Whereabouts Unknown: Gen6

Look at what they did to the vw bug used to be a car for the Everyman and they literally turned it into a chick car it literally comes with a plastic flower on the dash from the factory

 

I see more women driving 4Runners than men.

By a pretty big margin too.

 

Mid-October and we’re still coasting on the same basic details handed out April 9th. Still no pricing, packages, configurator, confirmed availability, or even media test drives. Just paperweights that look like Gen6 4Runners, showing up at random publicity events.

So far we do know that it’s a clone of a 4-cylinder Tacoma with compromised rear space, built in Tahara. So if these things are too expensive and not measurably better than a Gen5, just rip the bandaid off.

 

It cannot be measurably better just more expensive. What can be better? Low end torque and maybe mpg? Those things aren’t worth anything for most of us. Why would anyone spend $10k (after trade-in) or more to save $2/month on gas?

 

Yep, this radio silence does not instill a feeling of confidence. Perhaps Toyota is looking at what is happening to Stellantis and re-thinking things, including their pricing. I know that, by now, the 6th Gen is what it is. But, on the other hand, and regardless of all the bullshit, there is a limit to what people can or will pay for a 4Runner.

 

It is pretty strange that there is virtually no marketing going on for the 6th gen. They must not plan on selling them for quite a while still. Meanwhile they could still be making and selling 5th gen’s.

 

Toyota has created a situation where buyers will be cross shopping LC's, GX's, and 4Runners. Supply is still far behind demand on the LC's and GX's. Spooling up 4R production is only going to exacerbate the situation. I think to some degree it will push buyers to other brands. Maybe someone really smart at Toyota has this all figured out but it certainly seems problematic to me. Even though the dealers are charging ADM's they can't be happy about only getting a few vehicles per month.

 

There already all sold? Where never going to see one?

 

LC and GX are struggling to keep up with demand here, and the global Prado will also be in high demand. Meanwhile, two full factories in Mexico are turning out too many Tacomas. The first 4Runners will come out of Tahara, but could production bottlenecks force a re-think of future 4R production in Mexico? Many had already expected it, and the two are virtually the same vehicle now.

 

I can see that happening. It seems that profits are a much bigger priority than quality with the new Toyota management team. Build it as cheap as possible and sell it for the highest prices ever. Yeah, sign me up.

 

If Trump is elected in 3 weeks and takes office next year, I can assure you that Toyota will NOT be shifting 4R production to Mexico. Maybe Texas.... but definitely not Mexico.

 

that wouldn’t make sense still cheaper to make trucks in Mexico even with the tariffs unless trump puts a 100 percent tax in that case Toyota would have to move the Tacoma production stateside

 

The auto plants in Mexico are here to stay and will continue to expand, no matter who is in the white house. Mexico has the US by the proverbial short hairs on that one. The auto and supplier plants there employ millions of people, and 5-6 times that counting family members and jobs supported in local communities, that if disrupted, will make the migrant caravans we have seen in the past 3.5 years look like a trickle.

If the overwhelming majority of buyers do not care where the 4Runner is made then the math is compelling. We are lucky that the Yen has been weak against the dollar to continue to get Japanese assembled vehicles here, had the Yen been as strong as a few decades ago 90% of Toyota branded Japanese home island plant products would have shifted to Mexico already.

 

Not really, unless you expect the 6th gen to be significantly heavier than the 5th gen.

Lol!

Maybe people will replace them with custom valved aftermarket options from AccuTune.

Why isn't the Turbo 4 going to cut it? It makes more power than the outgoing engine.

Low end torque is huge for towing and off-roading.

Fuel economy is important to anyone who likes money. I'm pretty sure most people do.

 

I just got kicked out of the Volvo forum after raising some questions. The XC90 comes with a 2.0 4-cylinder turbo engine, and since 2016, some models have both a turbo and supercharger. Owners with 100-150k miles are reporting supercharger issues, oil consumption, and other problems. When the supercharger fails, repairs can cost around $4,000, and people often end up spending $5,000-$7,500 on replacing the supercharger and related parts. I asked if anyone had tried using aftermarket or refurbished parts, and someone assumed I meant Aliexpress. I pointed out that while Volvo is owned by a Chinese company, I wasn’t referring to Aliexpress, then asked if he was naturally that dumb or if someone had trained him to be.

 

I'm not sure what this has to do with anything I said.

 

Oh sorry. The money aspect. Saving money on 2-3 mpg improvements then later throwing in thousands for repairs after 6-8 years.

 

Oh, this I understand.

And, I agree.

If a vehicle is going to be significantly more costly to maintain, that negates any kind of savings from better fuel economy. And, I know a lot of the members here have been happy to trade a little fuel economy for a bulletproof old school v6.

I'm going to give Toyota a couple years to work out the bugs. But I understand that things don't look good right now based on what's been going on with the tundra and the Tacoma.

I do find that the extra torque and fuel economy appealing. But, not if it comes with a problematic drivetrain.

 

It’s like asking: would I prefer a 10-inch penis that only works until I’m 25, or stick with my current 8 inches that works consistently and gives me a morning “frozen dogleg” until I’m 80?

 

Yup. Saving $200 a year on gas is not worth paying thousands in repairs later.

 

Agreed.

But, I'll have to see what the actual fuel economy is before I comment on that.

I would expect to save a lot more than $200 a year.

 

Of course paying an extra 5-10 grand more on the sticker would torpedo any long-term savings netted from incremental gains in mpg by using a boosted four.

Baffling why Toyota still seems to be clinging to that info like it’s the holy grail.

 

Based on the LC250 pricing, they hardly have room to raise prices that much.

 

It’s pretty 50/50 here in south Florida stock mostly women modded mostly men. You would be surprised how many decked out 4Rs we have in south Florida.

 

The hybrid model will be heavier for sure Tacoma is between 4100 and 4700. Guessing that’s for TRD Pro and Trail Hunter.

Gen 5 4Runner is 4700

the low down torque may be why the Toyota engineer TFL Trucks had on their podcast to discuss the Tacoma front transfer case issue mentioned why they do not recommend bigger tires on their vehicle?

 

The hybrid Tacos are over 5K lbs.

For comparable equipment, the 4Runner will probably be a few hundred lbs heavier than the Tacoma. Hardly significant compared to the actual weight of the vehicles.

 

Crap you’re right so we are for sure looking at 5100lbs on the old Gen 6 Runner.

 

The tightrope for Toyota is that we’ve been buying every Gen5 they can produce largely because it hasn’t been changed much since 2010. In some ways, it’s become our very own beloved LC 70’s series. So how do you sell that same crowd on an all-new design, with a complicated & noisy turbo four/hybrid, that’s more expensive, and built on a platform that’s already having serious quality issues?

You first give it a bunch of superficial heritage 4Runner styling cues, and (like Tacoma) you market it heavily to people currently driving Subarus and sports sedans. And then, you apparently delay its release.

 

2024 Tacoma weights, fuel tank, and other capacities