The LAST real SUV__ _ 2022 Toyota 4Runner Review.

Think about your car sitting out in the driveway or parked out on the side of the street. Chances are, if it's three or four years old, then it might not have the same features that would highlight a 2022 model. But that's not going to be a problem if that car is a Toyota 4Runner because FOMO doesn't exist in 4Runner world. This capable brute of a truck has been writing and caching the same checks for years, and today we're going to see how it stands up in this 2022 environment. But first, don't forget to subscribe to the CarGurus YouTube channel. Our 4Runner today is painted this incredible greenish gray, which Toyota calls Lunar Rock. This is the Trail Special Edition, so it gets all of these black accents. That's also why it gets this huge Yakima rack, which brings the total height to over 79 inches. That's taller than James Harden, and it's also why it sports an as-tested price of $45,142. The Trail debuted last year as a Special Edition trim when Toyota made 5,000 of these models. They clearly didn't have any problem selling them, though, because the Trail is back for 2022. It's built on an SR5 trim platform and includes black exterior badging on the front emblem and the tailgate and 17-inch dark gray alloy wheels. We've also got these running boards. They're a $345 option, and frankly, they're a bit overkill if you just need to get in the 4Runner, but they are hugely helpful for loading up the roof basket. Otherwise, it's more of the 4Runner same. Classic, rugged, good looks. This SUV has been visually unchanged for almost a decade, but it remains very popular and very cool. Compare the 4Runner's interior with that of almost any other car made in the last three or four years, and oh my goodness, this looks like a disaster. Now, in 2020, I test drove a 4Runner Limited, and at least that had leather seats and some nice amenities to distract me from the absolutely ancient aesthetic that we are looking at here. For instance, technology? No, not a lot of technology in here. Toyotas are ubiquitous enough that the company's infotainment system is clearly not a deciding factor for many shoppers, but every year that passes makes this software look more outdated, and what's wild is that this is actually an option. $1,585 for upgraded voice recognition and three years of navigation. Heated seats? Not on this trim. Heated steering wheel? No. Dual-zone climate control? Well, we don't have dual-zone climate control. How about digital readouts for our climate control? No. I guess we just eyeball it. And honestly, it's not just the amenities either. The steering wheel looks like it's taken from a 10-year-old Toyota, because it is. The driver information display is fit for a Luddite. The materials, solid though they are, they look clunky, chunky, and drastically out of style. But despite these criticisms, I can't deny that the 4Runner is dedicated to function, even if it comes at the expense of form. The controls are dead simple, and they're easy to handle. We got a volume knob, a tuning knob, hard buttons complementing the touchscreen controls. The front seats are surprisingly comfortable, and they offer eight-way power adjustments for the driver. The rear seat also offers ample leg and headroom, and there are all sorts of little cubbies in the center console for your phone, your wallet, your keys, your water bottle. This might cost $45,000, but it looks and feels like a work truck ready to get dirty. Now, you can buy a 4Runner with seating for seven. It comes with two little jump seats in the third row, but that leaves you with almost no cargo space. This is the way you want a 4Runner. Two rows, seating for five, a 40-20-40 split fold in the rear, and 47.2 cubic feet of space in the trunk, 89.7 with the rear seat folded. Do you agree? Let us know in the comments section if you would prefer a five-seater or a seven-seater 4Runner. Buy a Trail Edition, and you get a sliding deck in the trunk, which cuts cargo space down a tiny bit, but provides a nice workspace if you're out adventuring or whatever. The Trail Trim is also the only way to get one of these Toyota-branded 40-quart coolers, and granted, I don't know if I would buy a whole car just to get a cooler, but they're awesome. I mean, if you've ever used one, you know it's the kind of purchase that'll just about change your life. But let's talk powertrain. A 4.0-liter naturally aspirated V6, that's what makes this galoot move. It's basically a dinosaur, but I love it. 270 horsepower and 278 pound-feet of torque doesn't actually sound that impressive in today's world of turbocharged engines, but that kind of power coming from a big displacement naturally aspirated V6, it just