By Eric Peters
For NMA
In the department of get it while you can, you might want to get a ’24 Toyota 4Runner with a V6 – and without a turbocharged four – while you still can.
Toyota has already dropped the V6 you used to be able to get in the Tacoma – which is the mid size pickup that the 4Runner shares its platform with. The just-updated ’24 Tacoma comes only with a turbocharged four now.
It is likely that the ’25 4Runner will follow suit next year, when it gets an update based on the just-updated Tacoma.
So if you’d like a 4Runner with a V6 – and without some of the other things that come standard in newer things – this year will likely be your last chance to get it.
What It Is
The 4Runner is a mid-sized, five-door SUV that (cue the Sympathy for the Devil by the Rolling Stones) has been around for a long, long time. Fourteen years long, largely unchanged. Largely because change hasn’t been necessary. Because the 4Runner as it still is has never had any trouble selling – probably because it hasn’t changed much for the past 14 years.
People like that.
Unfortunately, the government doesn’t. That’s why the Tacoma has changed – from a truck you used to be able to get with a V6 (and with a manual transmission) to a turbo-four-only-powered truck that stickers for $31,500 to start. The turbo four in the new Tacoma offers slightly better gas mileage than the V6 it used to share in common with the 4Runner but what really matters (and explains the replacement) is that the turbo four’s carbon dioxide emissions are lower by dint of the engine being smaller.
If you still want the V6, it’s still standard in the current 4Runner, which lists for $40,705 to start for the base SR5 trim with 2WD; 4WD is available as a stand-alone option that brings the MSRP up to $42,580.
There are also TRD Sport ($43,565), SR5 Premium ($43,765), TRD Off-Road ($44,550), TRD Off-Road Premium ($47,130), Limited ($49,940) and top-of-the-line TRD Pro ($55,170) trims. All come standard with skid plates and 5,000 lbs. of standard towing capacity.
The TRD Sport gets 20-inch wheels, a hood scoop and firmer suspension tuning.
TRD trims come standard with 4WD as well as a locking rear differential and additional driver-selectable modes for off-road driving. TRD Pro trims add a lifted suspension with Fox off-road shocks, all-terrain tires and a TRD exhaust system.
All trims come standard with seating for five but you can get a third row and seven-passenger seating optionally.
What’s New for 2024
There are no changes for what will likely be the final year for the 4Runner in its current form.
What’s Good
- Standard V6 doesn’t need a turbo to make 270 horsepower.
- 14 year track record of reliability.
- Holds value (see above).
What’s Not So Good
- Last call means a rush to get what will soon be gone – and less likelihood of a haggled-down price for just that reason.
- All trims come standard with “advanced driver assistance technology” – which drivers who don’t need “assistance” may not wish to pay for or be pestered by.
- No optional V8 in the higher trims (the Lexus version of the 4Runner, the GX460, came standard with one).
Under The Hood
The 4Runner comes standard with a 4.0 liter V6 that makes 270 horsepower, paired with a five-speed automatic and rear-drive or (optionally) a part-time 4WD system with a two-speed transfer case and 4WD low range gearing.
Back in 2010, the 4Runner’s mechanicals – in general terms – were pretty common in mid-sized SUVs and pick-ups. Fast-forward 14 years and they are now exceptional – in the literal sense. In that the 4Runner is one of a dwindling number of new, mid-sized SUVs that still comes standard with a V6 (and body-on-frame construction).
The five speed automatic – with just one overdrive – is also a relic from the Before Time, when the main purpose of overdrive was to reduce engine RPM at highway speeds enough to make driving at highway speeds comfortable.
You may have noticed that almost all new vehicles come with automatic transmissions that have two (or more) overdrives and 7-10 speeds, all told. The reason for all those overdrives (plural) is to squeeze out minor mileage gains at all speeds.
To get some sense of this, consider the V6 4Runner’s 16 MPG in city driving and 19 on the highway. That’s not terrible for a 4,400 lb. body-on-frame 4WD SUV with a 270 horsepower V6. Now consider the 18-23 MPG achieved by the just-redesigned 2024 Tacoma, which comes only with a 2.4 liter turbocharged four-cylinder engine and an eight-speed automatic. That’s three more gears – and two fewer cylinders – and nearly the same mileage.
But the difference that matters is the lesser emissions. The little four “emits” less plant food when the engine’s just idling (and so not under boost) and when the Tacoma’s just cruising – and not much boost is needed to keep it moving.
But we’re all paying for emissions regulations – in the form of smaller engines that need turbos to maintain the output of the larger engines being forced off the market. These smaller, turbocharged engines cost more (take a look at the new Tacoma’s base price vs. what the base price was last year) to buy and to maintain, because they’re more complicated, have more parts and are under a lot more pressure (literally) to produce the same power as the larger, simpler, less-stressed engines they’re replacing.
