Test Driving the 4runner

Being an SUV owner for a few years now I am very particular about certain qualities of my car. After test driving, and doing some research on the new 4runner, there are quite a few things I found to be very enjoyable.

First off, I like the power improvement. The 3.4 liter 24 valve 183 horsepower V6 engine (SR5's and limited's) is a needed improvement from my current 95 4runner (only a 3 liter V6). There are other utility vehicles within the same class which offer more horsepower, but the forerunner is now finally within their zipcode.

The overall ride for the 4runner seemed to be one of the smoothest when comparing it to the other 99's I test drove. It has still maintained a decent turning radius (for an SUV), and I felt very comfortable driving the car. Honestly it was really annoying to hear the salesman tell me to feel how smooth it was, but I think I was so annoyed because he was actually being honest about this particular point, relative to other SUV's (yeah imagine that... a salesman who tells the truth).

Along with the increase in horsepower they increased the amount of fuel which in can hold to 18.5 gallons. I can't express how annoyed I was to put mud and snow tires on my old car (which if you didn't know eat into fuel economy), and have to constantly keep filling up the 16+ gallon tank (the last more than half a gallon is unusable for some reason). Before I digress, the calculation of your range without fillups could lean more towards 350 miles. That's figuring about 20mpg and using 17.5 gallons of fuel. That's running of the mpg rating from the factory, so of course, don't quote me on that (V6 ranges from 17-21 mpg going off the sticker). That would almost put you inside LA if you decided to drive down from the Bay Area. Rather than having to fill up like 3/4 of the way there like before.

The back seats for the new 4runner seemed a little more roomier than before, but if I could design my dream 4runner, I would have let them eat more into the trunk space...which still as always seemed to be one of the longest out of most SUV's.

Something I noticed is that the air conditioning really kicked in rather quickly and efficiently. Maybe it was my familiarity with the dials, or maybe the car had been recently driven, but it quickly reached a the steady temperature it remained at throughout the test drive (once again, I'm comparing to the other SUV's I had been test driving). I don't like to overuse the AC, but when you need it...

Other plus's: an extra outlet for all your toys (cell phone, lap top... whatever else you use). Heated exterior mirrors (a huge plus if you go to the snow... Having the snow fall cleanly off your mirror so that you can see _clearly_ in it is a definite benefit). The powered rear window. It's so nice to open and close that thing from the driver's seat.

I also got the following towing ratings for it.

Maximum trailer weight: 3,500 on 4Runner; 5,000 on SR5 and Limited

If you are looking for a vehicle to take you to the snow, or you like to haul around a lot of equipment, and less than 6 people at the same time, and still get decent gas mileage, and you don't have a huge inheritance to spend, but you do have some money, then the 4runner is right for you.