4R Secret Finally Revealed

Just give the limited a face lift and you can have bothish

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J0Hw9H7vWmo

 

The silver valances on my OR go perfectly well with the rest of the small amount of silver badging, oem OR wheels, etc. Just enough to offset the MGM body color. I have no desire for black wheels, overlays, valances, or Pro grille. That's just me.

 

The 5th gen front in general looks nice but I still think the later model year 3rd gens, with the wider fender flares, might be the best looking from the front. But I'm also biased the chrome bits/bumpers on certain trims of that car fit it just right.

All this talk about trims but, being honest, they offered way too many trims for the 4Runner with odd "upgrades" to certain ones over others. Like, what is the point of the sport trim? lol not saying its not nice but is it necessary?

 

I like the SR5, too. I am probably also in a minority who actually likes the SR5 wheels.

I got a black valance for the front mostly by chance, but it went away when I got my bumper. I actually liked the rear valance and had no plans to alter it, unless I would get a steel bumper. Unfortunately, it ended up getting "removed" on a trail this past August.

I have never had a 3rd gen, but I think they might be the best looking generation, overall. I don't dislike any versions.

 

Limited is the ugliest trim

 

The silver valences on my ORP go perfectly well with the silver hood, fenders, doors, etc.

 

It is, and at first I didn't like the valance, BUT...

I do wonder if I would have had more damage when I caught mine on a rock if I hadn't had any sort of valance.

 

I wish Toyota offered this......a Limited that looks like the other trims.

I would have probably splurged and bought one but I was completely disinterested because of the looks.

 

A limited with a manual transfer case, crawl control/mts, 17s, lockers, and non xreas suspension, and non limiter bumpers would probably be the best trim

 

After putting sportier shoes (17 in rims and Michelin defender tires) on my limited, and letting Bud from Budbuilt design a custom rear bumper for more clearance I'm pretty much ready to hit the trails to the local mall.

Personally, I like the Xreas suspension (would prefer kdss) and I'm fully expecting it to suffer the same design failure that most Xreas suspensions have: a leak around 60k miles.

 

Wouldn't that basically just be a TRD Pro or a non-Premium OffRoad?

 

I think by basing his description on the Limited, I assume he means for it to have full-time 4WD. My own preference would be something like the ORP with full-time 4WD.

 

No because it has full time 4wd

 

You both seemed to skip right over words 3-7 in the post that said “A Limited with a manual transfer case”

 

I haven't seen a full time 4wd with a manual transfer case lever since...J100 Land Cruiser? I can't recall which gen 4Runner limited had that recently.

 

Jeep Selectrac had a lever with the choice of 2WD, 4WD full time, 4WD part time, 4WD low, and Jeep Quadratrac had a lever to choose between 4-Hi and 4-Lo.

 

what are jeeps?

 

I dislike the limited 5th gen because it goes against the idea of a 4runner. Toyota puts a front on it that give it worse approach angle, and put larger wheels on it (which I hate in every context). It's like saying "I want a 4runner, except for the integral parts of a 4runner" and Toyota gave them the Limited trim.

The earlier generations of limited were fine because it just added chrome bumpers and some fender flairs. On the 3rd gen the chrome looked in place, and nothing they changed significantly affected the performance. On the 5th gen the chrome doesn't look super good, and the modifications do affect performance. That's why most people hate the limited trim.

 

To be fair, the limited is closer to what the Prado is in many markets.

Essentially, most of the 4Runner trims are like they made the Prado better at off-roading.

 

Is the Prado better off road? If it is, I'd credit it to being an 2 inches narrower more than any changes made by the full time 4wd. Once your off road a vehicle with a locked center diff will behave the same as one with a transfer case.

The full time 4wd is a notable difference of the limited (probably done so soccer moms don't have to remember to shift out of 2wd). But that doesn't cancel out the lower side wall tires and the lower front facia.

 

I’d like to change out the chrome front bar with the sombrero for a black “TOYOTA” or magnetic grey to match my ‘23 limited. Anybody know if thats available, interchangeable or even possible? I got the limited in part to deal with the torrential monsoon we get here frequently (full time 4wd) PLUS i really wanted ventilated leather seats which are also a big plus with the sofla heat.

 

Why is 2" narrower better offroad?

 

No idea if it’s better, but the folks at 4WD 24-7 seemed surprised to see 4Runners on the trail, which suggests that it’s nowhere near the Hilux.

 

Smaller is better off road. Less weight and being narrow gives you more room to pick lines.

I'm sure that has more to do with them not having 4runner in Australia, as an American I'd be surprised to see a Prado on the trail here or in Australia.

All the experience Australia has is with the 4runner is the first 2 generations. Back when the 2nd gen was sold there the diesel engine didn't have a good reputation. Parts for them aren't available there anymore, so most that are still around are clapped out if they run at all (you can see this if you look at Facebook MP there). If that was my only experience with 4runners I'd be surprised to see one too.

 

This thing seems to do just fine picking lines despite the heavier weight and wide stance.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CXy4iVwtmKI/

A bunch of rock crawling guys go pretty wide:

https://www.instagram.com/p/CyluRAIxwNf/

 

When people run out of arguments due to the superiority of full time 4wd they start criticizing the shoes, always the shoes.

I can switch to 17's you can't switch to full time 4wd.

The front bumper and side rails are garbage, I'll give you that, but a $10 angle grinder and an afternoon later and you're up to snuff.

 

You seemed to skip right over who made the post in question

 

The gx470 has a manual transfercase.

 

Their reaction was, “We even saw some Prados out here” on their US trip…indicating that perhaps it wouldn’t be their vehicle of choice.

 

Could be interpreted as surprise because they know how rare Prados are in the USA. I'd say the same thing if I saw a new Ford Bronco while doing Canning Stock Route because they aren't sold in AU.

Shawn wore out the structural integrity of an 80 series Land Cruiser from off roading it so much. I wouldn't select a 4runner or a Prado in stock form if I were him either, not without doing at least an SAS. The 4runner Prado is a step down from a 70/80 series when it comes to brutal off road.

But I will say a 4runner is about equivalent to a Prado until someone does a side by side tear down of them. The US is without a doubt the worst place in the world to live if you love Land Cruisers, but I don't think the 4runner is a letdown compared to the Prado. And we get to roll down back window (for now), which the Prado doesn't.