2019 4Runner Observations

[kennith]

I was hoping to have a nice, long series of observations, but I lost interest entirely.

Positives:

1: Relatively comfortable seat.

2: Driver controls are reasonably simple and easy to use.

Negatives:

1: It's absolutely fucking gutless.

2: Tracking issues are notable and intrusive.

3: It doesn't handle worth a shit.

4: The blind spots are unforgivable.

5: Specifications among the various trim levels are incredibly poorly-chosen.

In short, I'll say it right now:

This is a bad vehicle. I don't give a shit how reliable it is. It simply was not designed properly. Whatever was responsible for that thing should be unplugged immediately and replaced with a human. I've never felt that disconnected from a vehicle in my life; nor have I ever experienced such a disappointing throttle experience. The idea that Toyota is providing these with an eye on off-pavement performance is laughable. What they're doing is saving development dollars.

The vehicle should be considered an insult, in my opinion.

Indeed, I'd suggest it's dangerous. If asked to place a bet, I'd lay my money on most 4Runners involved in collisions being T-boned trying to leave parking lots or side-swiped when attempting to merge. The rest are probably upside down in ditches or on fire while their owners hastily fill out insurance claims.

Cheers,

Kennith

 

[rover4x4]

Mostly true, funny you post this as I am sitting in the back of a 2015.
They have as much umph as any Rover I've driven, handles only marginally than my RRC.

They are great vehicles that havent been completely neutered. I'm sure the next generation will be on a Camry platform with a GDI Turbo 4cyl that will be marvelous

 

[kennith]

Mostly true, funny you post this as I am sitting in the back of a 2015.
They have as much umph as any Rover I've driven, handles only marginally than my RRC.

They are great vehicles that havent been completely neutered. I'm sure the next generation will be on a Camry platform with a GDI Turbo 4cyl that will be marvelous

Heh. I left the lot in the 4Runner, and it felt almost precisely like my Kubota lawn mower, and accelerated like a Honda Element.

That's unacceptable from any perspective. That's an absolutely anemic engine, paired with a drive-line that makes it even worse. The only way it has the horses they claim is if you loaded a better engine in the cargo bay, and if you ever did that it would probably just stop moving entirely. Whatever it does have is off the fucking tachometer somewhere near another gauge.

Dude wanted a demonstration of what I was after, as they did have a Land Cruiser on the lot. My DII absolutely slaughtered that 4Runner off the line and down a tight, winding road. It wasn't even fair. The salesman may as well have brought a pebble to a ballistic missile fight.

...and Toyota is supposed to be considered an off-pavement brand? BULLSHIT!

They're not serving up solid performers, here. They're dumping leftover shit on us, charging twice what it's worth, and hoping people keep buying it. They're literally treating us like idiots, and people are lapping it up. Fuck Toyota USA and the god damned mule they limped in on. They could sell the good shit here if they wanted to.

You know what? Fuck the Land Cruiser, too. They can keep it. I'm not buying from a manufacturer that lazy.

That genuinely pissed me the fuck off.

I wouldn't take that thing anywhere. I'd sooner drive a Ridgeline through the bush than take a 4Runner to the grocery store.

Cheers,

Kennith

 

[CORover]

They sold their souls to be number 1 in sales

 

[JackW]

A friend of mine loves his Ridgeline...

Go drive a D5 diesel. After 24,000 miles on mine it's really growing on me except for the rear hatch, I'm not a huge fan of the powered hatch.

 

[Blueboy]

Your comment certainly bumps it up the totem for me.

Great to hear you are enjoying it.

 

[JackW]

The torque of the diesel engine is just amazing and it's so quiet and smooth in all situations. 400 miles per tank of fuel around town, around 600 miles in the highway (30 mpg) + it's just a great road car. It's a big improvement in handling over my old LR3, you can really feel how much lighter it is. We towed a friend's 23 foot wooden boat to Beaufort SC from Atlanta and got 23 mpg towing 3000 lbs of boat and trailer.

 

[stu454]

I still can't get past how ugly the ass is on a D5.

 

[kennith]

I don't mind the tail end. I just don't like the way the option packages are laid out.

The D5 is now on the list after exploring everything else, but I'd need to see how that diesel stacks up when it's pushed hard. The torque is coming in where it belongs, but the rest has to be tested. Also up there is the Gladiator, the Prospector XL (after downloading the manual, there may be a way to option around the stupid 12" screen), and then there's just the car option or dumping a bunch of money into fully restoring the DII.

ECR pissed me off when they decided they were only going to work on Defenders, though, so that wouldn't happen within the community unless someone else steps up. If I do that, I want it perfect so I can keep up with it again. It's lived a hard life.

I'm not sure I want something as big as a RAM 2500, though. It would just be nice to have that towing capacity and volume, and it's different than the DII. We'll see. I'm so frustrated now there's no telling where I'll spend the money.

Toyota, however, can suck my dick and then go fuck themselves. So far as I'm concerned, at this point, they can leave the fucking nation. I can't believe anyone is stupid enough to buy one of those turds, and I doubt I'll be hanging around anyone who does anymore. If you're fucking stupid enough to spend forty grand on a damned 4Runner, I don't want you near me with a winch, as you clearly make poor life choices.

