Alright, let's be honest; who here is considering a 6th gen?

Right, that would be torture. Fingers hurt just looking at em

 

Love the 18' x 20' World's Best Throttle Response Controller - Pedal Commander wall decoration at SEMA.

 

Should say BANKS

 

Should be a picture of my foot.

 

Right, they’re kind of gimmicks once you read about the reality of what the device is doing

 

I agree, except for rare circumstances where manufacturer either on purpose our out of ignorance introduced delay into throttle by wire.

 

I love my PC. But you do you.

 

I love how these two guys test vehicles by absolutely beating on them.
https://youtu.be/ZHgdVRYpcD4?si=LTT3ThtFVXXlLhz4

 

"drive it like a rental"
Its not theirs.

 

Is there another way?

 

The 4Runner did not get a great review from Motor Trend in their SUV of the year testing. I agree with them that it is too expensive for what you get compared to other manufacturers.
https://www.motortrend.com/reviews/toyota-4runner-2026-suvoty

 

An argument could be made that if one buys the base 4wd SR5, it is a decent value. But the moment you want to see some of those blank buttons becoming functional it gets spendy. But then again, when I sat in one at the local dealer when an OR arrived as a dealer allocated unit. The interior feels cheaper than my 18.5k Nissan Versa, whereas a late 5th gen feels more like an updated version of a late 90s Avalon.

 

"Feels cheaper". The aesthetic of the gen6 is interesting. It "feels" busy to me. It's the polar opposite of "refined". I wonder if it was designed to be "entry level bling"! You know, for those in their 20's and 30's buying their first new "off road truck". For those in their 50's and 60's, well, you step up to the Lexus. A little more luxurious and subdued. Kind of like the difference between a G-shock watch and a Rolex.

 

I sat on a limited version this week, it was nice, then I went to see the base SR5 and I got sick quickly. You have to pay to play if you want the goodies, that's all there is to it.

 

Sadly yes. Toyota finally got hip to people upgrading lower trims to get same /better for less.can't do that anymore.

 

They’re 38s. Mammoth 4Runner is his YouTube channel. Pretty cool videos

 

Yeah, busy is another word I would use. The same interior is used from SR5 up to ORP with the exception of a bigger screen(that looks like they added it on last minute after the screen team forgot to check in earlier), absolutely no flow to any of it and to be frank, looks very hastily put together.

This one is a shot of the cockpit from one MSRP'ed at 62k. LOL.

 

Consumer Reports has yet to publish a full review of the 6th gen but projected reliability is down considerably. They rated the reliability verdict for the 2024 (last of the 5th gen) as 98/100, but 6th gen predicted reliability of 78/100. Usually as data comes in, those numbers decrease.

Even though the full review hasn't been published as we come into 2026 (?!) they did post a couple of videos on their YouTube channel: 2025 Toyota 4Runner Review and 2025 4Runner Talking Cars.

In essence, they said power and acceleration is improved, but the powertrain behaves in a clunky unrefined fashion (consistent with my experience), truck vibe and last-forever construction, unchanged from prior generations, as is wind/tire noise, inferior ride quality, etc., however interior comes across as cheap and poor-fitting in places.

Within the last year a family member and myself both opted to buy 2024 4Runners because we didn't like/want the 6th gen.

When I was shopping I test drove a 2025 TRD Offroad Premium and (after driving a Tacoma with a V6 for 15+ years) found it kind of herky-jerky in urban/suburban driving. I have another car with a turbo and I do oil changes every 3-4K miles, the last thing I want is another turbo.

 

Adding three gears would do that even with the 1GR. In many previous cases I have seen where a manufacturer swapped in an 8 speed in place of a 5 speed auto, but kept the same motor, the acceleration improved by about 20% along with about 10%-15% bump in fuel economy, think FCA examples where the ZF 8HP/Powerline/Torqueflite variants replaced the W5A580 or RFE applications. So with the new drivetrain I would put money that much of the perceived and measured improvement is from the transmission update.

