In late 2017 after the FB (for those that have been reading, you know what FB is) met its fate with a semi truck, I was in need of something that I could use a replacement. I was in my last leg of college, and had my 2017 Outback as my only daily driver. I had to have something that had at least a 5,000 pound towing capacity, and because I always had a second car alongside the Outback, I did not worry. Now that the Outback was my only primary car, I decided to do some rethinking. I thought that it might be time to do some growing up, and go down to one car besides my older Volvos. It sounded like a good idea at the time, after all I was graduating college soon, and had a job lined up, so I did not really need another car.
I was not sure what exactly to get, because I knew I needed something that I could tow a car with, and still be reliable. I just happened to stop into the Toyota dealer near me to check out their used car selection. A silver 4Runner caught my eye, and I began to wonder if this might be my next car. My girlfriend’s mom had a white 4Runner that was the same year, so I knew a little about how it drove, and was it was like driving one. At the time this was about the best choice for me. Subaru had not released their Ascent, and the Tacoma or any other midsize truck had a high price tag without a full power driver seat (you got power adjustment back and forth, but not the back of the seat). This was also about the only thing that I could afford, given what I wanted.
My Outback was almost a year old, and had about 6,000 miles on it. I had plenty of equity in it, but I still would lose a good amount of money if I traded it in. I decided to bite the bullet, and trade the Outback in for this 2016 4Runner. Unfortunately I do not have any remaining pictures of my actual car, so all of these came from Google.
My 4Runner was exactly like the pictures, silver limited 4×4, with the redwood interior. The interior actually sold me on the car, because that was about the only exciting thing on the car. My car was a certified pre-owned, which basically only meant I got a 100,000 mile power-train warranty, which was the last thing I am worried about on a 4Runner. I did lose a few options that I would have liked when I traded in, like power trunk, HID headlights, all the driver safety features. I learned to get used to not having blind spot, and having to manually shut my trunk (first world problems).
I really liked this 4Runner; it was very smooth, and the interior quality was about the best I have seen in any car that I have yet to own. The way the interior plastics are made fit well, and are solid, and don’t rattle at all. I have issues with things rattling in cars; it drives me insane. I really liked the legendary rear power window like my old ones had. Also like my older 4Runners, it had the simple plug-n-play wiring harness for my brake controller so I could tow my car hauler, and Casita. I did gain front ventilated seats, which are nice to have here in Arkansas. I am not sure they are worth the money, but I enjoyed cooling down the leather faster on a hot day.
I do feel however that Toyota has really forgotten about the 4Runner. They have really pumped a bunch of money into their Highlander, and not touched the 4Runner in recent years. They only recently added driver assistant features this last year, and I am sure that is only because they felt pressured by IIHS and other organizations. Truth is, they have not really changed the look of the 4Runner in a decade, leaving me to think that it might be going away like the Land Cruiser here in America. For the price I paid, it was lacking a lot of things that I just always thought about. The touch screen is old, and small, no power trunk still, no HID headlight options, no 360° camera option, no power folding mirrors, and the list continues. I know it might seem like all that is high maintenance wants, but when I pay up for a car like this, I could have bought the Highlander for about the same price, and got twice as many options. I don’t know: maybe it is just me, but I like to have the creature comforts at least as an option when I am buying a car.
I hauled a lot of things with this car. I was able to pull my 164 parts car up a wet and muddy driveway without any issue; this thing really was a good car to pull anything with. No, it did not have a high towing capacity, but it honestly never struggled. Whether I was towing the Casita or a car it never revved high, it just cruised down the highway. I never once felt that I was not in control of the car and trailer; I really didn’t mind towing with this car looking back.
I kept the 4Runner for about a year, and got bored with it. It was a well built car, but just not exciting, not to mention they sold tons of them so it never stood out in a crowd. I like to drive something different, and here in Arkansas it was far from that. This would not be my last Toyota, but it definitely made me think about getting the biggest bang for my buck. If Toyota decides to pump some money into updating the ancient 4Runner, I will be the first person back at the dealer to check them out.
