Topic: 2023 Toyota 4Runner TRD Pro Review

[rrocket]

Probably the same type of idiots who buy a Wrangler

I had a bunch of friends I knew who had their Jeep phase.

Some only lasted a few months.

Thought they were good in the city? No dust, smooth roads, etc

My co worker in the south had a 2 door soft top TJ and that was the single worst vehicle I've ever driven in. Rode like a lumber wagon, covered us in dust on gravel roads. Felt more like a big ATV than anything, except he'd get stuck everywhere and I'd have to go on rescue missions to pull him out

The one guy said his 2 door Jeep was the worst winter vehicle he's owned.

[rrocket]

Easy. I tap the credit card,  insert the nozzle and fill up with premium dino juice. I Note the high price and smile as I recall the amount of oil producer dividends I collect

I forget...which stocks you holding in this sector?

[Fobroader]

Probably the same type of idiots who buy a Wrangler

I had a bunch of friends I knew who had their Jeep phase.

Some only lasted a few months.

Thought they were good in the city? No dust, smooth roads, etc

My co worker in the south had a 2 door soft top TJ and that was the single worst vehicle I've ever driven in. Rode like a lumber wagon, covered us in dust on gravel roads. Felt more like a big ATV than anything, except he'd get stuck everywhere and I'd have to go on rescue missions to pull him out

The one guy said his 2 door Jeep was the worst winter vehicle he's owned.

A two door Wrangler is sketchy on icy roads, even with studded winters the wheelbase and height make it scary. They do all of those things, but you take the top and doors off and its all of a sudden a better day, I still miss our Wrangler, I enjoyed even with its warts and all. Just you when you buy one, you have to go into it knowing that its not a Highlander, at all, even a little bit.

[ktm525]

Easy. I tap the credit card,  insert the nozzle and fill up with premium dino juice. I Note the high price and smile as I recall the amount of oil producer dividends I collect

I forget...which stocks you holding in this sector?

Well I do own some privates but public: Chevron, Enerplus, Meg, Baytex, Cardinal, Headwater, Tourmaline, Whitecap, Arc, Tamarack, Devon, Canadian Natural.

Devon has been a gem especially if selling options (puts). Tourmaline is paying special dividends (outside of the usual div). P/E still only 4!

[draghon]

Probably the same type of idiots who buy a Wrangler

I had a bunch of friends I knew who had their Jeep phase.

Some only lasted a few months.

At one time I thought about a Wrangler since it is available with a manual. Then we rented one on vacation in Hawaii and that was the end of that thought!

Our neighbors just recently traded in both their vehicles (F150 and Compass) for a 4dr Wrangler and a Gladiator. 

[rrocket]

I hold Baytex..been very good.

[Great_Big_Abyss]

Probably the same type of idiots who buy a Wrangler

I had a bunch of friends I knew who had their Jeep phase.

Some only lasted a few months.

At one time I thought about a Wrangler since it is available with a manual. Then we rented one on vacation in Hawaii and that was the end of that thought!

Our neighbors just recently traded in both their vehicles (F150 and Compass) for a 4dr Wrangler and a Gladiator. 

Again, though, for some people it's perfectly acceptable.  My Dad daily drove a 2-door Wrangler for about 6-7 years.  Two of 'em, in fact.  He traded in his first JK when the new JK came out with the brand new Pentastar, which was a massive improvement over the 3.8L minivan engine they put in the original JK. 

My BIL has been dailying a 2013 4Runner, for 6 years now, and is still happy with it.

BUT they went into it knowing full well the compromises, and were willing to trade off traditional comforts for extra capability/playability.

[HeliDriver]

We've got a 4Runner at work. 2015 or 2016, I think?

I've never been crazy about it. Weird seating position and the suspension feels like it has no travel - not exactly harsh, it just feels wooden and dead. But it's also running on truck tires (Duratracs, maybe even oversized a bit) so that wouldn't do the ride any favours.

No idea what's under the hood, but it doesn't feel very powerful. Steering is vague, too, so overall I find it a pretty crappy highway cruiser.

But it's probably been a smart choice for the company. Think it's got around 250,000 km, much of it pounding down crappy bush roads, and I don't believe they've had any issues with it.

[OliverD]

All 4Runners of the current gen have the 4.0 V6.

[2JDM]

We've got a 4Runner at work. 2015 or 2016, I think?

I've never been crazy about it. Weird seating position and the suspension feels like it has no travel - not exactly harsh, it just feels wooden and dead. But it's also running on truck tires (Duratracs, maybe even oversized a bit) so that wouldn't do the ride any favours.

No idea what's under the hood, but it doesn't feel very powerful. Steering is vague, too, so overall I find it a pretty crappy highway cruiser.

But it's probably been a smart choice for the company. Think it's got around 250,000 km, much of it pounding down crappy bush roads, and I don't believe they've had any issues with it.

This is the proper use of it. Off road use and high km abuse.

Sent from my Pixel 7 Pro using Tapatalk

[KD]

Probably the same type of idiots who buy a Wrangler

I had a bunch of friends I knew who had their Jeep phase.

Some only lasted a few months.

Thought they were good in the city? No dust, smooth roads, etc

My co worker in the south had a 2 door soft top TJ and that was the single worst vehicle I've ever driven in. Rode like a lumber wagon, covered us in dust on gravel roads. Felt more like a big ATV than anything, except he'd get stuck everywhere and I'd have to go on rescue missions to pull him out

The one guy said his 2 door Jeep was the worst winter vehicle he's owned.

