Soon to be a new 4runner owner!

Hi all! I usually creep around the tacoma world website since I purchased my 2021 Tacoma access cab last February. I love that truck and so does my wife. She currently drives a 2016 Kia Forte and she hates it. It's small and sucks in the snow. So fast forward 8 months and we just put a deposit down on a 2022 4runner SR5 premium that should arrive in mid October. The wife is thrilled and quite honestly so am I. Looking forward to having 2 great off road vehicles to choose from. My only reservation is that maybe I should go with the OR premium. It's not a lot more money all things considered and my wife loves the interior on the Off Road. I change opinions daily.

 

welcome

 

welcome and enjoy the new vehicle!

 

Welcome from Arizona!

 

Welcome! Congrats on the upcoming purchase.

I could go either way on it. If you know it you don't need the off-road features such as the rear locker, the SR5 is completely adequate and will be a great vehicle. On the other hand, if the money is not an issue for you, and you will use the features, I think it is worth it to upgrade to the OR.

If it's simply about the look, you could just swap out the wheels and change the valances on the SR5 to get a similar look.

One way to justify the OR would be that the resale value will most likely be a little bit better.

 

Welcome to the forum.

 

Maybe the SR5 premium? The limited are dam nice as well, but the real question is what’s the expectations for this vehicle? Is it an off reader or daily driver.

 

It's going to be a daily driver with the expectation of doing some off roading once it has aged a little. Will try to keep it scratch free for as long as possible. But once those first scratches appear it will be ready for more. I've looked at the limited and it has 2 issues for me. Too expensive and too much chrome. Not a fan of the 20 inch wheels either. I realize I may never use the lockers and crawl control but it would be nice to have them just in case. These North East winters can be a real treat.

 

We had a limited for a short time, too much chrome, so we got rid of it. Now I’m in search of an ORP in AG with KDSS

Ya the north east winter can be interesting

 

My wife didn't like to drive my TRD ORP in winter as the 4wd shifter is not convenient for her to use. She even said the rotating dial on our SR5 is annoying to shift back and forth in winter. She loves the Limited for its full time 4wd.

But my favorite is TRD ORP without KDSS. Most trouble free trim from the 4runner line up imo.

Again, if possible let her drive and see which one she likes. I know it's impossible to get test drives.

 

Why no KDSS? I would think with out upgrades, that would be dam good on the road.

 

I didn't feel it's damn good while I drive and then found the problems. So I picked no KDSS.

Update-
Not going to go in to details on problems like in the past as some members take it personally and get angry.

 

Considering the fact that my wife is currently driving a 2016 Kia Forte, I don't think turning a knob to get into 4 wheel drive on a brand new 4runner would be a point of contention for her. At least it better not be.... Lol.

 

That knob is not at all hard to use. It's just the inconvenience to shift back and forth from 2wd - 4wd - 2wd is the problem. I mean shift to 4wd when you see snow / ice patch and then switch it back to 2wd when the road is dry. This happens only on light snow days where some parts of the road is dry and place where sun doesn't hit it still got snow. My wife is not a car person so she doesn't like to do that. One time the SR5 skid because she forgot to put in 4wd. Rear wheels put power on a snowy patch on a curve and over steered. My wife is a little heavy foot driver. Again just sharing my experience so you can think about a little bit before you make your final decision. Absolutely not trying to say Limited is the best trim to buy. I personally love TRD ORP over Limited.

 

Your in a pro now? Not trying to get folks worked up, just trying to know what to look for, it’s going to be hard to get exactly what I want with out spending more than MSRP.

 

Yes I have a Pro now. Long story short the Toyota dealership crashed my TRD ORP while returning the vehicle after service. Since the cannot install all the aftermarket stuff to a new ORP the closest they can give me is a TRD Pro. Didn't want to fight more, just got the Pro.

There are few things I don't like on the Pro. Suspension & Tires are major. Suspension on road is not to my taste. I hated the tires on the first day I took it on a trail with mud. For now I changed the tires. Will work on the suspension later. Recently I saw the new Icon CDEV series. Again not sure yet what I will do.

