dropzone

iTrader: (6)

the fifth gen 4runner looks too much like every other SUV on the road...not much unique about them any more.

BigBallsMcFalls

my bone stock 99 LTD can do amazing stuff on trail without any mods. current stock 4runners cannot go everywhere my stock 99 can go without tearing itself up.

aowRS

I recently saw the 2010 4Runner at a local dealer.

There was nothing about it that appealed to me - in any way. Nothing.

I will continue to enjoy my comfortable, very dependable, and sharp-looking '01 for many years to come.


Andreas

Speedy

What really baffles me is that Toyota has a slew of SUVs to fit the soccer mom.

Rav4
Highlander
Sequoia

Why do they need a watered down 4Runner as well?

The 4th gens came with a V8 - whoo hoo a whole 235HP and 300 ft/lbs WOW! My supercharged 3.4L blows that away by about 70HP and I even have more torque and it's a lighter motor in a lighter vehicle to boot!!!

Now, if Toyota kept the body of the 4th gen, and dropped in the 5.7L V8 with 380 HP and 400 tq that'd be a car to have. Add selectable lockers front and rear and some good strong skids and it'd have been good to go.

But I digress.

AlexJet

I was working towards getting this idea to the heads of Toyota Managers...

AlexJet

No, not this gas burner... I disagree. Solid front axle and Tubo Diesel is what Toyota actually missing from my perspective.

Speedy

They might could offer those as an "option", but you'll find very few real buyers who would want either. As an option they'd be pretty pricey since they may sell 100 units per year if that, but at least it'd be there for those that didn't m

I agree a solid front axle is more stout and better off road, but you have to remember 99.9% of your buyers never go off roading. So people wouldn't want the stiffer ride and steering that can go along with that solid axle.

I doubt you'd find many people that would turn their nose up to a nice V8 though. 400 HP and 20-24MPG would be a real winner in a car that size.

cackalak han

I actually like the 5th gen quite a bit. No, it's not the SFA hardtop 85 4Runner, but it's a ton more comfortable for the 99.9% of the population that will drive it only on-road. Most of you also drive your trucks on-road 90% of the time, and going with a IFS was a good compromise of on/off road performance. I like that they've brought back the rear locker. Plus, it's a LOT more safe than the older models.

Cars are getting bigger/techy/safer with every auto manuf. And there will always be complainers whining about how it used to be in the good ol' days. They soon realize they can have just as much fun in an 87 IFS 4Runner vs a 85 SFA. 2nd gen vs a 1st gen. 3rd gen vs 2nd. Etc etc

Speedy

Well, I'd say the public who voted with their wallets tell the tale of the most popular year for the 4Runner:

These numbers are all from J.A.'s site:

He didn't have Gen 1 numbers, and only had Gen 2 starting 1995:

1995 - 75,962 sold
1996 - 99,597 sold
1997 - 128,496 sold (most popular year by sales)
1998 - 118,484 sold
1999 - 124,221 sold
2000 - 111,797 sold
2001 - 90,250 sold
2002 - 77,026 sold
2003 - 109,308 sold (V8 offered for the first time ever in a 4Runner)
2004 - 114,212 sold
2005 - 103,830 sold
2006 - 103,086 sold
2007 - 87,718 sold
2008 - 47,718 sold (WOW)
2009 - 19,675 (YIKES!!!)

So sales of the 4Runner have PLUMMETED apparently. I couldn't find MSRP prices on all the different model years to compare, so price could have had something to do with the sales numbers. If someone can add that info it might shed more light on this.

cackalak han

So what do those numbers tell exactly? It's not as if the buyers were off-road enthusiasts. Most were soccer moms. That means the new models are either too rugged for soccer moms, or 4Runners just started to suck period. I believe neither is true.

You also have to remember that recent plummeting figures are due to the recession and also gas prices were sky high 3-4 years ago. SUV's in GENERAL has horrible sales.

Lastly, when the 3rd gens came out, people said the same things that you're saying now. "Too plush", "where is the off road roots?", "no hardtop??", "soccer mom's dream". Etc. Happened when the 4th gens came out. If history is any indicator, same will happen here.

881stGenRunner

Please post up some pics of any other SUV or anything else out there (besides another toyota) that looks like the 2010 4Runner.

What are you talking about?!?! Have you not seen the pictures of the damn thing going through the rubicon trail? Please please please take your bone stock 3rd gen with new MTRs and sliders down that trail and lets see how pretty your truck stays. So be it a woman drives it. Whats up with everyone saying soccer this...soccer that. Yall are getting so annoying with this talking like it is a POS with IFS & IRS. Lets still remember here that it is a 4Runner and it is going to be very capable.

Even if some of those on here got a new 4Runner i dont see them wheeling it very much due to it being a new vehicle and it still has a lot of value as well as people do not fully own them outright. Who is going to take a BRAND NEW 2010 vehicle that was 35K and go beat the piss out of it? Riddle me that

cackalak han

Finally somebody with some sense instead of whining about why Toyota didn't make the 5th Gen with sfa, hardtop, triple lockers and 35's from the factory. I'd like to challenge anyone to mass produce such a vehicle and try to make money on it.

