“Best” generation?

Facebook and the Google giving lots of conflicting information so figured I’d turn to the pros…

Looking to buy the wife our first 4Runner as a daily driver, and not sure on what year/generation I’m looking for. I’m hearing a lot of 2018-1019 but figured is come here first.

 

5th gen is 10-24. They’re all basically the same with some changes here and there like update headunits and LED lighting.

 

Is there a specific year within that generation that’s more reliable or less prone to problems, per se?

 

Unless there's something specific you're looking for in previous generations, pickings will probably be slim and probably enough of a pain to generally skip.

Figure out budget and minimum requirements and see what comes up. Ex. mileage, age, not salvage/rebuilt title, rust, rental, etc. It's a sliding scale and up to you ultimately what compromise you want.

the last few years have push-button start, 2020+ have the driver assist stuff which you may or may not want, 2014+ is the facelift.

https://www.edmunds.com/toyota/4runner/2024/

If you scroll through the years above you can get a sense of what changed year to year.

The __ Premium trims have "Sof-Tex" leatherette seats and if that's good enough, there you go. I don't know if Limited trim is genuine leather. There's always the option of getting the seats reupholstered.

Eh, not really and not by enough to really make a bigger difference than their individual history, maintenance history, driven by someone who doesn't know part-time 4WD, etc.

If you don't want to deal with camera calibration (if replacing windshield), radar sensor, etc. and the risk of them going bad, skip 2020+ but that's up to you. 2021+ has LED headlights standard but you might like the easier to replace halogen bulbs.

it's possible to swap them into older years but also depends on your penchant for DIY.

Anyways, you'll still have to go look at models you're considering and see how they look underneath, any mismatched panels, etc.

 

My vote is a well maintained low miles 5th Gen 4Runner Limited. Full-time 4WD is the biggest feature on 4Runner Limited.

I prefer 2019 as the last year before Toyota safety sense. But If you like features like 360 camera, blind spot , etc you may look at 2024.

If your wife is an aggressive driver like mine I would not buy 2025 with 4cyl turbo as my wife have absolutely no patience to let the turbos cool down to avoid damage.
On the same line, I changed the 20in wheels to 17in 4runner wheels as 20in is very likely to get damaged the way she drives.

 

2018-2019, mainly because those are that last years before covid destroyed QC and doesn't have any of the nanny 2020+ systems. Older 5th gen are good too, but will likely have higher milage/use.

 

The best looking is 3rd gen, then 5th gen

 

No. They’re all pretty reliable.

 

Welcome from Wisconsin! My preference is the 1st Generation, I like the '86 with a 22RE engine. For practicality I would pick a 5th Generation, there are lots of them around with low mileage/not beat, they have plenty of creature comforts and parts availability. Good luck.

 

History Archive...https://www.top4runners.com/runhist/index.html

 

welcome, I'd get a 5th Generation. I have a 2011 and a 2018 both have had no problems.

 

The Gen3 4Rs look great and are a little more rough and tumble, but the Gen5 is more refined, likely to have lower mileage, is heavily supported by the aftermarket, and most available. I had a Gen3 (2000) with a manual transmission and loved it, but when it came time to get my current ride I went for a ‘24.

 

The 5th gen production run is long enough that I’d hesitate to look at anything earlier for a daily driver.

Although I’m biased, the 2021 was a sweet spot I think.
-It comes with built in navigation in the head unit, so you don’t need to rely on your own cell signal/phone. At some point after 2021 Toyota started to charge monthly fees to use the nav unit in the vehicle.

-It also has LED low beams and fog lights from factory, but still retained halogen high beams (which work better than newer 4runners with LED high beams).

-No cross traffic alert, which means no sensors hanging on the back bumper.

-And you start it with a physical key, not the push button nonsense.

 

yep. the LED lows are so good that by comparison the bi-LED high beams are a big let down IMO. For night driving with no traffic and no other people, I much prefer my 20 year old sedan with the 9005 high beam running Osram nightbreaker bulbs.

 

I have Nightbreaker Unlimited 9005's in my '19 and they're excellent! Will definitely buy again when they go out, if I can find them.

 

Added Nightbreaker HB3's to list/cart!

 

I'm biased as well. But 5th Gen is the best generation to daily drive. 4th Gen being a close second. Anything older and you may be pushing the limit of "Toyota reliability"

My 2022 has 360 cameras, cross traffic radar detection, blindspot monitoring, and keyless entry/ push to start. After getting accustomed to these features I wouldn't want to give them up.

Now the best generation for wheeling is the first gen... but that's a conversation for another day.

 

Agreed. But, only the '84 and '85 models.

 

Just wondering - why the preference to not have the push button start? Have people had problems with it? I love it. Have a 2023 Limited - with the push button start and touch lock/unlock door handles I rarely, if ever, have to take my keys out of my pocket.

 

I like ‘85 ….last year of the straight axle, first year of EFI.

 

Personal preference, my SO prefers push button start and not having to dig out her key but I just like the extra tactility of inserting a key and twisting my wrist.

(and also instant access and control between ACC, On, Off rather than pushing the button a bunch of times)

 

3rd generation is the best generation, it has the best angles for off roading and the highest ground clearance. 4th generation was a step down (literally) , and 5th gen was a step up but it still didn't recover all the lost ground.

The 3rd generation is also much more space efficient, you can fit pretty much anything that you could into a 4th or a 5th gen while being significantly shorter and narrower (which further helps it off road and fuel economy). This is because Toyota didn't design the back cargo area to be incredibly safe, which is unnecessary if you don't have seats back there. It isn't as safe as a new car obviously, but it's new enough to not be a death trap, most have ABS and VSC, and all have dual airbags and seatbelts.

I can't emphasize how much less is more benefits the 3rd gen. It's as efficient as a new 5th gen while being dead simple, imagine how efficient and powerful the 5th gen would be if it weren't bloated. The fuel economy of the 5th gen was what it was because it was much larger.

The styling is also better in my opinion, they didn't light the world on fire and it is just a truck with no weird bug eye or frumpy 4th gen face, or machismo 6th gen face. It also has glass headlights which don't get fogged up by UV.

 

I have push button start and I wish I had a key ignition. I've always been able to start my other auto transmission cars without having to get in and push the brake pedal. It's handy in certain situations like when working on it or when the car has been sitting in the sun and I want to run the ac before sitting on the hot black soft-tex seat.

 

I’m old enough to remember the start of the pushbuttons in regular cars, so I mostly view them as a doodad to make cars feel like they were purpose-built race-cars. But then they showed up in minivans and sedans. Problem is that in a regular car, they can’t be a simple switch like on race car, which only has the job of energizing the starter.

So what you’re left with is an over-complication that isn’t really best suited to street cars. They have to work with all the interlocks with brakes and transmission, they need to be made to work with the steering lock. Engineering choices need to be made as well, (like what to do with the engine if it’s on but the key is no longer in the vehicle. I read a funny article a while back about a journalist who drove a Mazda a couple of states distance away and when he arrived, he realized he had left the key at home and couldn’t get it started again. Mazda decided to allow the car to keep running without the key in the vehicle.

A physical key tells you where it is by it’s physical position. Whereas you have to look at the screen to see if you are in accessory, ignition, or off. It’s impossible to accidentally leave the car in accessory mode or ignition on if the key is in your pocket.

It’s the early part of the trend of ignoring all of the driver’s senses, and just expecting them to use their vision for everything.

And the cherry on top is that most owners dont associate these buttons as “cool” race car features anymore.