Review: 2010 4Runner Trail 4x4

[69Firebird400]

Hi guys - I'm a Sienna owner (2008 Limited AWD) and also a part-time auto journalist. I thought you might like to read the review I just finished of the new 4Runner Trail. I had it for a week and drove it to the office for several days, plus two extended road trips. Let me know what you think!

By Chris Haak

I'm going to begin by mentioning how disappointed I was during my time with the all-new 2010 Toyota 4Runner. Not in the vehicle itself, really - more in the circumstances surrounding my use of the vehicle. In spite of my best efforts to plan a trip to the woods and get the thing muddy, I barely got any dirt on it. In fact, the photos you see throughout this review were taken after traveling over 100 miles to a friend's mountain cabin for the express purpose of taking the 4Runner off road. Shameful, I know. And it's especially disappointing given the fact that my friend was warning me for weeks that the road leading to his cabin was covered in mud, and that his parents were upset by the amount of mud on the lane to his cabin.

Instead, I used the 4Runner Trail - probably the most off-road capable model in Toyota's current lineup - for a week of mostly driving around town and into the office, plus two back-to-back days of extended highway trips. Altogether, I tallied over 700 miles in the 4Runner. I learned a lot about it after living with it for a week and all of those miles, and I came to appreciate many aspects of it. With that being said, it's hard to understand why families would choose to use a 4Runner as their primary transportation, when so many other vehicles don't have the inherent compromises in fuel economy, ride, handling, and interior room that an off-road specialists like the 4Runner has.

Link for the rest: http://www.autosavant.com/2010/05/06...ner-trail-4x4/

[69Firebird400]

I am turning in a 2010 Highlander Hybrid today, so that review should come in a few days, and Toyota is dropping off a 2011 Sienna Limited AWD that we're using for a few road trips over the next several days.

We have lots of other Toyota reviews on our site as well, so if you're so inclined, check them out at http://www.autosavant.com/reviews/

Thanks!

[jetwhine]

69firebird400,when so many other vehicles don't have the inherent compromises in fuel economy, ride, handling, and interior room that an off-road specialists like the 4Runner has

What are you comparing this with? You must compare apples to apples not apples to pears or should I say rotten pears?

[69Firebird400]

Originally Posted by jetwhine

69firebird400,when so many other vehicles don't have the inherent compromises in fuel economy, ride, handling, and interior room that an off-road specialists like the 4Runner has

What are you comparing this with? You must compare apples to apples not apples to pears or should I say rotten pears?

Its direct competitor is the Nissan Pathfinder, which I addressed at the end of the review. I felt that in spite of my test vehicle being the uber-off-road variant, it was a more pleasant vehicle to live with and was a nicer drive than a 2009 Pathfinder.

Crossovers of similar size to the 4Runner generally have better on-road driving characteristics than do body-on-frame vehicles. The point of the sentence that you are asking about is that the 4Runner does its job - off-roading-well. But for $40,000 you can put yourself in a nice crossover like a Highlander, Pilot, Enclave, or Flex and have more interior room, better ride and handling, and generally better fuel economy. The BOF trucks have better towing numbers, though.

Bottom line: I woudn't buy a BOF SUV again unless I planned some serious off-roading or some serious towing.

[jetwhine]

69firebird400,

I don't think that the crossover rigs are a good comparison, they are just more fluff and can't do what the 4runner is designed to do box stock. But I do agree about the BOF rigs. If you are going to spend 40.000 on a rig for comfort and ride you would be looking at the wrong rig as the 4runner. They are not meant to be a luxury rig, all though they do try to market that type of people