Hate to admit it, but the Ranger Raptor will destroy Taco/4R TRD Pro/Trailhunter sales

Ew Tiguans are just ugly bigger GTIs. I'm a VW fan but most of the new cars are just an abomination. Long live the MK7 GTI!

 

The vehicles that you mentioned are not in 4Runner's class. 4Runner is not the best at anything but does everything. Heck I have done some rock crawling with it lol. It is the best jack of all trades out there. Appreciate your 4Runner for what it is, and take it offroad and see the A-Trac magic

 

Toyota and its dealers are screwing themselves over. It is true, Tundras in my area are collecting pollen as we speak.

https://youtu.be/zqDn_dmr9x4?si=vGKdH_HedzOGVa2V

 

This came up on Tacomaworld also. It seemed like the video is just click bait, so I'll skip it.

But, I will say that if vehicles aren't selling, it's probably due to a combination of high prices, high interest rates, and uncertainty about the new drivetrain.

I also said that I hope Landcruiser and 4Runner sales suck also, so folks who want them can get a deal.

 

I would also assume that most people who wanted a tacoma already have one, and there is not much to be gained trading toward these new models. Most offroaders mod anyway, so mods can help close the gap on certain features on the newer models since there is nothing absolutely revolutionary.

 

Unfortunately there is no VW competitor to the 4runner and they do not compete in the same market. If you bought the 4runner for towing you also bought something in the wrong category as the sequoia or tundra would have been better within the Toyota lineup.

I am not a Toyota fanboy but realize each thing has its purpose. I have a 4runner and an Audi; the Audi is my fun daily and I use the 4runner is for bad weather, offroading, camping and hunting. The 4runner can be a comfortable daily as well, but its not meant to compete with sportier non-offroad SUV's. I am not a fan of the VW designs personally as they look pretty plain and not special. I am also not a fan of all the chrome trims on them.

 

The 4Runner can be an excellent choice for towing, depending on what segment you're looking at. I'd much rather tow with the 4R than a Wrangler or Bronco. And I would much rather tow, haul, and drive rough roads in a 4R than a Highlander or Pilot. They all come standard with the towing package, so somebody out there thinks they can tow.

I thought about a Sequoia or Tundra when I was shopping, but I daily-drive a heck of a lot more than I tow (and almost never have to tow over 4000 lbs), so the extra size, cost, and fuel consumption of those two didn't compute for my use case.

The Tundra would've been wonderful that one time I pulled 5000 lbs in a bulky trailer (which walked the 4R all over the lane), but it would piss me off every time I pull into my tiny suburbia driveway. And Sunbelt rents Super Duty's if I ever need to pull something stupid heavy.

Edit: I wanted more interior space than a Tacoma, otherwise that would have been a viable option as well.

 

It is fine for towing 1-2000k lbs(which I have done before), but he mentions pushing close to the limit as a backup tow vehicle. It is not as good in that case.

 

If I'm looking at the right post, it mentions being able to tow 3700# in a pinch, which would be fine. I've towed over the limit twice (in a pinch, I don't recommend it)and it did surprisingly well. But, I'm also not some psycho trying to tow at 80 mph.

 

