Dan

 

[OnTheEllipse]

The RX doesn't jive with your need for space. My wife drives an RX350 and my 5th gen is the family road trip vehicle because the RX has about half of the rear cargo room. It's a great car, but we really only use it for around town or on 4-5 hour road trips to see family where we aren't bringing much junk.

Dan

that's a drag because i bought one last night.

i'm definitely going to need to pick up a roof rack mounted cargo carrier at some point

 

[Danimal]

that's a drag because i bought one last night.

i'm definitely going to need to pick up a roof rack mounted cargo carrier at some point

Don't get me wrong, they're great cars. And with the Torsen center diff, my wife's is like a snowmobile. But no way could we manage one of our summer trips with all of the gear for our family of 4.

Dan

 

[OnTheEllipse]

Don't get me wrong, they're great cars. And with the Torsen center diff, my wife's is like a snowmobile. But no way could we manage one of our summer trips with all of the gear for our family of 4.

Dan

we're keeping the 4runner until it dies, so maybe it will become that car, but i hope not!

We may be a family of 4, but that's a couple of years out. Maybe that will be Sienna time.

Thanks for the replies

 

[Mac_5]

Congrats on the 4runner but the SR5 and Trail w/o KDSS have the same suspension components (unless things have changed)

Interesting. There was definitely a difference in the two we drove, but maybe the TE "w/o" KDSS was mis-marked. It wouldn't surprise me. This was also the same dealer that wanted to show off the crawl control on our test drive.The salesman was the only one "qualified" to operate it so he got in the driver's seat. He then spent 10+ minutes trying to figure out how to put the truck in 4 wheel drive. He didn't want any help and eventually resorted to looking on YouTube. Still couldn't figure it out and had to call a coworker. Couldn't get a hold of anyone, but was able to flag someone down as they drove by by honking and yelling out the window. Normally I would have been annoyed by the whole situation, but it was so stupid that it was funny. Needless to say we decided to buy elsewhere.

 

[MasonCO]

Interesting. There was definitely a difference in the two we drove, but maybe the TE "w/o" KDSS was mis-marked. It wouldn't surprise me. This was also the same dealer that wanted to show off the crawl control on our test drive.The salesman was the only one "qualified" to operate it so he got in the driver's seat. He then spent 10+ minutes trying to figure out how to put the truck in 4 wheel drive. He didn't want any help and eventually resorted to looking on YouTube. Still couldn't figure it out and had to call a coworker. Couldn't get a hold of anyone, but was able to flag someone down as they drove by by honking and yelling out the window. Normally I would have been annoyed by the whole situation, but it was so stupid that it was funny. Needless to say we decided to buy elsewhere.

Sounds like every salesperson I have ever talked to when looking for a vehicle.

 

[CO-Cygnus]

Interesting. There was definitely a difference in the two we drove, but maybe the TE "w/o" KDSS was mis-marked. It wouldn't surprise me. This was also the same dealer that wanted to show off the crawl control on our test drive.The salesman was the only one "qualified" to operate it so he got in the driver's seat. He then spent 10+ minutes trying to figure out how to put the truck in 4 wheel drive. He didn't want any help and eventually resorted to looking on YouTube. Still couldn't figure it out and had to call a coworker. Couldn't get a hold of anyone, but was able to flag someone down as they drove by by honking and yelling out the window. Normally I would have been annoyed by the whole situation, but it was so stupid that it was funny. Needless to say we decided to buy elsewhere.

Don't walk, RUN away. Wednesday only, no money down to these clowns. $0 for your trade because you don't want to go within nuclear blast radius of these toxic idiots.