Fairly, because our test truck was still crippled with its noisy and flexy winter tires, despite the snow having completely disappeared from the landscape. The 4Runner’s ride is well-controlled, not as bouncy as we expected, but its high ground clearance means an elevated centre of gravity, which you’ll notice when you take a 270-degree highway on-ramp too enthusiastically. Not a big deal; it behaves like any other off-road SUV would.
The cockpit features a dashboard that seems to have been designed with nothing but a pencil and a ruler. Everything is square except the steering wheel as well as the audio and climate control knobs, the latter being trimmed with rubber for extra grip. The sound system display looks the same as in Toyotas built in the 90s.
A peculiar button on the dash marked Party Mode got my attention. I pressed it, and the 4Runner started bopping up and down, while “Jump Around” from House of Pain pounded through the 8-speaker sound system, the glove box opened to a half-dozen chilled bottles of Molson Canadian and a giant lampshade inflated just above the power glass sunroof.
Just kidding. It’s a setting that feeds music through the hatch-mounted speakers and turns up the base for tailgating parties. Whoopee. I left it on during the whole week, but unfortunately, I couldn’t get a party started no matter how hard I tried; shouting “hey ladies, how about a little tailgating?” on crowded street corners only rewarded me with obscene gestures and comments. I’m so lame.
There is actually a lot of room inside the 4Runner, including loads of rear-seat leg and headroom. Flip and flop the bench and its seatbacks, and 2,540 litres of cargo space await you, a little more than in the new Ford Explorer and Dodge Durango. Towing capacity is rated at 5,000 pounds, which is the segment average. The Trail Edition also gets a sliding cargo tray which can carry a 400-lb load but eats up space; no thanks.
The cockpit features a dashboard that seems to have been designed with nothing but a pencil and a ruler. Everything is square except the steering wheel as well as the audio and climate control knobs, the latter being trimmed with rubber for extra grip. The sound system display looks the same as in Toyotas built in the 90s.
 |
| The cockpit features a dashboard that seems to have been designed with nothing but a pencil and a ruler. (Photo: Matthieu Lambert/Auto123.com) |
A peculiar button on the dash marked Party Mode got my attention. I pressed it, and the 4Runner started bopping up and down, while “Jump Around” from House of Pain pounded through the 8-speaker sound system, the glove box opened to a half-dozen chilled bottles of Molson Canadian and a giant lampshade inflated just above the power glass sunroof.
Just kidding. It’s a setting that feeds music through the hatch-mounted speakers and turns up the base for tailgating parties. Whoopee. I left it on during the whole week, but unfortunately, I couldn’t get a party started no matter how hard I tried; shouting “hey ladies, how about a little tailgating?” on crowded street corners only rewarded me with obscene gestures and comments. I’m so lame.
There is actually a lot of room inside the 4Runner, including loads of rear-seat leg and headroom. Flip and flop the bench and its seatbacks, and 2,540 litres of cargo space await you, a little more than in the new Ford Explorer and Dodge Durango. Towing capacity is rated at 5,000 pounds, which is the segment average. The Trail Edition also gets a sliding cargo tray which can carry a 400-lb load but eats up space; no thanks.
 |
| Maximum cargo space is rated at 2,540 litres, while towing capacity is 5,000 pounds. (Photo: Matthieu Lambert/Auto123.com) |