Good review. Not sure if the latest generation of Toyota vehicles are living-up to their previous reputation. I personally dislike the interior (Design & cheap plastics) and am weary of their latest power-trains. Based on what I've seen, I'd take an older V-6 model if i had a choice.
2025 4Runner rental review
- Thread starter dishdude
- Start date
This is becoming a real pain for Toyota. It's very interesting to me how this is happening. They definitely have slipped down. The only thing these companies understand is $$$. Vote with your wallets people. I understand Toyota has a reputation - but this can so easily change overnight.
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I know you have owned turbos but maybe old style ones?
The 2.0L turbo in my cherokee had more torque and a lower redline (like a V8) than the 3.2L pentastar v6.
actually considerably more than the V8 thunderbird I owned.
If tuned correctly toyota's 2.4T should be fine in a 4-runner.
it specs 278hp/317ft-lb
to me that sounds like a small v8 level of power.
There's been lots of discussion about this amongst the 4th gen Tacoma and 6th Gen 4Runner boards about this.
Long story short, for slower offroading where 4WD is required, one needs to be in 4LO. 4HI is for more "high speed" of 25+mph.
Did the other gen trucks and 4R's do the overheating? I'm not sure, but there's something in the programming doing it. I do notice these little 4 pot turbo engines run at a lower RPM than previous ones. 4LO obviously raises RPM's and "turns off" boost.
Me personally have never had troubles using 4HI, but that was in the snow which speeds were 20-40mph. I've never offroaded my truck, but I'm almost tempted to drive up the 10 mile dirt fire service road up the way to see what happens.
Well I will chime in on this new 4Runner,
I am getting ready to purchase one.
I have been driving a friend's TRD off-road premium (ORP) for the last 2 months on and off as he has offered to let me drive him to work then take the 4Runner home to do my daily tasks with.
Pretty cool to let me test drive this because I do want to jump back into the 4Runner lifestyle.
I will say that my first reaction to the plastic dashboard and the arm areas by the windows were different than my previous 5th gen for sure, but I quickly got passed that and I don't drive with my elbow hanging out the window so that Part is okay.
His truck has around 12K on it and for the 4 cylinder non-hybrid turbo it is a sweet little engine with quick shifts. When you put it in eco mode it actually shifts like an old quick shift B&M transmission. Real quick up to speed..
Also, interesting is that it takes the same oil filter as my RAV 4 but holds almost 1 quart more.
Very easy to do an oil change having the lighter weight high impact type of plastic that is underneath makes it very easy and light to take that off. My fifth gen, it was like removing an Iron Maiden piece of metal every time for the oil change and having to deal with that element style filter. Fuel consumption is really identical to the 5th gen, so Highway you're looking at 20 to 23 and around town it's how you drive.
I don't like the way the back seats fold down because they do not lay flat like the 5th gen and do take up some of the cargo space. I realized that by sticking my bicycle in the back which caused me to have to turn my front wheel up. That was disappointing but not a deal-breaker, but would be nice to have a different design rear seat. And forget about the hybrid high torque model as it eats well into your cargo Space by raising the rear cargo floor, no bueno for me.
We took it out cow trailing or technically off paved roads up around the Lake Elsinore area 2 weeks ago and he went through all of the off-road features which are quite impressive especially crawl mode. Also having a sunroof and a 14-in infotainment system was awesome for using the On X Offroad mapping system.
On board navigation is a real treat and it is identical to my 24 RAV4 in the sense that you can talk commands to it like where's the nearest coffee place or restaurant.
I will say that the factory bilstein's that this ORP comes with are under valved in my opinion as was my 5th generation. So switching to the Bilstein 5100 leveling kit was a big Improvement for me and I'm sure he's going to upgrade fairly soon as soon as Bilstein comes out with their new 6100 leveling kit.
I think he paid around 57k so coming off of the 5th gen TRD PRO which I paid around 48k for back in 2015 it is a comparable increase.
This new 2.4 engine that has been around for around 5 years now in other Toyota cars, and reviews seem pretty good. I think time will tell how this new 4Runner will change through the coming years.
