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CARLOS LAGO: That's a 2020 Toyota 4Runner TRD Pro,
the most capable and arguably coolest-looking 4Runner you
can get from the dealer new.
And I happen to think it's quite a bit
like the Dodge Charger and Challenger.
How is that?
Well, like those cars, this 4Runner
has been around a long time.
This generation was introduced in 2010.
And despite that, it's never been as popular as it is now.
How does that make sense?
Well, like the Charger and Challenger,
the 4Runner's been the same while the world
has changed around it.
Today, if you want a midsize SUV with
a body-on-frame construction and a real two-speed transfer case,
clearances that make for capability when going off
road, and also enough comfort to drive to work every day,
your options are fairly limited.
So if you're looking at one of these vehicles, in this video,
we're going to explain what you're signing up for,
both good and bad, and what the competition may
be doing better or worse.
Be aware, though, we're filming this
before the reveal of the Ford Bronco.
And by the time this video goes live,
the world may be a very different place again.
But that's a problem for future us.
For the time being, we're just going
to enjoy the 4Runner in this beautiful location.
As always, hit the links below to visit Edmunds to learn more
about these vehicles and find your next perfect car.
And then like, comment, and subscribe
to this channel to see more videos like this one.
The TRD Pro starts at just underneath $50,000.
And that kind of money gets you a fully loaded Kia Telluride,
which is Edmunds' top-ranked midsize SUV.
It's what we recommend to most shoppers.
So why wouldn't you buy it?
Well, if your lifestyle just demands commuting
and you want just more style than toughness
in the way your SUV looks, you should probably
get the Telluride.
Why would you get the foreigner then?
Well, if your lifestyle demands a bit more adventure,
if you go camping regularly, if you actually
need to use some of the four-wheel drive capability
that the 4Runner comes with, we mentioned
some of that in the intro, but the 4Runner
has hardware that a lot of SUVs these days
don't deliver, at least they don't in the same combination.
You see, 4Runners like the TRD Off Road
and this TRD Pro get real off-road hardware,
like a four-wheel drive system, a real four-wheel drive
system, a two-speed transfer case that gives you
a low range, and a locking rear differential you can activate
with the push of a button.
So the TRD Pro, in particular, gets upgraded shocks
and springs.
They're Fox shocks.
And actually, the rear is a remote reservoir,
which is pretty cool.
And you also get a little bit of a lift as well.
So that combination is going to give you
extra control, extra durability, and extra clearance that's
important for off-road driving.
Now, the wheels and tires themselves, the wheels
are 17 inches in diameter, 7 inches wide,
and they're wrapped in 32 inch Nitto Terra Grappler tires.
And that's a tire that's attempting
to mix the best of on-road comfort, wet-weather traction,
and off-road traction.
If you want to do more serious off roading,
you're going to need a more serious off-road tire that's
going to be worse at on-road comfort.
And then we also have to call that at the front,
that TRD skid plate.
It's aluminum.
It's a quarter inch thick.
But most importantly, it has TRD in bright red.
It looks cool.
Interestingly, the TRD Pro is unavailable with Toyota's trick
KDSS anti-roll bar system.
And that option is available on the less expensive TRD
off road.
What is it?
And why would you want KDSS or not?
Well, when you get the system, your 4Runner
comes with beefier anti-roll bars.
And that's going to improve on-road refinement and comfort.
But when you go off road, the system
recognizes that and mechanically removes the anti-roll bars
from the equation, improving articulation.
Now, if you're going to keep your 4Runner's stock,
it's a decent system to have because of the benefits
it offers.
Just know that, if you do plan on modifying it and putting
on a lift kit or bigger wheels and tires,
the complexity of that system is going to get in the way.
The complexity of that system is also
going to make maintenance and repairs more expensive
as one of our video team members can personally
attest to with his 4Runner.
SPEAKER 1: Come on.
CARLOS LAGO: [LAUGHS] Let's talk about the engine
and transmission because that's really where the 4Runner begins
to show its age.
The engine's a four-liter V6 with 270 horsepower
and 276 pound-feet of torque.