JeepRecoveryINC.

It's not just Toyota and the 4Runner. The whole automotive industry has switched to form over function mantality. I personally like the new 4Runner if I had that kind of money to drop on a daily driver that had all the creature comforts that would keep the women from bitching about having to crank the windows up and down the old fashioned way. I do however feel that my '89 with a SAS and 4" lift is unstopable and the best damn truck ever and would like to see toyota go back to producing a truck/suv that had the work hard, play hard man in mind.

Speedy

I don't think so. If you can find sales figures on other mid size SUVs for the past 10 or so years to post up I'd love to see them. My quick glance around Google showed sales are about triple to the other major contenders over the 4Runner the past few years.

Prior to the 3rd gen the 4Runner was way under powered and that is a very common complaint. You see people all the time swapping 3.4L engines in to their 1st and 2nd gens.

The third gen was a very nice mix of hard core features, power, and luxury. Add to that you could drop a TRD blower on there and you had a real winner with it being smaller and lighter and more powerful than even the V8 4th gen.

The two statements above are why I stand behind the fact that the 3rd gen has been the best 4Runner to date. Maybe, hopefully, Toyota will surprise us in 2011 and at least offer the 5.7L V8 with selectable lockers and some good sporty looks. They'd thrill us to offer a manual.

1stgen4gunner

Nah, I think there main mistake was ditching the removable top, in fact they don't even offer any trucks with removable tops anymore (Not even the FJ Cruiser), that the only reason I bought my 88' was because it had that (personally I think the 2nd gen's are better looking runners).

cackalak han

?? I will say again--what are you trying to prove with this? So, let's say that the other SUV sales were triple that of the 4Runner (HIGHLY doubtful, but benefit of doubt--please post the stuff you found on Google). So, the Trailblazer, Pilot, Explorer, Xterra, Montero all had better sales. So, what does that prove? Are you saying those vehicles are better off-road than the 4Runner because of the higher sales? This is a counter-example of what you're trying to prove--more sales = more average joe's buying them. Just proves 4Runners are NOT what an average joe (primarily soccer moms) wants.

Honda Civics had a higher sales figure than Corvettes. Does this make them faster race cars? Yet, people have built Civics to compete with Corvettes and have done very well. What's that prove? Nothing.

The new 4.7L V8's (from 2005) had a boost to about 270HP and 313lb/ft (IIRC). Still yours is more powerful, but yours is also modified. Stock vs. stock, the V8 wins. I had a 98 Supercharged 4Runner and it was maybe on par with my friend's 4.0L V6 5-sp auto. But not sure where this power came into the equation when we're talking about fuction over form? Just look at the gallery here--the best off-road rigs are shod with 100% stock 22RE's, 2.7L I4, and 3.4L V6's. You don't need 500HP for a capable off-roader.

But if you're worried about the power output, slap on a supercharger for the 4.0L V6. Guaranteed will be faster than your 4Runner.

Speedy

I don't know why you're getting all bent out of shape.

I'm just saying the 4Runner is going down hill period. Off road enthusiasts don't care for the newer ones, and it seems soccer moms don't either. 19,000 unit sales is pathetic. It makes me sad really.

You just made another point for me. You CAN'T install a TRD blower on a V6 4Runner. TRD never supported that.

waskillywabbit

iTrader: (-1)

Keep it civil guys.

WEINERDOGBONE

iTrader: (1)

I've actually looked at the 2010 4 Runner and it's a beauty. The 4.0 V6 is pushing about 270hp. I can't really see why you'd need a supercharger.

My 3.4 is closer to 190 hp thus the need for a supercharger if you really want some grunt. IMHO, the new 4Runner is a return back to the earlier versions of the vehicle. Most reviews that I've read say so too.

To each his own but, I think it's a cool vehicle.

cackalak han

I posted that in all sincerity. I was not getting worked up. I was just confused why you were mocking the 4th/5th Gen 4Runners for being too "mom-mobile-ish", then posting those figures to say that 3rd Gen's were the most popular, which I thought is to say that it's more of a soccer-mom rig.

19k units is pathetic. However, upon a little searching, it seems that the inventory (production) was very low for 2009. Also, there was enough hype about the 2010 models that I'm sure there were fense sitters that waited for the new model.

Looks wise, maybe it's just me, but I think this looks great:





And the blower comment - there have been superchargers that were installed on 4th Gens.

http://www.trdparts4u.com/scripts/pr...dproduct=-8176

Sure, it's made for a Taco/FJ, but there are plenty of other things only applicable to a Taco/FJ that were installed on a 4Runner.

If I had $35k to drop on an SUV right now, 2010 4Runner TE would be it. Great balance between a family hauler, expedition/off-road rig with plenty of power. Not to mention it's much much safer than previous models.