2020 Toyota 4Runner TRD Pro new car reviews

From the looks of it, Toyota hasn't changed much on the current-generation 4Runner since it debuted back in 2009. Sure, a few different trim levels have come and go, the 157-horsepower inline-four was quickly dropped, and the interior has received a few minor upgrades. By and large, though, the SUV really hasn't changed. Under the hood is the same 270-horsepower V6 that was available science 2009.

Even though the 4Runner may look outdated on paper, it does have the benefit of being one of the few truck-based SUVs on sale today. In theory, that gives the 4Runner a much greater off-road capability than some of its more modern, unibody-based competitors.

Does this old-school SUV still keep up with the growing market of off-road and pseudo-off-road vehicles? Keep reading to find out.

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JG Pasterjak
Production/Art Director

The Toyota 4Runner TRD Pro is what would happen if your cousin—who is a Navy SEAL—dressed up as a Navy SEAL for Halloween, just wearing work clothes to the party and maybe taking a few minutes to do a covert op between the nacho tray and the pony keg.

The 4Runner TRD Pro package throws the entire catalog of off-road baubles at the vehicle. From the tubular roof rack, to the skid plates, to the Army Green paint job, the 4Runner certainly looks like the most capable off-roader at the mall parking lot. It just also happens to be about the most capable off-roader in the abandoned, haunted quarry behind the mall, too.

In truth, the 4Runner we know today hasn’t changed much since 2009 when the N280 chassis was introduced. But, it didn’t need to. The 4Runner is one of the world’s most ubiquitous and capable vehicles, and US sales have increased every year since the current model was introduced, growing from just over 20,000 vehicles when the N280 was introduced to a projected US total of over 140,000 for this year.

Like all 4Runners since the early ’80s, when they were basically in-house modified Toyota pickups, the floor on the current 4Runner feels high compared to other modern SUVs. That’s because the 4Runner is an actual off-road-capable unstoppable force and not merely a vehicle designed to take advantage of BOGO day at Bed, Bath and Beyond with extreme prejudice. Unlike some previous 4Runners, though, the current version does not have the numb steering feel and wandery nature of some of its predecessors. In the past, this was just a trait you overlooked because of its inherent trickiness, and its extreme capability off the pavement. Surely those were factors worth of some tradeoffs, right?

But Toyota has worked some sort of magic with the current version and actually given it pretty amazing road manners, truck or not. This is despite being fitter with some pretty serious off-road rubber.

The TRD Pro package probably helps the chassis control. The package gets you some trick Bilstein remote reservoir shocks, skid plates, and access to the package-only Army Green livery. With the 270 horsepower, 4.0-liter V6—the only engine available in the 4Runner—the vehicle can tow 5,000 lbs, which will doubtlessly consist mainly of 4-wheelers or side-by-sides headed to a hunting camp.

The 4Runner’s old-school nature mostly shows itself in the form of some missing features. You won’t find a power liftgate and a few other modern convenience touches here, but you end up not missing them much. The 4Runner does have a few cool tricks up its sleeve, though, like the sliding cargo floor, which actually makes loading and unloading pretty convenient.

Whenever a car shows up in the press fleet, we often read the reviews from our colleagues from other magazines. Mostly, the current 4Runners get judged kind of harshly. Lack of refinement, carryover drivetrains from previous generations, high price and lousy fuel economy are the most common complaints. On the final one, we can’t argue—if you see 13mpg in a loaded 4Runner you’re living well. But on the rest, we think they’re kind of missing the point. The 4Runner hasn’t received a lot of updates under the “if it ain’t broke don’t fix it” protocol, and 140,000 US buyers seem to agree that it definitely ain’t broke. As for the cost, well, our test car stickered out at $51, 500, which is a lot of scratch, but on some level, if this is what you need, you kind of know that and are willing to pay for it. To buy a cheaper vehicle and bring it to the level of the TRD Pro’s capability is going to cost a pretty penny, and the resale and the trade-in value on well-cared-for 4Runners—like many Toyota trucks—is scorchingly high.

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