Agreed that is the very reason I went with a 4 Runner. I was coming into a brand I personally didn't like aside from a couple models. When shopping around it had to fit a family of 5 + dogs and still have at minimum 5k towing. I wasn't looking for a tow vehicle at the time. I tow with another, but if I had been i'd have gone for a larger GMC 2500 or Ford 250 to suit my needs for the future. I was dipping my toe into a brand again I didn't like mainly from a aesthetics standpoint and not mechanical. I've always considered myself as handy and am a terrific back yard mechanic having wrenched on a large array of cars and trucks and bikes for 40+ years. It's something I enjoy as well as racing bikes and cars.
When summer rolled around there had been enough time for complaints on the next gen Tundras to start popping up on the web. The Tacoma was out entirely by size alone. Not enough interior space plus the rear seats didn't recline like the 4 Runner. Driving past my local dealer what actually caught my eye was the black 40th Anniversary series sitting on the lot. I pulled over immediately and had to take a look. I always like the 5th gens body lines. When they added that old school paint scheme and stripes combo like an old A-Team van I was hooked. Before I pulled the trigger however I wanted to research the model and find what options were available. I was coming from Euro models. I was extremely disappointed to find out the Anniversary series wasn't available in a ORP or PRO edition with the off road features. I came to the conclusion that the ORP was the route I would take just based on personal suspension customization options. The jury is still out on whether I will continue to like Toyota or own Toyota's. If this 4 Runner is good to me maybe I will continue to be a repeat customer. They will have to work hard to keep me there if VW comes out with the Scout SUV as well. I could see me jump ship after only owning the 4 Runner to try my luck at my first fully Electric dedicated Off Roader.

 

Pretty sure a family of 5 and cargo also reduces that 5k max.

 

Does it reduce it by more than 1300#?

Also, keep in mind that no-one is talking about using it as a primary tow vehicle in this situation.

 

Definitely. I drive very conservatively when towing. 65 mph tops, early braking, giving myself extra space to the vehicle ahead of me, etc.

Unfortunately, I regularly see people driving like absolute maniacs, even when towing very large trailers. Some seem to think that everything is fine as long as the truck has enough power to tow that fast.

 

It could reduce it even more if there is no gvwr left for the tongue weight of that trailer. And yes understood, I am just saying there could have been other larger SUV's to choose from as a primary street vehicle and secondary tow vehicle for him. As @Yotaholic mentioned it is a good jack of all trades, but a master of none. If I was going to tow or haul anything heavier than an ATV I would have gotten something bigger myself as well.

 

Agreed. I wouldn't want to be maxing it out on a regular basis. I'd have no issue with towing a small travel trailer occasionally. But, I would go full size if towing was a top priority.

 

Those are the ones you see spinning into the ditch on someone's dash cam video on YouTube.

 

I also don't know how much I trust the stock brakes tbh with that much weight depending on terrain. I was already getting brake fade going up/down I70 or I25 between states here in CO. Given I am pretty heavy with full skids etc and full camping gear. I just upgraded to slotted stoptech rotors and EBC yellow brake pads so we will see how they hand when I drive to NM in a few weeks.

 

It does but we almost never take 1 vehicle when traveling. We have far too much *junk* as you would say my wife likes to take along. Bikes, Kayaks, life vests, maybe motorcycles, coolers, Camp or beach crap. If I had to tow our 3,700lbs trailer with my 4 Runner more than likely I would not be having my entire family sitting inside with me at the same time. It really is close to the limit with passenger weight, dogs, gear and then trailer weight etc. I wish VW never got rid of the Diesel Toureg from the US shores. 7,700 lbs on a SUV was fantastic. Plus integrated transmission oil coolers. That is one thing they did very very well. I am glad to see that the 6th Gen 4 Runner went up an additional 1,000 lbs. That takes away the worry about passengers and gear out of the equation and still being able to tow a camper.

 

3500 k camper easy peasy

 

1) Toyota interest rate is higher than everyone else (dunno why but its gotta be screwing them)
2) Toyota dealers are adding crap tons of "fluff" to jack up the price to make more money. In my many years of buying vehicles, the Toyota seems to have the least amount of dealer mark-up because NO dealer will knock off more than -$5,000 off sticker for ANY Toyota. The Tundra to a Camry, if you get more than -$4,800 off you are doing amazing. GM, Dodge, Ram, Chevrolet and the others are all easy to get -$8,000 off sticker and if you push them hard on the higher end vehicles you can get -$10,000 and up to -$11,000 off sticker. This makes me assume Toyota gives their dealers the least amount of dealer mark up, and so this is why all of the Toyota dealers are all adding "fluff" to make their profit margins look better.
3)Everything is double what it was 4 years ago. Sure they have that Tacoma listed at $50k but that is a TRD Offroad with "fluff" and all the bells and whistles and blackout package. Go to a dealer and tell me what a GMC or Chevrolet 1500/Sierra AT4 decked out costs.
Lookie'Loo i found one at the local dealer
$83,000 with no running boards. Black grille, black bumpers, black fender flares. If you swapped the badges and tires and wheels this could be a commercial version. If you put the commercial version steel wheels on this, it looks like a base model. This is what $83,000 buys you at a GM dealer?
https://www.georgecarr.com/VehicleD...ox_4_Wheel_Drive_AT4X-VICKSBURG-MS/5723815290