And that's adequate by today's standards.
The real issue is the transmission
is a five-speed automatic.
And with only five forward gears,
you don't get the ratio spread or the advantages of a ratio
spread that a modern transmission offers.
And that includes things like a shorter first gear for a better
crawl ratio and then taller top gears for better fuel economy.
And also the number of gears in between those,
when you have more of them, the down shifts
are less pronounced.
And it's nicer to drive this thing on a freeway,
maintaining 70 miles an hour.
And hilly terrain is always bouncing
between fifth and fourth.
And that can be pretty annoying.
As for fuel economy the foreigner,
4Runner TRD Pro is rated at 17 mpg combined.
And that's just not good.
You get that out of a V8 full-sized pick up these days.
But at least you get to run 87 octane, so gas will be cheap.
Now, let's talk about the interior.
Due to the age of the generation of this 4Runner,
things are going to appear dated, though everything
remains functional.
And when I say appear dated, I mean things
like you're not going to find a USB-C port in here.
You will find one USB port in the front.
But it's an older style.
And you'll still find 12-volt power ports throughout.
Now, new for 2020, Toyota added a couple
of things that are welcome additions to the 4Runner.
One is a suite of advanced driver aids
and safety features like adaptive cruise control,
lane keep assist, and pedestrian warning.
And those things are pretty helpful.
But crucially, the big addition for this year
is Android Auto and Apple CarPlay
in the entertainment system.
Praise the Lord, this is such a welcome addition to have.
It actually makes me want to consider one of these things.
Now, other details that stick out
in the 4Runner that you may not have in other vehicles--
a manually engageable or, at least, a lever
to engage low range still feels cool.
And probably the biggest 4Runner advantage
on the entire automotive industry
is the fact that you can make the rear window go
up and down with this guy right here.
Of course, the question with any modern car interior
is, what do you do with Arnie?
Well, because we only have wired Apple CarPlay,
you've got to plug Arnie in or leash Arnie up.
The first solution looks like this pocket right here.
But as you see, Arnie is a little too big.
And when you accelerate, Arnie goes flying out.
And he hasn't really flown since commando,
so we're not going ask that much more from him.
The next obvious solution is this pocket right here.
But again, Arnie's a little too big.
So he sticks out and kind of interferes
with that cup holder.
So you can tilt him up.
And he's still going to jostle around and dance,
and we all know that Van Damme was the dancer of that era.
So our last option is really to tuck Arnie away back in here
and use this little pass through the wire.
And now the Arnie is contained.
The rear storage of the 4Runner might be its biggest advantage
versus vehicles like the Grand Cherokee
and the Wrangler because of how much storage space you have.
There's just a lot back here.
Now, there isn't anything back here
that's specific to the TRD Pro.
This is what you find in most 4Runner
aside from this optional shelf.
But let's talk about that.
What that shelf seemed to do is help
you mitigate the depth of this load area
because you can pull it out like this.
This is optional.
And the guy on staff who has one of these in his 4Runner
that he's had for years says he's used it maybe twice.
So whether it's worth it is up to you.
Now, other things I like about this rear storage area
are the power outlets in the rear and the fact
that the second row folds flat.
It's a little cumbersome to do so.
You have to hit three different switches to fold it.
But once you do, it's nice and flat.
That makes it easier to put stuff in.
But also you get a little barrier between the front seats
and the rear seats.
And that's nice.
The 4Runner has a number of electronic aids
to help you with off-road driving.
And I'm going to turn the multi-terrain select right now,
which is going to give me a couple of different drive modes
to choose from.
I'm going to put it in sand because that's what we're in.
But you have options like rocks and mobiles.
Now, what that does is it tells us
stability control system the type of driving I want to do.
And the stability control system supposedly
reacts accordingly because there are situations
when you're off road that you want some tire
slip like when you're driving in the sand like I am right now.
And there are times when you don't like
when you're driving on rocks.
This is going to be a really light off-road area.
It's more of just like a wash that we
can get some decent speed in and talk about the driving
experience.
I'll say, on a road, this 4Runner
feels rougher than your typical family SUV.
