2016 to 2020 Changes - Year to Year

I have been looking at 4runners for some time, and struggle making a choice because of how close the price is between used and new. I've also tried to compare from year to year, to see what you would be missing by picking one year over another. I havn't been able to find a really good breakdown of this and was hoping the enthusiasts on this forum could point this out for a noob I was looking at a 2016 TRD Pro with 30k miles for about 35k. I didn't know how much I would be missing from say a 2020 TRD Off-road / Off-road Premium ?

 

The fenders don’t flare out on the 20’s I don’t think. It’s looking more and more like a 3rd Gen. next will probably be a crease running across the side...

 

The 2020 doesn't even have a CD player as an in-dash option. The 2019 did.

Your local dealer may have a (super expensive) CD player option for the 2020 that even my salesman didn't know how it would have been mounted. I found a video of something that I think was what I saw at the dealer, and it was just a CD drive that was bolted into the center console. It was so stupid.

 

2016-2018 Pros are all very similar in features when you compare them. The only difference would be the special color available from year to year.

In 2019, the Pro's got rid of the Bilstein suspension set-up and went with Fox suspension. They also changed the roof rack to an FJ-style rack.

Things changed a little in 2020 when Toyota added Safety Sense with adapted cruise control, lane departure, automatic braking, and a push button start for all models (I think). The 2020's also have a new head unit with a bigger screen that has Apple Car Play and Android Auto capabilities. This added about $2,000 to the 4Runners price tag over the 2019's.

 

No, I have a 2020 base SR5, and it has a key slot. No button. The base SR5 on the lot that I test drove also had a key slot. The SR5 Premium had a button.

My key slot has a light up circle around it which is pretty cool and useful. I don't know if that's an addition to the 2020.

 

Thanks for all of the information so far! Is the Bilstein suspension better / worse than the Fox, and why? Considering price and what you are getting, is it big deal to go with 2016-2018 Pro, vs a new TRD Off-road or Off-road Premium? I can't afford a 2020 Pro, so it be going with the lower model if picking one of those.

 

When you buy a Pro, you're getting an Off-Road Premium with upgraded suspension, a different roof rack, pro wheels, different front grille, different skid plate, and a color that isn't available on any other 4Runner that year (although it might be available in a later year). For this extra stuff, you're paying an extra 7k or so.

I don't have any personal experience riding in a Pro with Fox vs Bilstein shocks, but people generally seem to be happy with the change.

Alternatively, you could get an Offroad Premium for 7k less, put an aftermarket suspension system on that will blow the Fox's out of the water for roughly 3k, get new wheels and tires for another 2k, and you'll still have some money left over to do what you want.

So it depends on what you really want. Do you want Toyota Safety Sense and the new head unit in a lower package that you can eventually customize to your own specs or do you want a slightly older vehicle that you really don't have to do anything to. Neither one is a bad choice.

 

Limited’s has key less entry, push start and window controls on external rear hatch. Starting 2020, the same features appeared on Sr5 prem, TRD orp prem and pro.

 

This was my dilemma. I was looking at an SR5, and the only noticeable difference to me was the the head unit and speedometer look from 2018 to 2020. I could care less for TSS, and I saved about $8000 buying my very lightly used 2018 and not a 2020. I plan on adding a head unit to it that’ll run me about $500 and seems to be just as good, if not better than the 2020 OEM ones.

 

Thanks again everyone for the continued information! It looks like outside of the 2020, there isn't too much to "miss", if one doesn't care for the newer tech features. Is a 2016 TRD Pro with 77k miles on it, for 30K a good deal? Seems like it from what I see, but then again, seems like a lot of money for a vehicle with those amount of miles on it.

 

I was in a very similar situation and being Toyota trucks hold their value very well it made me think I could pay slightly more and go new. If youre lucky you could probably find a new 2019 TRD OR as one at my local dealer was going for 35XXX. I wanted the premium OR so I went with a 2020. I purchased a TRD ORP for 39XXX. I imagine towards the end of the year you could get an even better deal.

 

The changes are minor with the exception of the 2020 with all the tech features. Prior to purchasing my 2020 in December 2019 I was looking at a 2018 with only 2k miles that they had a great deal on. Figured for only a few bucks more there were 2019s that were brand new. Then convinced myself that I wanted the Apple CarPlay (which was shit for a month or so before Toyota/Apple figured out the issue) and the other safety features which was comparable to the brand new 2019s I was looking at. I told my sales guy I was looking for a specific color and features and boom the next day it arrived on the lot. So here I am...2020 ORP in MGM...

 

Also, really wanted a Pro but not willing to pay the premium for features I could add and customize myself, minus the dual-zone climate control.

 

Seems like a fair deal. Personally, if you plan on upgrading get a TRD off road or even an SR5. But 30k isn’t bad for that pro.

 

Here's a very real world cost to build up a 4runner ORP vs Pro.

I'll be happy to post up my math and spreadsheets cause I've tracked everything down to the soft shackle for the build.

Pro = MSPR, ORP = Negotiate, and I got a better amount off than expected, about $3200 which surprised me.

Difference in price of Pro drive out vs my ORP drive around, around $8000.

Then, I added suspension (1.5" lift) - with upgraded UCAs, bump stops, Eibach shocks, new springs, air bags for towing, rock sliders, wheels(Race Relation Wheels something), tires (K02s), SSO front hybrid bumper, Husky cargo liner, RAM mounts, i don't know a bunch of crap. I mean all the junk you'd add to either, then all the suspension and protection you might add to either.

So far i'm at $4800 for all the parts listed, and some of them I'd have to buy either way, like the sliders, and the cargo tray mat, RAM mount, brake controller, etc.

It's far cheaper to build it, it's just a hassle if it's not something you want to do. For me, I wanted a blank canvas and I've already built a 4Runner up before and was very pleased with the ride, both highway and offroad, and still got about 19MPG on the highway, which is about as good as these guys will ever get.

That said, my friend bought a Pro and hangs just fine on all the trails and has the awesome looking Army Green. So either way is great, I just wanted a specific thing, and I know what that thing was. So I got exactly it, for a good bit less. If you're not sure what you want, neither will disappoint until you discover it.