Their cars are boring and uninspired, anyway... And so is the new Supra. They have nothing of any substance to offer.

The Ridgeline is back near the top of that list, actually. It's an objectively better vehicle than the Tacoma, anyway.

I'm still waiting to see what happens with the Defender, though. Maybe it won't be what everyone was hoping for, but that doesn't mean it'll be bad. It'll just be different. It's worth kicking back a few months since nearly everything sucks, anyway.

Cheers,

Kennith

 

[SGaynor]

V6 Chevy Colorado? or with the 4cyl diesel? That's got to be better than a unibody Honda.

 

[kennith]

To date, I haven't driven a Chevrolet truck that wasn't half-assed in some way or another.

They can't even keep the steering wheel lined up with the driver seat, and they're not as tough as they'd have people believe. Of course, no American truck ever was, aside from the original Power Wagon. Even the RAM I'm considering has some serious question marks surrounding it, in that regard.

Cheers,

Kennith

 

[Timmy!!!!!!!]

The 5th Gen 4Runner is a lot nicer to drive than a 4th Gen. The stupid reliability is nice though but I really miss having a Disco.

 

[Howski]

Kenneth have you checked out the new Ranger? Seem to come in at a better price point than other mid-sized trucks too. Haven’t been in one but think they look pretty decent. FX4 package has a rear locker. Wish they had a diesel option

 

[kennith]

Kenneth have you checked out the new Ranger? Seem to come in at a better price point than other mid-sized trucks too. Haven’t been in one but think they look pretty decent. FX4 package has a rear locker. Wish they had a diesel option

It's neat, but not what I wanted out of a Ranger. It also just feels phoned in.

I think the styling is generally inoffensive, but they've defeated the purpose with the size. The whole point of a Ranger was being small and easy to load and unload. It's not quite as bad, but it has the same problem as my Dakota (now the second worst vehicle I've ever driven, after the Toyota). It's not small, it's not large...

It's right in the opposite of the Goldilocks zone; though it still would have sized up next to super duty trucks of the past.

It also has a ten speed transmission, which is twice as many gears as that vehicle can effectively use. If they're going to do that shit, they need to cowboy up, apply dick to table, and just develop a CVT. The Bronco will likely receive the same transmission, thus rendering it uninteresting to me.

There was a time when I could depress a throttle pedal and actually make it through an intersection without a shift point halfway through...

It's pandering to the popular idea that more is always better.

Six. You need no more than six. I've been to 212mph with six gears. I've traveled the globe with three, four, and five, as well. A Ranger has no excuse for more than five, and neither does the new Discovery; but it least it doesn't have ten.

Cheers,

Kennith

 

[Howski]

Didn’t realize how wide it is until I looked at the numbers. I always thought the old T100 Toyota’s were a great pickup size. I agree 10 is overkill but it’s the same transmission that both GM and Ford use in about 1000 applications

 

[ERover82]

The Ford/GM 10-speed skips gears to the nearest ideal ratio, approximating CVT operation without the common pitfalls. When comparing the ZF/Ford 6 and 10 speed in the same application, the most noticeable difference is how fast and smooth shifting the 10 is. Worrying about the 10 is misplaced.

 

[kennith]

Eh. I'll believe it when I drive one, but that's a little difficult.

I gave the only Ford dealership around here such a thorough dressing-down a little while back that even the GM was as pale as a ghost when I left.

Ford themselves stated several years ago that they'd only do a ten speed if they could figure out a reason to use one. When you've got to find an excuse to complicate something further, you usually shouldn't do it.

I don't really care about smoothness. I want gears that just keep on going in an off-pavement vehicle. The DII in sport mode is close to ideal for those situations, and it's still fun enough on the road; though getting into reverse or drive could be faster.

I'm looking at Land Rovers a little more closely, now. I need to find out how the D5 works in the hellish sand encountered at the drive-on beaches around Fort Fisher. That stuff will bog just about anything, which is why the beach is so quiet and nice.

Cheers,

Kennith

 

[jim-00-4.6]

My daughter's car is a jeep patriot, 2.4L I4 with CVT.
That particular CVT is a piece of absolute shit.
It takes all the engine power in and keeps it for its own nefarious purposes, releasing only a trickle of power to the drive system.
I don't know what its up to, or what it plans to do with all that power its been accumulating.

I want a car with a 100-speed transmission.
That way, it never knows what gear it should be in.
Also, thousands and thousands of airbags.
And automatic lane-sensing, and self-steering and self-parking.
Then I can load up all my LumberJill friends and we can have a driving experience like no other.

 

[SGaynor]

and then there's just the car option or dumping a bunch of money into fully restoring the DII.

ECR pissed me off when they decided they were only going to work on Defenders, though, so that wouldn't happen within the community unless someone else steps up. If I do that, I want it perfect so I can keep up with it again. It's lived a hard life.

The more I see this thread, the more I think you should just restore your D2.

You don't really like anything else out there, and you have the capability of doing the job. It'll probably cost you less than a new vehicle, even as meticulous as you are. Granted it'll be a time sink, but get rid of the crappy Impala you're working on and there ya go.

I've been driving my daughter's D2 this week (used to me mine...) and am reminded of how much I love it. If it weren't for the rust cancer, I'd probably keep it forever.

 

[ERover82]

Check out the ZR2 Bison