And that's because of the hardware
it has that allows it to do this kind of thing.
It's not bad, though.
And plus, I think it's kind of cool
driving to work with something that looks like it's
built to do something else.
There's a toughness to this, especially when you
have it kick in the dirt like ours presumably is right now.
Let's talk about the off-road driving experience.
I'm able to maintain some pretty decent speed--
say, 40 miles an hour or so through this wash,
which is pretty quick.
And I got to say, the stability control system
is doing a pretty good job keeping
the wheels the direction that I want them to go,
keeping the vehicle pointed in the direction I wanted to go,
which works out pretty nice.
Now, there are more capable off-roaders
that you can get new from the dealership than the 4Runner,
certainly.
The Jeep Wrangler is the best example.
There's nothing on the market out there
that can match what the Wrangler Rubicon can deliver.
It's a smaller, more nimble vehicle
that has superior hardware, especially the solid front
axle which has better articulation, the fact that you
can get an electronically disconnecting front anti-roll
bar, that the front differential locks.
That's all superior stuff.
But there are some reasons why you might
want to choose the 4Runner.
Specifically, it's bigger inside.
It has more cargo volume.
It's also, in my mind, a little bit nicer
to drive daily with the exception
of the five-speed automatic.
The Wrangler's got an eight speed with its V6.
That is I wish I would have in this 4Runner.
But the solid front axle on the Wrangler
makes for steering behavior that feels a little bit loose.
And the 4Runner is much tighter and more nice
and drives me a bit more nicely.
And this is pretty, I've got to admit.
Of course, bombing down a dirt road is always going to be fun.
The only thing I'll call out is, on top
of the five-speed automatic, the TRD Pro
comes with a cat back exhaust that emphasizes
some of the least desirable elements of the V6 engine,
especially this one.
Now, it's nice when you step on the gas
and you get to accelerate through an entire gear.
That sounds good.
But when you're on the freeway or when you just
have the engine parked somewhere between 1,000 or 3,000 RPM,
it just drones.
It doesn't sound nice.
If this were my SUV, I'd get the stock exhaust on it because I
don't want to hear that drone.
It's not very good.
But now that we've covered that and had our fun driving fast,
let's slow it down and climb a modestly steep hill
and see how this thing works.
4Runners have a couple of different drive
modes for off road.
And there's one that's like a quasi-hill climb low-speed
off-road cruise control that I'm going engage now.
In order to do that, we have to be in 4 low, which we are in.
And we also have to be in drive.
And I'm actually going to choose first gear with the shifter
here.
And then I'm going to gauge it by hitting this button
to turn the system on.
And then I have crawl control enabled.
I can dial the speed to five different settings
by using this dial.
And let's give that a try.
So I've got it at the lowest setting right now.
I might turn it up a little bit as we approach this hill.
And what's nice about this is the system
is going to do all the application of torque
and brakes by itself for maximum traction.
So I have my foot off the gas pedal,
and I'm hovering the break as I approach this hill.
It's kind of slightly unnerving to hear the ABS clicking away
like it is.
But in terms of traction, this is working great, very smooth
once it gets moving.
And just like that, we made it to the top.
All I had to do was steer, and the 4Runner did the rest
with acceleration and braking.
Pretty simple.
Pretty easy.
So while the 4Runner has some dated parts and a couple
downsides that come along with it,
there's nothing quite like it, again,
until that Bronco comes out.
Wrangler, Jeep Wrangler offers superior off-road performance
but is smaller and may not be as nice to drive
during the daily commute due to increased
interior noise and the steering that you get out
of a solid front axle.
Now, on the other extreme, you have Kia Telluride,
which is much nicer to drive day by day
but can't do this at all.
And so that leaves the 4Runner in a kind of unique position
that it's fallen into simply because of how long it's
been out for sale.
And this TRD Pro, specifically, serves as an example
of what you can do.
And that makes it appealing.
And it's also a really nice turnkey product
that you can just go to the Toyota dealership and pick up.
That makes it pretty unique.
Plus, this looks rad as hell.
[LAUGHS]
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