I’ve been buying up any nice used 4runners of this gen because they’re built very well and precisely because they lack the tech of their competition and they’ve been made for so long. So far I’ve found three…myself, mom, and aunt now drive one. I hope they keep away from a “refresh” as long as possible.
It is boring (mine is dark grey), and there are a lot of them, but somehow I get more compliments on it than any other modern car I’ve owned, which surprised me at first. Women, especially, seem to find them attractive.
The last-generation tech is appealing to me as well, and I think is far less of an issue for people who keep their vehicles longer than a lease term, or a single year. I traded in a 2010 VW for my 2016 4Runner, and outdated or not the 4R touchscreen felt very modern compared to the basic CD w/AUX of the 7-year old VW. Driver nannies aren’t appealing to me. I wouldn’t mind adaptive cruise and blind spot monitoring, but they’d never make or break a vehicle for me.
They are rugged and built up to last . Sterdyyy
So you wasted a bunch of money trading in a year old car to buy another car, own it for a year then waste more money because you were bored with it. Wow, riveting.
Agreed. And first world problems, indeed. My last year in college I was struggling to keep my rusty Omni running while I attended class & worked two jobs.
Hey Ted C I would appreciate you keeping your snide comments to yourself regardless of what you think of my personal situation. Thanks!
“The way the interior plastics are made fit well, and are solid, and don’t rattle at all.”
I appreciate that someone notices this, rather than focusing only on the lack of soft touch surfaces on the dashboard. Some of the plastics are indeed of questionable quality (the silver painted stuff on the console and center dash scratches if you so much as use sharp words near it), but everything fits together tightly, feels solid, and after 4 years there isn’t a single squeak or rattle in my 2016 either.
My opinion is that the Limited trim featured here is the least appealing of the 4Runner trims. It reminds me of the old Eddie Bauer Explorers where leather and features are layered atop a comparatively crude truck platform. You still will never forget that you’re driving a truck. Limiteds are rather expensive as well, and with the lower profile tires and running boards, it is less suited to its primary strong suit–off pavement use. The mid-range TRD Off Road trim is the sweet spot in the lineup to me.
I still enjoy my 2016 SR5 and am far from bored. It’s not a handler, nor a sprinter, nor a high velocity grand tourer, but it feels distinctive and likeable going down the road. Once you become accustomed to the powertrain behavior and how to get the most out of it, it’s satisfying and relaxing. It’s a cruiser, comfortable on the way to the backcountry and fully at home on the dirt until the comfortable ride back home. I wouldn’t mind seeing if Toyota could tune their 3.5 turbo downward to about 330hp and put it behind the 6spd truck transmission used in the GX, and update the interior design and materials, but otherwise I see little reason to fundamentally redesign it.
This may be part of the reason why Toyota feels less pressure to redesign this machine. It rode the recent SUV wave quite well:
https://www.goodcarbadcar.net/toyota-4runner-sales-figures/
We’ve got a 2013 Limited that we use up here in the Colorado Rockies. Perfect car for the location. We don’t do any challenging off-road travel, but it gets me quite a bit closer to trailheads and fishing spots than a normal car would, with a lot of margin for error. The main feature distinguishing the Limited from the rest of the 4R line is the full time 4WD function. I rarely lock the center diff or use the low range, but in the winter it’s nice to not be shifting in and out of 4WD as snow/ice comes and goes.
That’s an excellent point (the 4WD mode thing) and is the one major thing I despise about my current pickup.
You’re right, the full time AWD would be appealing to many.
I so wish my Tacoma used this 4Runner transfer case with the lockable center diff. The Tacoma’s shift-on-the-fly in and out of 4WD is easy to use and works great, and I suspect that at moderate speeds with gentle turns there’s little risk of drivetrain damage if I leave it in 4WD for a stretch of bare pavement. However, tight low speed maneuvering on snowy surfaces exhibits noticeable binding. Not a big deal, but I was really spoiled by my 80 Series Land Cruiser which didn’t have a user-selectable center diff lock, but remained open in high range and locked in low range.