Pre-owned TRD Pro and Off Road vs SR5 Premium?

Hello all.
I'm planning on buying a recent pre-owned 5th Gen 4 Runner in spring 2024.
I've looked on the Toyota site under their "Certified Pre-Owned Vehicles" section and there's quite a spread of prices depending on how far I'm willing to travel to buy the car.
What I want, and all I really need is an SR5 Premium. However, I've seen TRD Off Road Premiums and TRD Pro's for around the same price with similar mileage. This will be my wife's car and we really have no plans to do any heavy duty off roading. So I have 3 basic questions:

- All things being equal, (price, mileage) does it make sense to purchase either of the 2 more premium 4 Runners over the SR5 Premium?

- Will the additional off road features of the 2 more premium versions (Locking rear differential, CRAWL Control,
and Multi-Terrain Select) require more frequent (and more expensive) maintenance?

- If we never use any of those features is that a bad thing, or do I need to engage them occasionally just to keep things in order?

Thanks all

 

SR5 or even Limited.

Limited yes but not the TRD OR.

The locker will need to be exercised like the 4wd. It's good practice to do this so they work correctly when you use them. The other stuff is just programming so no need to exercise it.

 

Thanks for the reply.
Definitely don't want the Limited as it's Full Time 4WD.

 

Your wife will probably like the sunglasses holder more over the MTS/CRAWL knobs.

 

One less thing for her to mess with. Also it has a center lock for part time 4wd use.

 

Correction - it doesn't have a center lock, it lacks a center differential.

 

All other things being equal (mileage, year, general condition) if you can spend the same amount for a higher trim then I would do that. The resale should be better down the road (I realize the irony of saying that if you are getting it for the same price now, but...) and you may end up desiring some of those features once you have owned the more basic version for a while. Rear locker especially is rather valuable IMO - when you need it, you need it.

There aren't any other maintenance needs for the higher trim models - just exercise the 4WD once in a while and engage / disengage the locker once in a while.

 

I was talking about the Limited which does have a center lock.

 

The LE has a locking transfer case AND a Torsen differential (what enables FT 4WD). It’s the same drive train as the LC.

Cheers

 

My wife really dislike the manual 4wd selector on TRD ORP/ Pro. So better test drive and see if she is ok shifting back and forth while driving.


I'm a big fan of 3rd row 4Runners, we love our 3rd row SR5 and Limited. With Limited's fulltime 4wd my wife doesn't have to think about anything in winter, just drive.
Love the extra ground clearance 4runners have vs other vehicle we looked at, the highlander and gx460 that have 8in clearance.

 

Why don't you want full time 4wd?

 

Thanks for the great responses folks.
Anybody else?

 

Well, I'm sure full time 4wd gets worse mileage.
And RWD is a more natural feel most of the time.
Plus it puts a lot more wear on the front diff.
Plus, it's a lot more $!

 

Gotcha. I don't think they have any issues with the front diff. But, I don't know about fuel economy. My '03 was full time and had a 4.7 V8 and got around 17 usually. Obviously, an older and lighter 4Runner, though.

I didn't notice your location, but full time is generally better in snow. If you're in the south, that's not a concern, though.

Good luck with your decision! Post a picture when you pick it up.

 

My bad!

 

I too wish you good luck with your purchase.

I haven't noticed Limited owners in this forum complaining about the mpg. Not sure you got that from the full-time 4wd V8 brother forums.

I also haven't seen Limited owners complaining about front diff bearing vs part-time 4wd front diff actuator on SR5, TRD ORP, TRD Pro can have problems if one don't exercise for a long time.

 

Good point! No ADD in the Limited. And, they don't seem to have the needle bearing issues either.

 

I get anywhere from 10 to 13ish MPG. Could it be my lights?

 

Hey, what brand bumper is that? Please please, tell me!

 

You’re seeing TRD ORPs and Pros with the same mileage for the same price as SR5 Premiums? All things equal, there should be a significant price difference, especially to the Pro trim.

For the wife who doesn’t need all the off road goodies, I’d choose between the SR5 Premium or the Limited. But there should definitely be a price difference between the SR5P and higher trims for the same year/mileage/quality of car.

 

OK, maybe my thinking is wrong about Full Time 4WD.
Could somebody please give me a good rundown of the pluses and minuses of
Full Time 4WD vs Part Time 4WD?
Aside from the large price difference?

 

You don't have to worry about whether or not the 4R needs to be put into 4wd, especially in snowy road conditions, it's already there. Or whether you're putting a strain on the drive train on dry roads, because of the Torsen center differential - that allows 4wd at all times. And, if one so desires, it has 4H & 4L if you want more adventure off road. To me, the ideal 4R would have that 4wd system without the Limited body cladding.

Then there's the additional creature comforts - leather seats, power ps seat, I believe, auto climate control, etc. Someone who has a Limited can add to the list...

The only minus to the Limited in my book is the looks. But some prefer that also.

 

@Yotaholic
That is the C4 Overland Series bumper with full bull bar. It’s paired with the Total Chaos +2 Long Travel. With a winch it’s about 200ish pounds so it’s best to build up the suspension to carry it

 

For these reasons the LTD is the perfect 4Runner for the wife. Not having to worry about when to engage 4wd is a huge plus.

Any fuel mileage difference will be negligible. Either way the MPG sucks, you could do better in a Tahoe.

 

Limited trim is best, in every way except for looks according to me.

SR5 premium is not bad, but I know my darling wife and I'd feel more comfortable with her driving full time 4wd than counting on her to notice or care when to engage 4wd.

Agreed with post above: fuel economy sucks on all of them. The limited is rated one mpg less efficient due to full time 4wd. Take a poll from everyone and the results are consistent:

Q: "What do you hate about the 4runner?"
A: "Lousy mileage/ fuel economy."

Q: "What do you love about the 4runner?"
A: "Everything else."

 

I guess one question I didn’t see asked is, why look at the 4Runner? Why not the Highlander, Honda Pilot, etc?

 

Because those are nowhere near as good looking or as cool!
We had a 96 4Runner and absolutely loved it.
Been dying for another one for a long time so...

 

Can somebody post a pic of the Limited showing the body cladding please?
I'm not sure what it looks like and the Toyota site has lousy pix.
As for the Limited in general, it's more expensive and the larger wheels have to cost a fortune to replace.