feels like it always wants to roar, and as they say, they don't make them like this anymore. Put my subjectivity aside, however, and the 4Runner definitely displays some seriously flawed driving dynamics. Yes, the engine practically begs you to lay on the power, but it's paired with a five-speed automatic that has to hold gears forever, and that means it delivers absolutely dreadful fuel economy. I'm seeing a little over 15 miles per gallon, and the EPA says I should get 16 in the city, 19 on the highway, and 17 combined. And the suspension is off-roader soft. It pummels potholes because it's engineered for rocks and roots. But you want body roll? Good lord, the 4Runner will give you body roll. With all of its power and weight, hustling a 4Runner down a curvy road is the closest any of us are ever going to feel to being Derek Henry breaking off a 30-yard run after contact. Believe it or not, all of this is what makes the 4Runner so beloved by so many. Hang around with car people long enough, and eventually you're going to hear about analog cars. These are vehicles, usually sports cars, that are appreciated because they strip out all the technology and the wizardry, and they put the driver in intimate connection with the vehicle. And the 4Runner has that. It's rough, but it's charming. Don't buy this if you want peace and quiet. Buy a Toyota Highlander instead. This is all about style, it's about a lifestyle, and it's about capability. You see, the 4Runner drives the way it does on the road because it's engineered to do things other SUVs can't do off the road. The Trail Special Edition trim, truthfully, it doesn't really add any performance off-road kit like you would get on a TRD trim, but that doesn't mean this isn't incredibly capable as it stands. I have a trail that I like to take vehicles like this on when I'm test driving them, and I mean, honestly, it's not incredibly technical, but I wouldn't take my personal car on it. And the 4Runner has no problems whatsoever. Is it a bit bouncy? Sure. Is it a little rough around the edges? God, yeah. But hey, I mean, that's why Toyota will sell you that $379 skid plate that you see up front. At the end of the day, we've got selectable four high and four low four-wheel drive, and we can go up a trail, down a trail, pretty much anywhere we need to go in almost any weather in this 4Runner, and that's something you just can't say about your run-of-the-mill crossover or even SUV. Clearly, capability is a strong suit. The 4Runner's old undeniable failing was usually its safety tech. Now, that's not necessarily the case anymore, although this still doesn't offer market-leading advanced driver assistance features. In 2022, every 4Runner gets Toyota Safety Sense P, and that includes a pre-collision system with pedestrian detection, lane departure warning, and adaptive cruise control. LED headlamps are now standard across all trims as well, and that seems like a given, but it just became fact last year. Let's talk price. The base 4Runner SR5 starts at $37,605 plus a destination fee of $1,215. Now, from the inside, it's hard to see what our trail trim's extra $6,000 is buying us. The sliding rear deck, the cooler. On the outside, at least, you obviously get the blacked-out appearance details and, very obviously, the Yakima roof basket. If it were my money, I'd probably take an SR5 instead of the Trail, because I'm not really one for extra-cost wheels as it is, and between you and me, I think I can probably find a roof basket and a cooler for less than $6,000. I also wouldn't spend the money to lux up a 4Runner, because the Limited starts at $49,225 with four-wheel drive, and for that money, I'm thinking Ford Bronco if I want to get off-road and Kia Telluride if I don't. But an SR5 for high 30s? Well, listen, I know this is an aging platform, and I know that in this particular car, there are a lot of those blank plastic filler spaces, you know, where the nice amenities, all those buttons normally go. There's a lot of that in there, but I also can't think of another car on the market today that blends the practicality and capability of a 4Runner with this kind of analog driving experience. Eventually, this is probably gonna go away, or it'll be revolutionized with a hybrid or maybe even an electric powertrain. But if I'm shopping for a 4Runner and I know I want a 4Runner, then I probably don't want something that's high-tech and cutting-edge. I want this. So, hey, thank you for watching, be sure to subscribe to the CarGurus YouTube channel, and leave us a comment in the comments section below. You can head over to CarGurus.com to shop for a new Toyota and to read our full written review of this SUV. Thanks again, we'll see you next time.