We threw our luggage in the cavernous boot, then cranked up the interior temps \u2014 heated seats, front rear-defroster, climate temps \u2014 with big, knobby dials to match the\u00a0tires. After clearing the Toyota of crusted ice and snow, I tossed the snow brush into the back seat \u2014 rugged, mid-size trucks mean never having to worry about mussing the interior.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
After a long day, we were in no mood to spend the next 45 minutes crawling along Detroit\u2019s pocked cart paths worrying about a blowout in subfreezing temps. The opposite was true of 4Runner. The beast positively loved the conditions.<\/p>\n
Like a salty sailor on rough seas, the 4Runner relies on old technology to chart its course. I eased the shifter into neutral, then yanked the truck\u2019s second\u00a0transfer-case shifter (familiar\u00a0to\u00a0Wrangler\u00a0fans, too) back into four-wheel drive. With all four wheels churning, we set off into the gloom.<\/p>\n
The 4Runner sits a ridiculous 10 inches off the ground with a Jeep-like\u00a033-degree\u00a0front departure angle for off-roading. Heck, we probably could have just cut through the woods to go home. The ute even includes a crawl mode for nature’s worst. This fearlessness has made Toyota\u2019s ute a favorite of folks in rural communities where snowplows often take days to catch up to rutted roads. But this night, we decided to stick to paved roads.<\/p>\n
The SUV bombed happily along, the\u00a04.0-liter\u00a0270-horse V-6 mill roaring its approval. V-6s, of course, are frowned upon in this woke green age of turbocharged\u00a0fuel-sipping 4-bangers. But with its guttural growl and instant torque, the six-holer matches 4Runner\u2019s can-do character. Like the V-6s and V-8s under the hoods of Chargers and Challengers, if it ain\u2019t broke, don\u2019t fix it.<\/p>\n
Customers sure don\u2019t think the 4Runner is old-fashioned. Sales numbers in the last five years have seen a steady climb from 76,906 in 2014 to 131,888 last year. That\u2019s a 70% jump, mirroring the 60%\u00a0rise in Toyota Tacoma pickup sales to nearly 250,000 units over the same period.<\/p>\n
As the U.S. has moved to SUVs, the idea of a Tacoma SUV with a hatch instead of a pickup\u00a0bed has real appeal. Ford no doubt hopes for the same gains from a Ranger pickup-based Bronco.<\/p>\n
Like Dodge, 4Runner mixes its old-fashioned with a taste of modern tech.<\/p>\n
Once on M-39 headed north, I set adaptive cruise-control to 60 mph to avoid\u00a0Melvindale and Dearborn speed traps. The localities are famous for using the 55-mph speed-limited Southfield Freeway to raise revenue, catching travelers\u00a0who\u2019ve been traveling the 70 mph common to the rest of the freeway.<\/p>\n
Asian automakers have been aggressive about outfitting all their vehicles \u2014 right down to $20,000-something compacts \u2014\u00a0with safety systems like adaptive cruise and automatic emergency-braking. The 4Runner is no exception. In addition to saving my bacon from police radar, automatic cruise-control\u00a0is a welcome trip companion.<\/p>\n
Adaptive cruise is enabled by the big radar brick in the 4Runner\u2019s gaping\u00a0fish-mouth grille. After a while on M-59, ice and snow began to coat the brick like gnats in a Florida summer. Soon, the 4Runner\u2019s brick was coated and the car\u2019s brain told me adaptive cruise-control was no longer available. No problem, but a reminder of the many challenges self-driving systems have to overcome.<\/p>\n
The 4Runner encountered no navigation challenges on the route thanks to another piece of updated software, Apple CarPlay. My wife simply plugged in her phone, and Google Maps routed us around stormy obstacles \u2014 traffic backups, road closures, accidents \u2014 for the quickest way home.<\/p>\n
Speaking of plugs, 4Runner also has a three-prong outlet in the boot \u2014 perfect for charging laptop or other devices, because who carries those round\u00a0cigarette lighter chargers with them anymore?<\/p>\n
In a week of frosty, snowy weather, the Toyota was a welcome addition to the driveway. The big lug\u2019s not much to look at,\u00a0but my $48,000\u00a0Venture Edition tester served its purpose as a proper utility vehicle with heated front thrones, fold-flat second-row seats for extended cargo room, slide-out rear floor\u00a0and updated 8-inch screen that keeps pace with the Wrangler\u2019s modern U-Connect system.<\/p>\n
Toyota prices comparably favorably to the Wrangler, too, while offering more cargo space and better interior quiet \u2014 if less overall character than the Jeep.<\/p>\n
Both the Wrangler and the 4Runner are ol\u2019\u00a0St. Bernards that will run the extra mile to save you from the elements. That\u2019s how owners like them and sales numbers prove the point. Which sets up an interesting opportunity for the coming Bronco, which will surely bring lots of cutting-edge Ford tech to the ladder-frame segment.<\/p>\n
The 4Runner is a loyal old friend. And customers are loyal back.<\/p>\n
2020 Toyota 4Runner<\/h3>\n
Vehicle type: Front-engine, rear- and all-wheel drive, 5-passenger SUV<\/p>\n
Price: $37,240, including $1,120 destination charge ($48,877 AWD Venture Special Edition as tested)<\/p>\n
Powerplant: 4.0-liter 6-cylinder<\/p>\n
Power: 270 horsepower, 278 pound-feet torque<\/p>\n
Transmission: 5-speed automatic with second transfer-case shifter for AWD<\/p>\n
Performance: 0-60 mph, 7.7 seconds (Car and Driver); towing, 5,000 pounds<\/p>\n
Weight: 4,750 pounds<\/p>\n
Fuel economy: EPA\u00a017 city\/20\u00a0highway\/18 combined<\/p>\n
Report card<\/h3>\n
Highs: Rugged beast; nice modern touches like Apple CarPlay and 3-prong electric plug<\/p>\n
Lows: Dated interior; gotta\u00a0muscle that transfer-case shifter<\/p>\n
Overall: 3\u00a0stars<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Ford is about to enter the truck-based SUV market with the Ford Bronco and I get it. People are passionate about these things. Yet, there are only two truck-based SUVs in the mid-size market \u2014 the Jeep Wrangler and the Toyota 4Runner. The Toyota what? You can be forgiven for forgetting the Tacoma pickup-based ute […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7,87],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24965"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=24965"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24965\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":24966,"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24965\/revisions\/24966"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=24965"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=24965"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=24965"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}