Just so you know.
On The Road
The current 4Runner has been on the road a long time. Fourteen years. That is more than long enough for this SUV to have established a lengthy track record for durability. One nicely complemented by its capability.
This is a real SUV – not one that looks the part. The 4Runner has a full perimeter frame, so it’s very hard to hurt this one. If you dent a panel, it’s cosmetic – and it’s also usually easier to fix because when you are dealing with a body-on-frame SUV, most of the body panels bolt on (and off) and are not structural parts of the vehicle. Rusted fender? Remove it and replace it with one that’s not.
Hand tools only.
Or at least, mostly.
Some – who don’t know better and aren’t people who’d buy a 4Runner anyhow – criticize this SUV for driving like one. As if that were a bad thing. As if people who buy 4Runners were shopping for Camrys.
They’re not.
What you’re getting when you buy a 4Runner is kind of like you used to get when you bought an old muscle car such as my ’70s-era Pontiac Trans-Am. It has a “firm” ride, too. And that’s what people who bought ’em wanted – along with the big V8, the shaker hood scoop and the screaming chicken decal on the hood. To criticize the Trans-Am for having those attributes would be like criticizing Angelina Jolie (when she was still hot) for her attributes.
Or the 4Runner, for the same essential reason.
It is still wonderfully mechanical in a way that the new stuff no longer is. You feel more in direct control because you are. There’s a gear selector lever – not a button or a rotary knob controller. For the 4WD drive, too. Put your hand on it and you’ll be able to feel the connection – literally – to the drivetrain.
The V6 sounds right, too. In part because it sounds like something rather than nothing. Silence is the sound of the grave. This sound lets you know you’re still alive.
And the five-speed transmission doesn’t shift too much – or too often. It has the right number of gears. Not too many gears.
Is it 4Runner quickest thing going? No. But it’ll still be going 14 years from now – and with probably another 14 left, after that. There is a reason why the 4Runner (and older Tacomas) are so popular in parts of the world that are less developed. It is that they just keep going – and even when they sometimes need something, it’s usually something that can be fixed without a “software update” or a trip to the dealer for “programming.”
Because these SUVs were made before they began turning vehicles into electric devices.
At The Curb
The 4Runner is one of the smaller vehicles in the class – once again because it is the oldest vehicle in the class and so was made before the supersizing of SUVs (and the trucks they’re based on) got going.
This is by no means a bad thing.
At 190.2 inches long, the 4Runner is about two inches shorter overall than a Camry sedan – and about eight inches shorter, bumper-to-bumper, than the Nissan Pathfinder, which looks like an SUV but is in fact a FWD-based crossover.
So the 4Runner will fit in a Camry-sized parking spot.
Room for five is standard but you can upgrade to seven by opting for the available third row. This gives you seven-passenger capability in a Camry-sized SUV that can also pull a Camry.
It also doesn’t look like it’s trying to squeeze something out of its tailpipe – as many of the newer SUVs do.
You may welcome the absence of a huge LCD touchscreen – which SUVs made 14 years ago didn’t have and neither does this one.
Next year, it almost certainly will.
Same goes for the key you insert in the ignition lock to start the engine – as opposed to pushing a button. Much harder to hurt a cut key than an electronic fob. You can get a new key cut at any hardware store, too.
If you want the fob and push-button start, it’s available.
You can also get some unique features such as the optional sliding rear cargo deck, which can serve as a worktable or just a place to sit while tailgating. It supports 440 pounds, the weight of two large adults. In addition to that, there’s an available integrated 40 quart beverage chiller and a locking console safe (a great place to keep your pistol).
And these options are available in the base SR trim. You do not have to move up to the more expensive trims in order to be able to order them.
The Rest
While there is a touchscreen, there are also still knobs for most of the everyday things such as adjusting the temperature/fan speed as well as tuning the stereo system. This means you make those adjustments while driving without taking your attention off your driving.
And that’s why the 4Runner doesn’t need “advanced driver assistance technologies,” to correct for the dangers created by smartphone-emulating touchscreen-only controls.
The Bottom Line
The main detraction here is the cost. At just over $40k to start (and just under $43k with 4WD) the 4Runner isn’t inexpensive.
But then, priceless things often aren’t.
Eric Peters lives in Virginia and enjoys driving cars and motorcycles. In the past, Eric worked as a car journalist for many prominent mainstream media outlets. Currently, he focuses his time writing auto history books, reviewing cars, and blogging about cars+ for his website EricPetersAutos.com.
Editor’s Note: The thoughts and opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views or positions of the National Motorists Association.