Worst winter vehicle I drove by a long shot was a FJ40.  Don't remember the year but a good friend of mine had one last year of HS.  I borrowed it once to drive home in a snow storm and it was white knuckle all the way home.  Went to turn into my driveway and did 2 complete 360s just like it was meant to be.  Luckily no traffic. It wasn't a beater either, it was in perfect shape and was a diesel.  Fast fwd several years later when living at my condo and I witnessed one of my neighbors do the exact same thing in his FJ40 while making the turn into our driveway during a heavy snowstorm.  Great vehicles off road but not meant for public roads imo. 

[ArticSteve]

Weird seating position

Toyota trucks and SUVs have unique seating positions.  Not particularly suited to tall people.

Important to note that this vehicle has 2 different transfer cases.

The vehicle is meant for rough road duty.   Best model for WIFE (street and highway driving in snow) is the Limited.

Best part is it's residual value.  Nothing beats it or at least until very lately.

Compared to other makes the 4Runner is priced reasonably well.  The Limited can be had for $66K. It's the residual that makes it a bargain.  If you need more power the GX is $80K.  Pretty sure they made in the same Japanese plant.

[ktm525]

Weird seating position

Toyota trucks and SUVs have unique seating positions.  Not particularly suited to tall people.

Important to note that this vehicle has 2 different transfer cases.

The vehicle is meant for rough road duty.   Best model for WIFE (street and highway driving in snow) is the Limited.

Best part is it's residual value.  Nothing beats it or at least until very lately.

Compared to other makes the 4Runner is priced reasonably well.  The Limited can be had for $66K. It's the residual that makes it a bargain.  If you need more power the GX is $80K.  Pretty sure they made in the same Japanese plant.

Problem is for on street duty the $66k limited has the performance and NVH of a $35k CUV

[ArticSteve]

It's not a perfect world. 

Instead you can drop $80K on an Armada and get killed on residual.  It's really fast, dead quiet, handles the corners surprising well plus has an odd front seating position. 

Point is there is nothing that ticks all the boxes in a body on frame vehicle providing one even needs one.

I would say that what makes the current 4 Runner one of the WINNERS is that it has NO stop/start.  People who drive vehicles with stop/start I'm afraid are the LOSERS where every time you start your vehicle it MOCKS you. 

[ktm525]

It's not a perfect world. 

Instead you can drop $80K on an Armada and get killed on residual.  It's really fast, dead quiet, handles the corners surprising well plus has an odd front seating position. 

Point is there is nothing that ticks all the boxes in a body on frame vehicle providing one even needs one.

I would say that what makes the current 4 Runner one of the WINNERS is that it has NO stop/start.  People who drive vehicles with stop/start I'm afraid are the LOSERS where every time you start your vehicle it MOCKS you. 

I would take an Armada (used)  over a 4Runner every time.

[Blueprint]

The 4Runner was absent from the huge Toyota display at the Montreal Auto Show. Apparently it was stolen before it made it the the congress center...

[Seafoam]

The 4Runner was absent from the huge Toyota display at the Montreal Auto Show. Apparently it was stolen before it made it the the congress center...

I guess not everyone hates that V6.

[Blueprint]

The 4Runner was absent from the huge Toyota display at the Montreal Auto Show. Apparently it was stolen before it made it the the congress center...

I guess not everyone hates that V6.

African druglords love'em apparently  Pic below from a police raid.

[DriverJeff]

We've got a 4Runner at work. 2015 or 2016, I think?

I've never been crazy about it. Weird seating position and the suspension feels like it has no travel - not exactly harsh, it just feels wooden and dead. But it's also running on truck tires (Duratracs, maybe even oversized a bit) so that wouldn't do the ride any favours.

No idea what's under the hood, but it doesn't feel very powerful. Steering is vague, too, so overall I find it a pretty crappy highway cruiser.

But it's probably been a smart choice for the company. Think it's got around 250,000 km, much of it pounding down crappy bush roads, and I don't believe they've had any issues with it.

RE: the suspension, the difference between the TRD Pro's suspension and the few other 4Runner models I've driven is remarkable. All the TRD Pro trucks have incredible ride quality, made even more remarkable by how well they work when really punished off-road, too. 

Last autumn at the annual Automobile Journalists Assoc. "test fest" event, Toyota had (probably the same) TRD Pro 4R available. There's an ATV / snowmobile trail that's made available to us for the trucks and off road vehicles that's frankly, not all that challenging, but there are some big splashes and if you start taking the 'whoops' at greater speed, the diifferences between a mediocre suspension set up (or, in fairness, one meant for towing), versus and off-road set up like the TRD Pro, are considerable. The 4R can be hustled along at speeds that would bounce most of the other machines into the woods.



As others have said, having the V8 underhood is the answer.  I'm currently actively looking for an early '00s 4R with the V8 that doesn't have a rotted out frame and isn't wildly overpriced (yeah, good luck, eh?). I love the idea of having an absolute sh !t-kicker truck that I can tow with and/or chase the g/f off-road in her Wrangler, and trust that it should last forever as long as it doesn't rot. 

[DriverJeff]

Probably the same type of idiots who buy a Wrangler

I had a bunch of friends I knew who had their Jeep phase.

Some only lasted a few months.

Thought they were good in the city? No dust, smooth roads, etc

My co worker in the south had a 2 door soft top TJ and that was the single worst vehicle I've ever driven in. Rode like a lumber wagon, covered us in dust on gravel roads. Felt more like a big ATV than anything, except he'd get stuck everywhere and I'd have to go on rescue missions to pull him out

The one guy said his 2 door Jeep was the worst winter vehicle he's owned.

Yeah, we're on our second 2-door Wrangler now (hey! we actually use ours off road!), and it can definitely be squirrelly in the snow.

Worse still is what a terrible tow vehicle it is, too.  Hauling a small trailer with two motorcycles is as much as you'd ever want to do with it.