Hi I am new to the T4R world and looking to buy my first soon. I was looking at either 2019 SR5 premium or TRD Off-Road Premium. Any advice? any major problems with recent gens to know about?
I do like trails and exploring and do a lot of personal driving for hunting, fishing and camping, etc. Anyone recommend a dealership near north Alabama? thank you for any help.
Welcome to the forum. It’s not encouraged to hijack a thread but since you don’t have enough posts yet to start a new one I think you get a pass, and at least you didn’t go around posting bs just to get your post count up. Anyway to answer your question, if you want/need a third row then the only choice is SR5 or limited. If you don’t want/need a third row get a TRD off road with kdss. You get all of the same stuff as the SR5 Premium plus a locking rear differential (even if you don’t think you’ll use it, it is a nice thing to have) crawl control, and the thicker sway bar with kdss which substantially helps the on-road driving manners as well as allowing for better articulation when it disconnects for slow off-road use.
Any 4runner model is more than capable off-road but the benefits of the TRD Off-Road/Trail model can’t be found on any other model (even the TRD Pro doesn’t have kdss).
This is coming from a person who has the SR5 Premium. If the TRD Off-Road (Trail model when I bought) had a third row, that’s what I would have gotten without hesitation. Since I actually use/need the 3rd Row enough to warrant it I got the SR5, although it also has taken me anywhere I’ve needed or wanted to go and back without any hiccups.
For your question on any issues, there are minor things that pop up but nothing major except that Takata Airbags, and steering wheel shimmy from these trucks being very finicky about unbalanced tires. The powertain is as bulletproof as you can get nowadays in terms of reliability. Just make sure that you test drive thoroughly before you buy. Most complaints are from buyers who didn’t know what they were getting into before they bought. This is a body on frame old-school SUV that gets poor gas mileage and some will contend is under powered (although my opinion is that the engine does its job just fine if you have reasonable expectations).
With all of that said, lurk around a little, test drive and do your research to find out if this is the right vehicle for you, only you can decide that. The 4runner isn’t for everyone, but if it’s for you, you’ll have many happy years of ownership like myself and many others on here.
And to make this post valid and back to the OP’s original predicament...three car seats can definitely fit. +1 on the Diono radians, we have them and can easily fit those plus another low-medium profile car seat when my niece comes to visit with no issues. We even have done the the 2 Diono’s with a infant Keyfit 30 for a couple of long trips with no problems, and 2 infant seats rear facing on the outboard sides with a Diono in the middle. Before buying a new car I would go to Buy Buy baby (aka Buy Buy $) or another baby store and test fit as many as you can before deciding on ditching the 4runner.
