Love our 2023 TRD Pro!

Hi everyone! My husband and I are the proud owners of a new 2023 TRD Pro in Ice Cap white. It looks just like every other white TRD Pro out there, but we love it because it’s ours!



We did a lot of research leading up to this decision. Our daily drivers are a venerable 2008 Prius (making some rattling sounds but still going strong!) and a 2012 Porsche Cayenne turbo. We were looking for something in between that offered greater cargo capacity with 4WD or AWD. We considered all-electric cars but decided that we aren’t quite ready to make that leap. We also thought about a second hybrid, but our Prius fills the economical commuter car role for us so we didn’t feel compelled to buy another.

When my husband suggested a 4Runner, I was intrigued! We’ve always owned and liked Toyotas. In particular, I’ve come to appreciate our 2008 Prius because it has been bulletproof in comparison to the Cayenne. The characterization of the 4Runner as the “dinosaur” of the Toyota lineup ironically was a key selling point for me: I fully appreciate the 4Runner’s proven drivetrain and easy-access maintenance.

We test-drove a TRD Off Road Premium with KDSS and then the TRD Pro. The big surprise for us was that we preferred the handling and ride of the Pro over the ORP with the KDSS. We are very glad we experienced both systems for ourselves and I’d encourage people to drive both types.

Even though we have no plans to off-road our truck, I am very grateful for this forum and I really enjoy reading about what all of you are doing with yours! I love that the 4Runner comes in so many variants that make it possible for people to modify their truck for their own needs.

I leave you with a photo of one of our pups who is very excited to be a 4Runner Dog. He is just 5 months old and has a bit of growing to do but he is getting a good start!



Best wishes to all of you and thank you for your inspirational stories and advice!

 

Welcome from SoCal

 

Welcome to the forums! Nice write up I’ll have to share it with my wife. This is one ONG the SUVs she likes. We’ve been waiting for a Pro to test drive.

 

Congrats OP @betsy and welcome here !
Heck of an investment and slick ride.
Ya I have a "pre-ORP" Trail Edition w/ kdss, and I hear the TRD PRO has the best feeling suspension smoothest ride.
Cheers

 

Welcome! I agree on pretty much everything you said, and we reached the same conclusions. It may be a dinosaur but it’s been the best vehicle Toyota makes for a long time.

 

Welcome to the forum, and congrats.

 

@Dabigono Thank you for the warm welcome!
@Hyrule_trd Hope you get a chance to try the Pro. We appreciated the commentary here on the KDSS and it helped us to consider the options. I think it comes down to individual preference and a test drive was the right way for us to make the decision.
@djwantke Yes indeed it's a significant purchase but knowing how long these 4Runners last helped us to feel more comfortable with it.
@tundy Hurray for the dinosaurs!

 

Word

 

Welcome from San Diego!

 

Welcome from Wisconsin!

 

Welcome

 

Welcome! And Congrats!

 

@deltabravo @DesertSurfer @Toy4X4 @Steely123 @RusPro17 Thank you guys so much!

 

congratulations! My favorite color, love the black wheels contrast with white.

 

Congratulations! Welcome to the club

 

True, if its for my family it would be 3rd vehicle that can be used on clear days / non winter storm days, vs with our 4Runners we don't care even if we have closer to feet of snow. I've taken my kiddo to doctors on such days and glad we have 4Runner.

If 4Runners go turbo route with 6th gen I would probably start going hybrid route with lease if we ever have to replace our 4Runners. Since lease will have to keep them stock. So offroading may not be a good idea for a leased vehicle.

Other than the comfort of thinner sway bar allowing suspension to work more freely you will also appreciate the reliability of having a non hydraulic fluid sway bar.

We also have a Limited for 99% city use. Absolutely love the reliability and don't have to worry about the weather or even curbs and what not. (We have 17in wheels and tires on our Limited)

4Runner is the best for dogs imo. Every time I take my doggo I crack the glass down a little. I do have a low profile fan plugged in to the 12v outlet in the back for good air circulation.

 

Welcome to the family.

 

@broken-giver Yes, we think the white looks pretty sharp against the blackout logos. Thank you!
@hossler1788 Thanks for the warm welcome!
@kmeeg We read many comparisons between KDSS and non-KDSS (X-REAS?) suspensions, but not a lot about KDSS vs the Pro suspension. For us the decision was based on the feel of the truck in motion, but I'm interested in more on how the Pro suspension differs.
@Pentangler Thank you so much! It does feel like a family here and we appreciate it.

 

The mod fever will hit soon as your on here for a while. Lol.

 

Oh we're already starting. Right now we're agonizing over what kind of cargo area protection we should get. Husky or WeatherTech or one of the odd-named brands -- the debate is eternal. One brand also offers armor plates (so to speak) for the back of the second-row seats. We have scraped up the back of our seats in the other cars by shoving cargo forward from the back, so this idea has some appeal. (I know cargo trays don't exactly count as "mods" but bear with us!)

We've also noticed that our car has the older style of Pro wheels instead of the newer design, and that the old style is cast while the newer style is flowed (not sure what that means) which some have characterized as an improved manufacturing technique. But I checked prices and noted that the old wheels are more expensive than the newer ones. If the new wheels are an improvement I would have expected the opposite. Why would this be?

 

I would go with canvasback for the protection in the back. Yes a little expensive but very nice. I’m doing another set because I had them in my 20 AG. Great also cause of dogs which I see you have and so do we. One issue you will find with the new Pro wheel is there is over 2400 center caps on back order. The wheels are available but who knows when the caps will come available. My 23 SO has the older wheel which I wanted the new wheel because my 17 and 20 had the older wheel. But that will be taken care of soon because of Toyota customer service I spoke with a real nice woman who is really helping me out. I will know soon about the new wheel.

 

Its like toyota is putting the old trd wheels on and hoping the buyer won't notice.

 

Thanks so much @RusPro17 ! We're ordering the Canvasback!

 

Thanks, @hossler1788 . We certainly didn't notice at the time of purchase. It's only from reading this forum that I saw the info about the new wheel design. May I ask if the new wheel is substantively better than the previous version?

 

Flow form is probably a bit stronger, I believe the wheels are also lighter.

 

Thank you for that information! I appreciate you and all the other helpful folks here.

 

Welcome from the center of the bourbon universe.

 

Welcome! We're twinning.

 

Welcome from Arizona!

 

Welcome and congrats