So, with baby number one due next month I figured it was time to move from inhaling every single forum post on trucks I’m interested in to actually sitting in and driving them. I found a nice black 2013 Trail (I prefer the pre-facelift 4Runners) with 55k on it locally at a Toyota dealership and went to give it a go.
What an utter fucking disappointment.
First, I know Toyotas have a low seating position. I had a T100 for a while, a bunch of my friends have and have had Toyotas, but it always is weird to me. Anyway, something I’d have to get used to. I wasn’t happy that I couldn’t rest my arm on the windowsill comfortably either. Outward visibility was meh. Not a lot of modern cars do this well.
The nail in the coffin was the drivetrain. It’s like the motor is speaking one language and the transmission another. The motor can make power, but the transmission just won’t let it. The motor has mid range power, but revs too long and high, and the gear ratios seem wrong. Around town and doing lazy/normal driving it is perfectly adequate, but try and get some power out of it or accelerate from 55 to 75 and its just a lot of noise and no action. I can’t believe people actually tow with these things, it must be maddening.
The rest of the truck is great though. The chassis is very stout, the steering felt good. It just feels well put together, there were no noises or squeaks from anything, the ride is very comfortable and I felt it was roomy enough for a family vehicle. I had plenty of room behind the driver’s seat as a rear passenger.
Well, cross that one off the list. Definitely going to try out a GX460, but they were never really my thing. I’m going to look more seriously at getting back into a Rover, albeit a more modern one.