I think this is really a Tacoma truck in a 4Runner body and is just right for my needs.
I have also toyed with the Tacoma and considered getting some type of a shell for the back, but just fell short as I just don't want to deal with all that extra involvement. The 4Runner just seems so connected with the interior.
Anyway my two cents and observations,
I don't see this as a big sour grape for Toyota and I am pretty open manufacturers, as I have many different ones over the years at my now retired age.
I do like the fact that it is still made in Japan, as well as all drivetrain parts.
Door panels engine Hood parts are all lined up perfectly with everyone that I have looked at.
When I was looking for a Tacoma, those body panels were all over the place with alignment issues same for the RAV4.
Anyway just my two cents here and observations as I have been a car guy my entire life and look for quality and stock tight engineering as a primary call out when looking for a new car or truck.
I am getting ready to purchase one.
I have been driving a friend's TRD off-road premium (ORP) for the last 2 months on and off as he has offered to let me drive him to work then take the 4Runner home to do my daily tasks with.
Pretty cool to let me test drive this because I do want to jump back into the 4Runner lifestyle.
I will say that my first reaction to the plastic dashboard and the arm areas by the windows were different than my previous 5th gen for sure, but I quickly got passed that and I don't drive with my elbow hanging out the window so that Part is okay.
His truck has around 12K on it and for the 4 cylinder non-hybrid turbo it is a sweet little engine with quick shifts. When you put it in eco mode it actually shifts like an old quick shift B&M transmission. Real quick up to speed..
Also, interesting is that it takes the same oil filter as my RAV 4 but holds almost 1 quart more.
Very easy to do an oil change having the lighter weight high impact type of plastic that is underneath makes it very easy and light to take that off. My fifth gen, it was like removing an Iron Maiden piece of metal every time for the oil change and having to deal with that element style filter. Fuel consumption is really identical to the 5th gen, so Highway you're looking at 20 to 23 and around town it's how you drive.
I don't like the way the back seats fold down because they do not lay flat like the 5th gen and do take up some of the cargo space. I realized that by sticking my bicycle in the back which caused me to have to turn my front wheel up. That was disappointing but not a deal-breaker, but would be nice to have a different design rear seat. And forget about the hybrid high torque model as it eats well into your cargo Space by raising the rear cargo floor, no bueno for me.
We took it out cow trailing or technically off paved roads up around the Lake Elsinore area 2 weeks ago and he went through all of the off-road features which are quite impressive especially crawl mode. Also having a sunroof and a 14-in infotainment system was awesome for using the On X Offroad mapping system.
On board navigation is a real treat and it is identical to my 24 RAV4 in the sense that you can talk commands to it like where's the nearest coffee place or restaurant.
I will say that the factory bilstein's that this ORP comes with are under valved in my opinion as was my 5th generation. So switching to the Bilstein 5100 leveling kit was a big Improvement for me and I'm sure he's going to upgrade fairly soon as soon as Bilstein comes out with their new 6100 leveling kit.
I think he paid around 57k so coming off of the 5th gen TRD PRO which I paid around 48k for back in 2015 it is a comparable increase.
This new 2.4 engine that has been around for around 5 years now in other Toyota cars, and reviews seem pretty good. I think time will tell how this new 4Runner will change through the coming years.
I think this is really a Tacoma truck in a 4Runner body and is just right for my needs.
I have also toyed with the Tacoma and considered getting some type of a shell for the back, but just fell short as I just don't want to deal with all that extra involvement. The 4Runner just seems so connected with the interior.
Anyway my two cents and observations,
I don't see this as a big sour grape for Toyota and I am pretty open manufacturers, as I have many different ones over the years at my now retired age.
I do like the fact that it is still made in Japan, as well as all drivetrain parts.
Door panels engine Hood parts are all lined up perfectly with everyone that I have looked at.
When I was looking for a Tacoma, those body panels were all over the place with alignment issues same for the RAV4.
Anyway just my two cents here and observations as I have been a car guy my entire life and look for quality and stock tight engineering as a primary call out when looking for a new car or truck.
