“This thing costs how much?”
That’s a phrase I said to myself a few times, before it actually started to make some sense. You see, just a week prior, I had my hands on the new JL Jeep Wrangler. It was a Sport 2-door and yet it stickered for $38k as equipped. This 2018 Toyota 4Runner TRD Pro is $45k, and it has way more space, two more doors, and can go anywhere that the Jeep can go. The price point begins to become even more clear when you compare it to the JL Unlimited Rubicon, which is easily a $50k Jeep these days. So for a bit less than the top-spec Wrangler, you get a wildly capable 4Runner that has more room inside and can do nearly as much off the pavement.
Still, the 4Runner is dated. There’s a five-speed automatic connected to the 278-horsepower V6 and the center stack looks like it was designed by pre-school children.
But the damn thing looks pretty sharp in that blue paint with the black wheels, no?
Truck Central: 2018 Toyota 4Runner TRD Pro review
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9 responses to “Truck Central: 2018 Toyota 4Runner TRD Pro review”
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It’s fantastic. But I might be biased because I own and love one.
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isn’t there an overlap between a [higher-than average percentage of 4Runner buyers] and [dated but proven engine + dated but proven transmission + dated but proven interior fittings]?
this is the only car that can and should get away with this stuff!-
Yes, 200k untroubled miles in this one are expected. 200k miles in a Jeep? Cough.
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I think I’m both. They’ve been selling over 100,000 of these per year, so something works…
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They didn’t move 50k trucks between 2007 and 2012, and didn’t crack six-figure sales with the 5th-gen until 2016. The key is that Toyota has very little competition, what with the Xterra gone and the Pathfinder now a glorified minivan. What choices in this segment do you really have, between 4Runner and Wrangler Unlimited?
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I watch the depreciation on my big ol’ F150 and am considering swapping into a new 4Runner at the crossover point to take a nice gentle glide down the value curve.
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Fun review, as usual, though I’m not terribly enamored with this truck. First off, I’m a staunch hater of black trim on blue cars. It works with great with white, good with red, and decent with silver finishes, but with blue it looks like one big bruise. In this particular case, that’s one nasty shade of blue, as well.
I’m a fan of the 4th- and 3rd-gen 4Runners, but the 5th leaves me cold. It just looks awkwardly plump regardless of trim, and the front fascia in particular is garish. The Hilux pickup is much more attractive up front than the 4Runner’s gaping mouth and “mascara tears” fog lights.
I think Toyota’s been resting on its laurels far too long with the Tacoma and 4Runner. It’s long past time to rejuvenate these one-time excellent trucks. -
Toyota has perfected the art of milking their engineering platforms for all they are worth.
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Funny how we sneer at 278 bhp these days. No so long ago, that was Corvette territory.
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