 

FYI, politics are forbidden here. This post is likely to get you a vacation. You might want to delete it.

 

Bump the shifter over to the left, and then bump it down a notch or two as you slow down. This downshifts the trans and allows the engine to help you brake and also gives a higher vacuum which makes your brakes clamp harder. I always use the shifter to bump into lower gear on hills and especially when towing. I have been doing this years and even though i tow 30% of my driving with my trucks and 4R my brakes always last 100,000+ miles.

 

Yea I try to do that when possible. My brakes don't wear that quickly, I still had 4mm left when I changed them but on those long trips I would get brake fade.

 

I see a shit-ton of new Tundras in my area. They're all over the place. Weirdly enough, the internet would have you believe they're all flawed with the twin turbo wastegate but I've never seen one broken down on the side of the road. They're all driving along on their merry ways. Strange.

I have only seen two 2024 Tacomas so far. To be fair, they are a year newer but I do believe the higher cost and interest rates are holding people back. As a result, sales must not be meeting expectations because the dealer nearest to me is already offering $2k off MSRP.

 

I am always looking at them on here...https://www.japaneseclassics.com/inventory/

 

Apparently this is unheard of but all the Toyota dealerships around me dropped 4Runner rates to 4.99%. Multiple Toyota salespeople told me that they’ve never seen such low rates on 4Runners before (even though 4.99% isn’t in itself an awesome rate). Hmm I wonder if that’s a sign that they really wanna clear 5th gens off the lots

 

Maybe this is a very recent thing, i hadnt heard of it here locally where i am.
Two months ago Toyota was at like 7.5% for anything over 48months with perfect credit. Kinda crazy that local banks and credit unions were beating them by a fair margin. I think Toyota was like 8+% for the longer terms like 72mo. They are doing their own financing, they can control the rate, they would make more money dropping the rate and selling more vehicles than they would having the rates high and not selling as many.
I think the thing was, thru 2022 and 2023 people were buying vehicles as fast as they could hit the lots. Didnt matter if a truck showed up with 6 new vehicles on it to the dealer per week, pretty much every one of them was spoken for and picked up within 2 days. Dealers across the country were bare on inventory thru late fall last year. Interest rates kept creeping higher and higher and people started buying less and less. Eventually it got where people were not buying and dealer lots started filling up. I personally think people have spent themselves broke lately and cant afford anything, every new car on the lot is $700+ a month unless you are putting money down. Folks have spent themselves to a point they dont have anyting in the bank accounts and cant afford these notes. Its crazy every time i see someone in a big money vehicle, friend just took his 2024 F250 Tremor with all the bells and whistles sticker was $96,000. He put $10,000 down and still has a $1300+ note a month. Its really crazy how much people are spending on a vehicle.

 

My Jack in action, baby towing, nothing serious

 

Yes it’s very recent, maybe a week ago. It went from like 9.5% to 4.99% on 36, 48, and 60 months, and 5.99% on 72 months. Two Toyota employees told me that I was mistaken, then after putting me on hold they were like Damn you’re right lol

 

There's a YouTuber who pulls cars with his 4Runner,
not to mention all the Jeepy wheeling that he does on the trails.150,000 miles and still running strong lol. This truck is truly the best jack of all trades