Through the magic of technology, I get to communicate with you two years after the fact. At any rate, one of the dirty little secrets about the 4runner is they actually do really well in terms of mpg on the highway. If you take it easy and keep it about 70, you can achieve 23mpg. Very respectable. As an aside, I'm a gen x and went from IT junkie, to a guy who loves simplicity and analog anything. Talk about a 180. No thinking. No menus. Start and go. I love the 4runner. And you are 100 percent right about the highway steering. It drives itself. I had no idea how spoiled I was until my family drive a rental Ford expedition from NJ to Georgia. My brother drive the first leg and tried to describe the ride. He was uneasy and just said it was"annoying". After driving it myself I knew exactly what he meant. It was sloppy. You couldn't relax for 5 second without feeling like it might lose control and crash. It required so much attention and correction it was exhausting. Awful. My 4runner is a old 4th gen, but I arrive at destinations completely relaxed after driving three hours, no radio needed. Smooth bliss on the highway.
I have traveled over 7000 miles with my 2109 pro 4runner with towing almost 4000 lb travel trailer .Yes, it is slow on steep hills but it could done anything you expected. I loved more when Teton Pass in Wy.
Sorry for my mistake my 4Runner is 2019 TRD pro (I wrote 2109 ). I have done nothing to the truck as upgrade. Recently I add Pedal Commander but I have not towed with it yet.
Agree, the transmission especially, here in our high altitude Colorado Rocky Mountains, is absolutely pathetic. 1st gear is fine, 2nd-5th is either too high or too low. For towing always seems to be screaming in 2nd and 4th gears @ 7mpg. 🤬 Our driver seat for some reason is really uncomfortable. We are requesting a replacement. The Limited has the Cross-Linked Relative Absorber System, or X-REAS sport suspension system and am very impressed with the excellent, crisp handling it provides at highway speeds, especially in cross winds and driving in steep winding mountain roads. It handles more like a sports car, not a heavy suv. The engine and transmission however, not so much.
The power steering is variable. There is no assist at higher speeds for better feel. Easy boosted steering is dangerous in a high profile SUV like the 4R.
@@limelife7457 he didn't say anything wrong... 4runner has higher center of gravity. thats why its unibody brother highlander has a better rollover crash rating. but regardless it is true that 4runner is one of the best suvs in the world and highly reliable. only land cruiser would be better
I bought a 2021 SR5 Premium 4Runner 4X4 for $43k I can sell it for $50k I love it but wanted to buy a camper that weighs 5k lbs wet so it’s at the top of the 4Runners rating. After watching some real life towing videos and hearing the transmission screaming all the time so I decided not to subject my 4runner to that kind of stress. So am I gonna buy the camper and just sell the 4runner for a more capable tow vehicle? HELL TO THE NO! 😎
We have the 2021 Limited. We miss our 2005 v8 fuel economy, power and towing capabilities. It had nearly 200,000 miles and started needing some expensive repairs to the transmission, rust, paint and dash lights kept going out.
4 runner is rack and pinion wrangler is a steering gear box aka recirculating ball. I won’t own a vehicle with a steering box again as stated for it’s annoying loose steering.
3500 lbs max for "comfortable" towing with this thing. Pay attention to max tongue weight limit too. Ppl often forgot that part. If you plan to tow close to its max towing capacity often then you got the wrong vehicle. I own 2020 TRDOR.
Yep, 3,500 would be far more comfortable with a 4Runner and very good point on tongue weight. Way, way too many people don't even consider that. That said... if Toyota doesn't want you towing 5,000 pounds with the vehicle they shouldn't rate it for that kind of weight. Just a devil's advocate sort of response for ya 😉
Towed 4800# load this past weekend (a little over 400 miles)…..our 2022 SR5 did it, it worked, but will not do it again. At 55 MPH, country roads…..any steering adjustment you could “feel” the trailer behind us. The tongue weight was within spec, two axle car trailer, trailer brakes. We love the 4Runner…..but for towing anything near capacity, I’d take a pass.
The price tag is worth it if you are buying for longevity, durability, and reliability. Yes, there are a lot of other SUVs in that price range that are more luxurious. There’s a reason these trucks hold their value and have insane resale value. The dealership I bought my 2021 limited from offers a LIFETIME engine and transmission warranty. They offer it because they said they never have to honor it. To me that’s worth the price tag. Especially coming from a piece of shit 2006 Nissan(Renault) Xterra and a 2016 Jeep Patriot. Both were fully paid off and both started to have transmission issues.
Thank you for removing the engine cover and allow us to actually see the engine! Every single review on RU-vid has the engine cover on, and we can't see much what's really under the hood.
Glad you found that helpful! We're trying to do what appeals to legit enthusiasts and engine bay shots/drivetrain discussion are absolutely a part of that.
Dude... No disrespect but you are clueless. Have owned many Jeeps, many 4runners and now have a nightshade and a Lexus (both 2021) rrunner kills the Lexus for comfort and my Jeep (just got rid of) no comparison. Anyway. You gave me a good laugh. wow
I'm torn with this car. For what it's worth, it's a great vehicle. Then you think about it compared to everything else offered in 2020 and the "Toyota reliability" doesn't seem as tantalizing anymore.
Yeah, the Wrangler is pretty soft for towing and only rated to about 3,500 lbs. Fine for a little ATV or UHaul trailer (very) occasionally but not going to pull another car like we did here.
If you're actually going anywhere with whatever your'e towing, stopping for fuel as often as you're going to have to with this is going to get real old and real expensive real soon.
Yep, same issue that we had with the Land Cruiser. Small fuel tank means 8-9 MPG (we pulled an enclosed trailer on a 600 mile round trip) means you stop to fill up every 200 miles, unless you can push it and be guaranteed a gas station a little past that.