Bottom line in my opinion buying a TRD Pro is useless. Very important "in my opinion".

 

@kmeeg is steering you towards a Limited due to how his wife has reacted in the past, and he makes some valid points. However, you are the one who knows what your wife will like or not, and IMO the SR5 with the dial 4WD would be more than most people will ever need. The OR extras are nice to have, no question, but for the cost, I bet most (me included) will most likely not use them in the life of the truck more than a few times. I could easily have gone SR5 and never missed all the OR gadgetry. I chose OR due to the 4WD shifter, but it may be more trouble for your wife than it's worth.

If you do decide to go with the OR, the KDSS is great to have, much more so than all the off-road gadgets.

 

What aftermarket stuff can't they install on the ORP? I haven't been told by my dealer that there are any limitations with the mods I am planning on doing (3" lift toytec lift/285 tires/bumpers/wench). They did tell me I can't do KDSS with a lift which I'm not sure is true (I've seen others say they have KDSS with 3" lifts).

 

I had ELKA suspension, 285 tires, skids, sliders, lights, etc.. That is too much work for a dealership when replacing a vehicle for the customer.
https://youtu.be/WCyzwYRZqwc

As far as i've heard Toytec Aluma is a really really good lift kit with very good wheel travel. KDSS equipped vehicles has bit more pieces to void few things but the main components of the lift is same. Talk to Hugo at Toytec and he will tell you exactly what is needed with the toytec lift for KDSS. You can also ask Hugo if they recommend any installer near you. I would not let Toyota dealer to install lift for KDSS vehicles as they don't have much idea. You can go to Toyota dealer for KDSS problems but not for lift. Here in Denver CO I know Toytec and RSG Offroad install lifts on KDSS without giving owners headaches.

 

Here in Denver CO I know Toytec and RSG Offroad install lifts on KDSS without giving owners headaches.[/QUOTE]

I'm west of Co Springs. Was planning on doing my lift at the dealer. They said I would have issues with warranty if I went somewhere else for it. Since learned that's not true (unless they can prove the work that is done at another shop is what caused a warranty covered part to fail). Have had some issues with them since then that would have caused me to go to another dealer if there was one in the city (both Toyotas are same owner). Have talked with 3D off-road locally. While I'd love to go to Toytec or RSG, I'm 2+ hours from Denver so only having to drive 1 hour to Co Springs if there are problems or tweaks needed with the work I get done is much more tolerable.

 

When I was about to lift my SR5 with spacer lift the dealership strait up told me that it will void the warranty for related parts and not void anything for any other like engine related or electronics, etc.. Then I thought why on earth I pay extra to Dealership.

After that when I lifted my TRD ORP with Toytec for the first time I was amazed the little things they explained like a diff drop kit and why adjustable uca is needed, etc. I knew the Toyota dealership I went after an accident repair how dumb they were and have no idea even to adjust uca (this is a dealership who repaired 2 vehicles with kdss leaks from 4Runner CO FB group). The dealership were good with stock Toyota parts and poor knowledge and workmanship in aftermarket stuff. When I got ELKA lift Toytec recommend me to extend the brake lines as they have a good wheel travel. I doubt dealership would know this.

Consider yourself lucky you are in CO spring and going to Toytec or RSG is not too bad. I have very good relationship with Toytec with multiple vehicles and they keep my vehicle to be picked up at my convenience. They are friendly and they might do the same for you as well. Just ask them. Again Toytec won't pay for me to say this but I highly recommend them to take care of your 4Runner when it comes to lift. Same time you can ask them to install a diff breather as well. A minor yet an important upgrade.

You can check the work done at RSG offroad as well if you are in CO 4Runner FB group. They seems have really good workmanship as well. One of the builds is an insane 4R build you should search and watch. i will not spoil it.
Again this is just my opinion its up for you to decide what's best for you.