2024 Toyota 4Runner

The 2024 Toyota 4Runner Is a Throwback to a More Primitive Time

When it was launched way back in 2010, Toyota’s budget 4Runner was hardly a sophisticated or futuristic vehicle. Today, it feels archaic. This is the sort of vehicle that gave SUVs a bad name –thirsty, vulnerable to crosswinds and bouncy, with a plasticky interior and surprisingly little space considering its sheer bulk. The fact it’s still on sale is baffling, though it does allow Toyota to compete against the Ford Bronco and Jeep Wrangler.

Is the 2024 Toyota 4Runner a Good Driver?

If you’re heading off-road, it certainly has merit. The TRD Off-Road model has genuine mud-plugging prowess, and upgrading it with Toyota’s Kinetic Dynamic Suspension System minimizes body lean while optimizing axle articulation. The front styling is designed to improve approach angles, while Pro models receive multiple skid plates and Fox shocks.

After that, things go downhill rapidly. The same four-liter V6 offered at launch remains the 4Runner’s solitary engine choice, combining weak performance with atrocious fuel economy. The primitive five-speed automatic transmission hobbles things further, while the on-road ride quality is better than the Wrangler’s but worse than most other vehicles on sale today. Don’t even think about buying a rear-drive 4Runner – its lack of traction negates one of the few benefits of this ponderous and dated vehicle.

The 2024 Toyota 4Runner Lacks Modernity Inside, Too

Having established that the 4Runner feels like a Noughties SUV on the road, that the cabin is also a throwback. You have to clamber into the front seats which are then bizarrely set too low, while your rear passengers may find themselves wedged in the tiny door openings. Once inside, they’ll have a dismal 33 inches of legroom across the middle row, with third-row seating that would suit dogs but feels claustrophobic even for kids.

The overall ambiance doesn’t help, either. Toyota knows how to build durable interiors that belie a paltry three-year/36,000-mile warranty, but everything in the 4Runner feels rugged rather than refined. The plastics are a case in point – they’ll easily rebuff daily wear, but they never feel tactile. It’s almost a surprise to see an eight-inch touchscreen on the dash, though entry-level SR5 models have cloth trim and blank switches. You could drop $55,000 on a TRD Pro, with its sunroof and JBL speakers, but at this price point, you’d be able to afford a vastly superior Land Rover Discovery.

The 2024 Toyota 4Runner Isn’t as Safe as You’d Expect

To anyone clinging to the notion that SUVs perform better in accidents than sedans or wagons, the Toyota 4Runner’s safety record should give them pause for thought. It achieved just four stars in NHTSA testing, and its mixed IIHS performance included a Marginal score in the driver’s side small-overlap test. At least Toyota has loaded it with safety tech, including adaptive cruise and active lane control, blind spot monitoring, and automatic emergency braking with pedestrian detection.

Does The 2024 Toyota 4Runner Get Good Fuel Economy?

There are trucks that do better. The 4Runner returns 16 mpg city, 19 highway, and 17 combined. Nor is this achieved in exchange for impressive towing capacity – the 4Runner maxes out at 5,000 pounds.

Is the 2024 Toyota 4Runner A Good Car?

In a word, no. We’re reluctant to use more strident adjectives, but it really is hard to see why anyone would want a 4Runner. Its on-road manners are so archaic that they overshadow its undeniable off-road prowess – you can’t exploit the latter without having to endure the former en route. The noisy and slow engine is mated to a desperately old-fashioned gearbox, while buyers of an RWD 4Runner have effectively bought a bucket with a hole in the bottom – negating the one thing it’s good at.

We’d love to add a more positive take here, but there simply isn’t one. Specifications are poor unless you drop serious money on a TRD, by which point rival vehicles leave it for dead. The plasticky, cramped cabin is claustrophobic and uninviting (who thought those rear doors were acceptable?), and the 4Runner’s blocky appearance will have the neighbors thinking you’ve bought a classic rather than a brand-new vehicle. It really is irredeemable.

2024 Toyota 4Runner Alternatives

If you want a bouncy, cramped off-roader, competition comes in the form of Jeep’s Wrangler and (to a lesser extent) Ford’s unhappy-looking Bronco. AWD three-row SUVs worthy of a place in today’s showrooms include the Land Rover Discovery and Jeep Grand Cherokee, the outstanding Kia Telluride, and Mazda’s suave CX-90. TRD Pro 4Runners find themselves competing on price against entry-level Chevrolet Suburbans and Tahoes.

Source: The Car Connection