The fact that the acceleration numbers of the 6th gen is about the same in the case of the gas only version, and in fact measurably slower in the hybrid version, tells me Toyota does not have confidence in the 8 speed to handle the increased power of the turbo motor and much increased torque of the hybrid drivetrain. By the numbers the 6th gen should be running low to mid 6s to 60 like wranglers are, but all testing I have show they are either stuck at around 7.5s for the gas version, or got even worse to about 8 second with the "iForce Max" high end models.

I know Toyota people dismiss Jeeps but there is no denying the pentastar/8HP combo has been working out pretty well since 2017 in JLs and in the LD platform sedans since 2012and they are real pocket rockets compared to 4runners, all other parts of the vehicles notwithstanding.

 

I sat in the new Subaru Outback at the ski expo a few days ago. The interior is really nice. So much more refined than what Toyota is doing lately.

 

Very well said.

The interior looks a lot nicer in the Tacoma Limited or in the 4Runner Limited and higher trim models…BUT you shouldn’t have to go that expensive of a trim to get a quality interior. My 2015 Trail Premium at least has soft touch materials on the door panels. It’s like Toyota did not really understand about what made the 5th gen 4Runner so compelling, and just did a redesign of multiple vehicles at once and dropped them all on the market within a year of each other.

 

Don't forget that ultra high clearance rear bumper...





Honestly this thing looks sick. Just needs the tundra's 5.7L V8 and I'd buy one just for the Nguyenworks bumper options.

 

I'm not crazy about the new look and I'm definitely not a fan of a turbo charged 4 cylinder. I'm still very happy with my 2010 SR5. I'll never sell it. I have only 120K miles on it.

 

Starting to see them more and more in my area. I'm still happy with the 5th gen... No Regrets.

I will say, the Land Cruiser turns my head more than the 6th gen.

 

We drove our first-gen Sequoia for nearly 20 years. Well-maintained. Loved that truck.

What we did not love was, after 16 or 17 years, a lot of the important "little things" started to go. The latch for the hatchback, we replaced it twice. The latch for the driver's side door was on its way out. Lubrication, maybe too little/too late, did not seem to help.

Once my wife was driving it and I was far away at work, and she was stuck and unable to get the driver's door to close and latch.

(Trying to learn from that experience, I occasionally lubricate the latches on my other Toyota vehicles with a decent oil.)

Unfortunately for us, when the Sequoia still had tens of thousands of miles of life left on the engine/powertrain, we finally sold it mostly because we no longer needed three rows, got tired of paying for the V8 which was very thirsty, and the latch issues were not getting any better. My memory is increasingly iffy, but IIRC the cost of an OEM Toyota driver's door replacement latch was $400-ish, the last time I looked.

Anyway, to help keep this post on-topic, Consumer Reports has posted a review on the 2025 Land Cruiser. Nowhere near as good as the 2024 4Runner. Likewise, the 2025 Sequoia. Still, outside of the videos I linked upthread, still nothing on the 2025 4Runner, though they gave the last year of the 5th gen (2024) extremely good reliability numbers, which was definitely part of my calculus for buying.

 

In all fairness, Roman and TFL were too crazy for taking an Outback up that trail. Subaru's schtick has been more of the "rally" type of off-roading so perfect for snow, mud, dirt... not hard obstacles! I have the a 5th gen Outback 3.6R Limited as a daily... I absolutely love it! I've done snowy roads and dirt roads on it and it does excellent... but I'd never attempt anything my ORP can do though.

 

Totally concur. The wife and both daughters all have Foresters. They perform well in the circumstances you describe, and I have affection and respect for them, but they can’t touch the capabilities of the 4Runner.

 

Exactly. They're extremely capable in soft-roading conditions. Plus, that CVT is on no way shape or form capable of handling what TFL puts truck through.

NGL, I do like the new 7th gen Outback even tho it lost the wagon characteristic of Outbacks. I wish they would bring that glorious 3.6R, I'm in love with it.

 

I saw another new 6th gen without a new dent today. I just realized they look a little like a 1st generation Dodge Durango that's been hit on both sides with a Tacoma, but that's just me. I liked the 1st generation Durango when they first came out back in day too.