What did they get wrong?

I love my 4Runner also, fantastic vehicle. I have never heard of a vehicle that satisfies all the people all the time.

 

Sort of agree with 1) it is a little odd when you first see the mismatch but having owned it almost a year, I’ve almost forgotten about it.
6) I kind of like the switches there, has “different and cool” vibe

overall I really like it and really can’t complain about most of what you listed, heck I barely even registered that some of those things could be an issue.

What I really like is how utilitarian it is, everything just works as it should, the touch points are solid (if not spectacular), the controls are easy to use with gloves on (thankfully for those of us with snow and cold in our lives), it’s just a practical easy to use truck that, in 2020, now has just the right amount of tech blended with a tried and true bulletproof design.

Having said that- and this I’ve noticed on several Japanese cars and trucks I’ve owned, I do wish the doors had a little more heft to them, the body panels were a touch thicker, and the paint was a little better quality, definitely seems like the paint has a thinness to it, but that could be in my head.

 

I agree. The doors do have a "tinny" sound to them when closed. Some have put sound deadening in them to help with that but it shouldn't be needed. The paint is an issue for sure. More layers of clear coat and possibly harder clear coat too. It scratches and stains so easily. I do love this truck though. Overall it's a darn good vehicle.

 

What is it, in particular, that you like about the venture?

 

My biggest interior complaint is the constant dings for every thing. I want all chimes off. I don't want to know when another door is open. I don't want to know someone doesn't have their seatbelt on. I don't want to know I opened my door when the 4R was in gear. I only want true emergency noises. The rest of the interior is still nicer and more updated than my Jeep Rubicon was. Hell this is my first backup camera ever.

 

Never did use the back up camera much. Couldn't get past looking over my shoulder and my old side mirror habits. So I put a tire carrier back there.

 

Pretty sure it's for a holding a henway.

 

Not falling for that one either...

 

I concur. Exactly why I'm going to trade in my 2010 FJ Cruiser for a 2021 4Runner TRD Pro. It will have the same reliable running gear as my FJ. Guessing 2021 will be the last opportunity to purchase the "old school". LOL

Rick

 

I love our 2019. Very tough. The only complaint - if you want to call it that, is that the engine is a slight bit underpowered. But trading a bit of fuel economy for more power, makes sense.

 

Interior wise, other than climate control being dual zone, it is identical to the TRD Pro. On the exterior, I think the only real difference between it and TRD Pro are the wheels, roof rack and suspension. I like the wheels(I have the grey wheels) and rack better on the Venture. The rack is little more usable IMO and it is easy to take the basket off if need be. I'm doing my own suspension anyway so the TRD suspension would be just a waste of money for me. This is my only vehicle, so while I love its simplicity and off road capabilities, I still wanted it to be comfortable and appealing to my eye on the inside since I'm in it so much. I didn't know the Venture existed until the end of July this year. Once I saw it, I knew it was THE trim level I wanted. I never liked the 2 tone seats which are in most of the the other trim levels other than Pro or Limited(I think that is starting to change now and was an option in the Trails I believe) The all black dash etc....It had it all.

As far as the things I mentioned when I started this thread, I was really just being super nitpicky or just stating things I would think an engineer would pick up in the design. I had a neighbor who would drive cars for 3 months for BMW, just to get a real world feedback on interior ergonomics etc. My point is, everything in the design gets looked at with a fine tooth comb and not just by designers and engineers. While it doesn't bother me, I just find it quirky in regards to the fact that say the center console is faux carbon fiber while nothing else in the entire car is. ALL of the other surfaces you would think would match are plain black, EXCEPT, the piece over the glove box which is brushed aluminum. None of it bothers me, I just thought it was a weird collection of choices.

 

A few less dings would be nice but unfortunately, unless you are on a bicycle, the dings are impossible to avoid. There is a sensor and warning for everything on every car now. My truck makes dings and I still don't know what they are for half the time.

 

You think the 4Runner has too many dings? My wife's Forester has more beeps and dings at things that we have no idea what they are even for. I really like the car but just too many "nannies".

 

Yeah, not buying it.

Vehicle before the 4Runner was a 2005 Yukon with 285hp, slight lift, and 285s and averaged 17.5 mpg. 4Runner has less horsepower, is smaller, weighs less, but gets the same mileage.

