Driving Impressions

Toyota's 4Runner showed off its impressive highway performance on a lengthy drive through Virginia and North Carolina. I was headed to Harker's Island near the southernmost tip of North Carolina's Outer Banks to go fishing and quickly found the 4Runner is extremely stable at high speeds. From a handling standpoint, the 4Runner has one of the best chassis and suspension arrangements in its class. While some mid-size sport-utilities have front suspensions of struts or even live axles, the 4Runner has an independent suspension with upper and lower control arms and coil springs. In the rear, the axle is mounted with a multi-link arrangement and coil springs instead of the more common, and less sophisticated, leaf springs. The 4Runner also has the precise feel of rack-and-pinion steering and a tidy turning circle of 37.4 feet. The result is a combination of ride comfort and handling ease that is exceptionally good for a vehicle of such outstanding off-road and rough-road capabilities. Living with the 4Runner and driving it on a daily basis is easy and free of hassles. It doesn't drive exactly like a car, of course, but it's no truck either. It rides nice, it handles nice, the engine runs great, it's nimble in tight shopping mall parking lots, and it basically does all the things you'd like it to do in the ways you'd like it to do them. About the only negative I logged was that, like most compact SUVs, the 4Runner does not provide good grip on wet pavement. The rear tires will often spin when trying to take off aggressively in the rain. Aside from the expected Toyota attention to detail, which is faultless and comprehensive, one of the nicest features is the 3.4-liter V6 engine. Though it lacks the stump-pulling grunt of the V8s available in some of the competition, it's exceptionally high in smoothness and driving pleasure, with excellent throttle response and a silky feel throughout its wide rev range. And there's more than enough power to deal with a full load of passengers, luggage and a medium-sized trailer.

Final Word

If you don't require the brute towing power of a V8, you'll have trouble finding a better mid-size sport-utility vehicle than the 4Runner. It's a textbook example of insightful, thoughtful, comprehensive care in design and engineering. Everything about it is correctly done. On the critical issues of reliability and durability, the 4Runner and Toyota's reputation are a tough combination to beat.