5k+ miles in 3 weeks in our Anniversary Edition – my review

We just returned from a major road trip in our new 4Runner, and I thought I would share my impressions of the SR5 platform – and the Anniversary Edition version.

First the background. My previous SUV was a 2004 Land cruiser. But I wanted something newer and searched for a month for new and used 4runners and was leaning towards a Limited, but this Anniversary Edition became available at MSRP and was on the ground for our trip. We bought it, had PPF installed the next day, then left town with 60 miles on our new 4runner!



5,300 miles later here are my likes and dislikes:

Things we loved.

• Modern controls and navigation!
• Cruises all day at 80 out west.
• Seats are so much more ergonomic compared to LC!
• Love having the retractable window for our dogs.
• Spouse loves driving it.
• Two dog crates fit just fine side by side. Phew!
• Stripe makes it easy to find in a parking lot full of white 4Runners out west...

Things we did not like or missed from the Landcruiser:

• The stripe in person was a bit much to take in up close. It is better at 50'. But it does get a lot of compliments from strangers and is growing on me...
• No dual climate control for the driver and passenger. There was a lot of adjustments from my wife and I as she operates in a different temperature zone.
• No tailgate. I loved the tailgate on the LC and used it all the time.
• V8 power. I rarely floored the LC in 100,000 miles of ownership. The V8 has so much torque in the low end of the RPM range. In the mountains the 4Runner is really underpowered.

Most importantly...

We love this SUV and have no regrets getting an SR5 (OK Anniversary Edition). I am not an off-road driver except while hunting upland birds. So if you're looking at all the versions of the 4Runner like I was, my advice is do not dismiss the SR5!

 

So you were standin' on a corner in Winslow, Arizona, with a flat-bed Ford? Great pic!

 

Great report. Looks like a couple of English Springer Spaniels in there! Best pheasant dogs ever!

 

Awesome! Hopefully he doesn't have "seven women on his mind"!

 

Yes to the ESS question!

 

Awesome! Thought so. Here’s one of mine working. Didn’t mean to hijack the thread! Just couldn’t resist.

 

Great pics! Glad you enjoyed the trip!

 

Welcome. Great pics!

 

Sounds like a great trip. Glad you were able to take the pups... they hate being left behind!

 

Fun fact as a former resident of Flastaff, AZ...that song was actually written about a corner in Flagstaff. The more you know!

"But the girl in the Ford? That, according to Mr. Browne, “was an image that came from east Flag.” He says that particular experience occurred outside what used to be a Der Wienerschnitzel in east Flagstaff, on what’s now the corner of US 180/Business 40/Historic Route 66 and Switzer Canyon Drive."

https://azdot.gov/adot-blog/highway-history-standin’-corner…-where

 

I was gonna guess Brittany but couldn’t tell from the first pic. Nice truck and/or dogs!

 

"Such a fine sight to see..."

Nice report. Thanks.

 

Nice write-up. Hope you enjoy the vehicle. A tailgate would be nice, but then rear hatch window makes it pretty close to an even trade! It feels nicer than a convertible with all the windows and the rear hatch window open.

 

Did you change your oil, or are you going to wait until 10k miles? Oops, probably already mentioned on another post.

But seriously, thanks for the great photos of your 4Runner, scenery, and beautiful dogs!

 

Had the oil changed the day after I got home. 10,000 mile intervals are not in my DNA.

 

Just purchased a 2023 ORP and went on a 2500 mile trip. I can say with certainty that I agree with everything you said. However, I have noted that if you keep the A/C off until it is actually needed that the hunting between 4th and 5th gear on the hills is kept to a minimum. We averaged 17.6 mpg with 4 people and all of our shit. Not too bad if you ask me.

 

On paper it's not much bigger but after two round trips to CA with the last one being ~5000 miles (MN->San Ramon->Lake Tahoe->Yosemite->MN), I found that the 255/75R17s were overall a better match for the transmission on my stock 2016 Trail, but more especially on inclines.

I'll be looking to trade-in the stock tires for another set of 255/75R17s right after the break-in period of my 2023 ORP (should be here in 4 weeks).

Here's how the tires look on a stock Trail. https://www.4runners.com/posts/383203/

 

Speaking of the rear hatch. We are in our 9th month of ownership of a new 2022 and the other night it was raining hard and my wife just got home from getting groceries and while unloading it she made a comment about how she liked how it was a nice rain roof when getting stuff out of the back.
I also had them change the oil at 5000 miles instead of the 10,000 they wanted to change it at.

 

10 thou in miles is not much if put on in under 1 month

it is the stop and go traffic for 2 miles to work that causes wear and tear on the engine and shorter oil change intervals

travelling across the USA and back in a week or 10 days has little wear depending on how you use the engine

 

Great write up and nice truck. Noticed that your tail pipe goes straight out the back into the negative pressure area and wondering if you've noticed any exhaust fumes in the truck or discoloring of the head liner toward the back.

 

@Upnorthmn - Correction, that's not a simple SR5 - What you have my friend is a SR5 PREMIUM 40th Anniversary Edition, it's a huge difference!!!!!