Vehicle before the Yukon was a Ram 1500 4x4 crewcab with leveling kit, 285s, and 400hp. It averaged 17 mpg. Frustrating to have over 100 less hp and less vehicle mass and yet get the same gas mileage.

 

If you think that’s bad, you’d probably have a stroke knowing my 2019 Tacoma only has 2 wiper speed settings.

 

If you think that's bad, my 1964 FJ-40 has a wiper motor for each blade! The madness! The extra weight of that second motor kills the fuel economy in the 40.

 

If u think that’s bad my huffy has a flat tire and no kickstand !

 

Yeah I’ve wondered about this for years. It just doesn’t seem to make sense.

 

No question, the 4Runner gets poor gas mileage. And there are probably ways to give it better MPG without sacrificing the things we love about it. For example, there's gotta be a tranny out there with 6 or 8 gears that's as reliable as our 5 spd. And if Toyota was willing to spend some money on it, there are no doubt redesigns of the chassis or body -- and/or use of diff materials --- that would yield signif weight savings. I'd love to see this happen instead of changes that compromise reliability and durability. Things like unibody design, direct injection and overly stressed engines -- we don't need that.

But it's also worth putting its MPG in perspective. In real world use, vehicles of similar size and ability are getting, what, maybe as much as 4 MPG better on average? So even putting aside the trade offs that such other vehicles would entail, what does this difference mean in real life?

12,000 miles a year at avg 17 mpg = 705 gallons. Avg of 21 mpg = 571 gallons. So 134 gallons more a year, or a bit less than 6 full tanks.

Regular unleaded @ $2.20 per gallon X 705 gallons = $1551. While 571 gallons = $1256, or $295 less.

So: $295 per year is $295 per year, and 134 gallons has some significance environmentally, and an extra fill up every two months is, well, an extra fill up every two months. But in the scheme of things these are hardly night and day differences on a $40,000 vehicle.

 

If they put the Tacoma’s 3.5 in the 4runner, I wouldn’t care if it got 45mpg. The highway and towing performance drop alone would turn me off and I’d be looking for something else.

 

If my venture had these items, I would be in heaven!!! On point.

 

kinda curious too! There’s no difference in the interior of a venture versus ORP. It’s all exterior stuff (roof rack, pro wheels, blacked out emblem, color matched rear bumper, side step, blacked out door handles/spoiler, debadged on the side and blacked out front bumper. Only reason I picked up a venture is cause that’s the only Mag Grey they had left and wasn’t willing to deal with a black ORP. Taking care of that paint would be a second job and I’m not doing it. Hahah otherwise, I would have gladly just taken home an ORP. I don’t care for any of the venture exterior features except the color matched rear bumper.

 

Not sure what you mean by color matched rear bumper. It's not color matched. It's just missing the rear valance from OR/ORP for some reason along with the TRD shift knob. Odd.

 

Good point, rear valence is missing.

I have a 2021 Venture and have the TRD shift knob in mine and the 2021 ORPs I test drive had the TRD shift knob.

 

To answer the original question - Not a damn thing If you’re missing features - it’s only because you’ve bought a wrong vehicle. Sounds like a lot of the people “complaining” do not intend to use the 4Runner for what it is and would probably have been a lot happier in something like a Highlander or some
Other vehicle. Every one of the “oh I wish it had...” listed in those replies exists in a highlander.

4Runner is a tough, arguably crude, and simplistic conception by design and intent.

 

I agree, how dare somebody not be completely 100% satisfied with every single aspect of god’s gift to the automotive world?!

Get fucked posers!

 

Which is why I bought it while it’s still what you described and before they ruin it with Turbos or something silly like that!! I know there are those who like them but just got rid of an Exploder with a Turbo life span of 60-75K miles. Between that and the PTU and water pump......ditched it for the 4Runner.

 

I also traded in an Explorer for the 4 runner.
It's a nice change. those explorers required constant repairs.

 

We were pretty lucky I feel like. Not many repairs at all over 70K but I just felt like based on research it was a ticking time bomb. Feels great to start over with a new 4Runner. Ours was a 2016.