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- #1
Hi,
As the title says, these are just some initial thoughts of my TRD Pro and not a comprehensive review. Also please note that this is not only my first 4Runner, but at 58yo and over seventy vehicles of all types, also my first Toyota ever. Also it should be noted that I bought this as a ‘swiss army’ vehicle, something that can be used mostly as a daily schlepper, apocalypse escaper, and moderate to aggressive off-roader when we’re in Sedona AZ about six weeks a year. Last, before anyone says that some of many observations are off road tire or body on frame truck related, please know that I have recently owned both a Gen 2 Raptor and a Ram TRX, both obviously off-road focused and with much bigger A/T oem tires.
Pros:
- Looks great inside and out.
- Very comfortable ride quality around town and handles better than I expected given its weight and high center of gravity.
- Not fast by any stretch of the imagination but punchier than I expected.
- Not tested off-road yet but impressed with the available terrain modes.
- Great ergonomics, intuitive infotainment system, decent sound system.
- Loaded with all the needed options (HUD would have been a bonus)
Cons:
- Exhaust drone. This is a thing. It’s fine under accel and decel, and you get a nice hint of a turbo whistle, but cruising at 45mph while the thing is in either of the top two gears is an affront to the ears. Once you get to above 55 the road/wind noise drown it out but it’s annoying when you‘re in 50 ish mph cruise controlling. Sport mode helps a little getting there, but once you’re at that speed there’s no avoiding it in any mode.
- Interior rattles. This one really surprised me because I was under the impression that Toyota would be the one brand that would have sorted that out. Again I get the deal with BoF trucks, and maybe my expectations were too high, but uneven terrain induced rattles aside I shouldn’t hear my doors and other interior panels vibrate listening to music at moderate volume and with the bass set at 50%. That’s an indication of poor part adhesion/connection, and if they can’t stop the speakers from doing it body flex is certainly going to make the thing rattle.
- My biggest gripe is vibration related, and this is why I noted that this isn’t my first time on A/T tires so I don’t think it has anything to do with it (although different AT tires do have different characteristics so it could be related). Everything vibrates on this thing inside and out, some things very slightly and some things quite a lot. Some things are ride induced others aerodynamically induced. The hood is both, and not just the ridge you see from the driver’s pov, but the whole thing just flexes up and down at any speed, add wind to it at highway speeds and it basically never goes away no matter how smooth the road is. It’s both distracting and annoying. The outside mirrors also vibrate at highway speeds. You can see the steering wheel and top of the headrests also slightly vibrate as the speed increases. I’m going to take it to the dealer at 1000 miles for an oil change and I’ll ask them to check the balance and alignment and hopefully something was slightly off from the factory, otherwise this could get old real quick on a long road trip. I‘m waiting till then because sometimes such things can improve as the vehicle settles and tread wears off.
- Can’t get the digital key to work. Bluetooth is connected, iphone is connected, carplay is connected, the rest of the app works, but it keeps telling me to connect Bluetooth every time I try to set up the app key. Maybe I’ll delete the app and start over to see if that works.
I know it sounds like I’ve been more negative than positive, but fundamentally I really like the truck … these are small to medium initial issues that are keeping me from instantly loving it. Alternatively if I don’t resolve them or get used to them, they could also wear on me over time.
That’s all I got after 200 miles … obviously any thoughts and feedback are appreciated.
- soul
As the title says, these are just some initial thoughts of my TRD Pro and not a comprehensive review. Also please note that this is not only my first 4Runner, but at 58yo and over seventy vehicles of all types, also my first Toyota ever. Also it should be noted that I bought this as a ‘swiss army’ vehicle, something that can be used mostly as a daily schlepper, apocalypse escaper, and moderate to aggressive off-roader when we’re in Sedona AZ about six weeks a year. Last, before anyone says that some of many observations are off road tire or body on frame truck related, please know that I have recently owned both a Gen 2 Raptor and a Ram TRX, both obviously off-road focused and with much bigger A/T oem tires.
Pros:
- Looks great inside and out.
- Very comfortable ride quality around town and handles better than I expected given its weight and high center of gravity.
- Not fast by any stretch of the imagination but punchier than I expected.
- Not tested off-road yet but impressed with the available terrain modes.
- Great ergonomics, intuitive infotainment system, decent sound system.
- Loaded with all the needed options (HUD would have been a bonus)
Cons:
- Exhaust drone. This is a thing. It’s fine under accel and decel, and you get a nice hint of a turbo whistle, but cruising at 45mph while the thing is in either of the top two gears is an affront to the ears. Once you get to above 55 the road/wind noise drown it out but it’s annoying when you‘re in 50 ish mph cruise controlling. Sport mode helps a little getting there, but once you’re at that speed there’s no avoiding it in any mode.
- Interior rattles. This one really surprised me because I was under the impression that Toyota would be the one brand that would have sorted that out. Again I get the deal with BoF trucks, and maybe my expectations were too high, but uneven terrain induced rattles aside I shouldn’t hear my doors and other interior panels vibrate listening to music at moderate volume and with the bass set at 50%. That’s an indication of poor part adhesion/connection, and if they can’t stop the speakers from doing it body flex is certainly going to make the thing rattle.
- My biggest gripe is vibration related, and this is why I noted that this isn’t my first time on A/T tires so I don’t think it has anything to do with it (although different AT tires do have different characteristics so it could be related). Everything vibrates on this thing inside and out, some things very slightly and some things quite a lot. Some things are ride induced others aerodynamically induced. The hood is both, and not just the ridge you see from the driver’s pov, but the whole thing just flexes up and down at any speed, add wind to it at highway speeds and it basically never goes away no matter how smooth the road is. It’s both distracting and annoying. The outside mirrors also vibrate at highway speeds. You can see the steering wheel and top of the headrests also slightly vibrate as the speed increases. I’m going to take it to the dealer at 1000 miles for an oil change and I’ll ask them to check the balance and alignment and hopefully something was slightly off from the factory, otherwise this could get old real quick on a long road trip. I‘m waiting till then because sometimes such things can improve as the vehicle settles and tread wears off.
- Can’t get the digital key to work. Bluetooth is connected, iphone is connected, carplay is connected, the rest of the app works, but it keeps telling me to connect Bluetooth every time I try to set up the app key. Maybe I’ll delete the app and start over to see if that works.
I know it sounds like I’ve been more negative than positive, but fundamentally I really like the truck … these are small to medium initial issues that are keeping me from instantly loving it. Alternatively if I don’t resolve them or get used to them, they could also wear on me over time.
That’s all I got after 200 miles … obviously any thoughts and feedback are appreciated.
- soul
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