Verdict
–Los Angeles, California
The present Toyota 4Runner dates all the best way again to when “TiK ToK” was a Billboard #1 hit, not a social media app. The truth is, considered one of Kesha’s different songs saved enjoying in my head whereas I used to be driving round on this fashionably anachronistic 2023 4Runner fortieth Anniversary: “D-I-N-O-S-A, U R a dinosaur.”
Whether or not referring to myself or the fifth-gen 4Runner, we might by no means know, however in contrast to me, the SUV has managed to stay hip 13 years later – heck, 2021 was its best-selling yr in historical past. To be truthful, Toyota has made some content material revisions because the debut of the SUV, making Apple CarPlay, Android Auto, adaptive cruise management, and lane departure warning customary in 2020, and the styling has been altered a pair instances within the final decade. However the modifications from 2010 to 2023 are slight at greatest.
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The identical port-injected 4.0-liter V6 and five-speed computerized transmission are there, as is an infotainment system that makes my outdated Zune music participant really feel refined. Lane departure prevention isn’t out there, and the SR5 Premium–primarily based fortieth Anniversary doesn’t get a surround-view digital camera. And whereas a height-adjustable driver’s seat makes for a decently snug command perch, the fixed-height passenger aspect cuts down on headroom for tall co-pilots. Making issues worse is a paltry 17 mixed miles per gallon, a quantity even the thirstiest Wrangler eclipses (though for the report, I noticed 18.8 mpg in combined driving).
And but, the euphemistically “confirmed” 4Runner supplies a captivating and lovable driving expertise. The fortieth’s pillowy-soft suspension is vulnerable to a number of physique roll in corners and a few wallow over velocity humps – the TRD Professional’s remote-reservoir dampers are significantly better on this regard – however the trip is clean and unjarring over even the worst pavement. The powertrain numbers is probably not spectacular: 270 horsepower and 278 pound-feet from 4.0 liters. However the big-bore V6 makes torque seemingly in all places, and the dated-sounding five-speed auto modifications gears extra purposefully than the hunt-prone 10-speed within the Ford Bronco.
The construction feels stable and prepared for something, the Anniversary particular’s inside is constructed of class-competitive plastics and Softex fake leather-based upholstery, and the cargo space and rear seats are spacious and accommodating. There’s a stupendous 9.6 inches of floor clearance proper out of the field. And whereas the removable-roof Ford Bronco and Jeep Wrangler are onerous to match for open-air enjoyable, the 4Runner does its greatest with roll-down glass on the liftgate – canine like it.
For a beginning worth of $41,550 together with $1,395 vacation spot, the 4Runner isn’t a terrific worth, particularly for those who stay within the snow belt and want so as to add the $1,875 required for part-time four-wheel drive. The 2023 4Runner fortieth Anniversary is dearer nonetheless at $49,115 as examined, although it’s primarily based on the higher-trim SR5 Premium and thus will get that mannequin’s Softex upholstery, heated entrance seats, and satellite tv for pc radio. The fortieth additionally provides a typical sunroof, anniversary-celebrating tri-color physique decals, retro “TOYOTA” grille lettering, and particular sprint badging denoting its 4,040-unit manufacturing run.
That almost 50 giant might simply get somebody right into a Ford Bronco Huge Bend four-door, which might boast a extra highly effective and environment friendly turbocharged inline-four, charming exterior styling, and a detachable roof and doorways for al fresco enjoyable. And whereas that’s probably the smarter buy, I nonetheless can’t deny how a lot enjoyable I had in my week with the fortieth Anniversary. As Kesha would possibly say if she had been purchasing for a 4×4, the social gathering don’t begin until you drop the rear window and kick up some filth.
