Tacoma to 4Runner

[Burgi]

Just picked up this SR5 last night. I’ve had Tacomas for the past 10+ years and this is my first time in a 4Runner. I’m coming from a 24 TRD Sport which I love, but babies happen and I needed more space. I had 20k miles on my Tacoma so I’m used to the powertrain. The interior front row is basically identical to the Tacoma but the TRD was definitely nicer.

Got home last night and immediately removed the spoiler and I also swapped the chrome lug nuts to black ones I had and Plastidipped the front emblem. The dealership didn’t want me to swap wheels but they did let me take my tires which are 265 Open Country ATs. Overall I’m super excited for the 4Runner.

 

[KTRAN]

Congrats on both new babies (real baby + 4Runner)!! How's the 4Runner comparing to your Tacoma so far? From all the reviews I've read comparing them, everyone says the 4Runner just rides better, drives better and feels better quality overall.

Did the dealer do you right with your 2024 Tacoma trade-in?

 

[Burgi]

Congrats on both new babies (real baby + 4Runner)!! How's the 4Runner comparing to your Tacoma so far? From all the reviews I've read comparing them, everyone says the 4Runner just rides better, drives better and feels better quality overall.

Did the dealer do you right with your 2024 Tacoma trade-in?

Thanks man!! Im definitely going to miss the Tacoma. I had a 2nd, 3rd and 4th gen tacoma and the 24 was for sure the best riding. I had a TRD Sport, which regardless of 4runner or tacoma, the TRD sport is significantly stiffer than the SR5 models. I only have 80 miles on the 4runner but so far I would say they're pretty similar in overall feel. The tacoma has that little rear end chatter that all trucks have and I think the 4runner feels a little more refined. As far as the drivetrain, you can feel the extra weight of the 4runner and the tacoma feels a little quicker. The shift points feel the same and the drivetrain behavior is pretty much the same. For me the 8speed takes some getting used to. Its a major improvement over the 3rd gen transmission but sometimes it feel like you're lugging a little bit because you're in too high of a gear.

Can't really talk about build quality yet. The trd sport interior was nicer than the sr5 interior. I haven't crawled under the 4runner but in the engine bay one thing I noticed was that the tacoma had little markings on pretty much everything. Little paint marks on everything for which I guess is showing that during assembly the operator checked all those items. I didn't see any of those on the 4runner but that's really the only thing that's popped out to me so far. I don't think it really matters if its built in a Mexican or Japanese toyota plant. It's the Toyota processes that make it reliable and those are going to be the same everywhere.

Dealer was very fair on trade in. Caravan offered me more and the dealership ended up matching that. I took a little hit but that's to be expected for having 20k miles.

 

[TXPanhandle]

I just brought home the same! I really like the Cutting Edge. My 2022 Tacoma had 20,300 miles on it, and hoping to take advantage of a little more room with the 4Runner. 3 grandkids under the age of 3 to haul around.

The only changes I’ve made are de-badging the emblems.

 

[qtb007]

I'm guessing that the tailgate doesn't clear the 1Up single tray in the stowed position? That was a pleasant discovery I made with my 5th gen 4Runner after years of having to lay the tray down before I opened the tailgate with my old Thule rack.

 

[Burgi]

I'm guessing that the tailgate doesn't clear the 1Up single tray in the stowed position? That was a pleasant discovery I made with my 5th gen 4Runner after years of having to lay the tray down before I opened the tailgate with my old Thule rack.

it actually does clear the tailgate with the single tray. Only by like 5mm but it clears which is nice.

 

[qtb007]

it actually does clear the tailgate with the single tray. Only by like 5mm but it clears which is nice.

Nice, good to know!

 

[risurfstyle]

Looks great! Love my Underground SR5 - I kept wheels but updated to 265/70r17 Falken Wildpeaks. Also removed air dam. What black lugnuts did you switch to? I'm going to do same but not sure which to use. FYI one thing I've noticed is speedometer and mpg gauge are slightly off now due to the larger tires on the stock wheels due to larger diameter.

Just picked up this SR5 last night. I’ve had Tacomas for the past 10+ years and this is my first time in a 4Runner. I’m coming from a 24 TRD Sport which I love, but babies happen and I needed more space. I had 20k miles on my Tacoma so I’m used to the powertrain. The interior front row is basically identical to the Tacoma but the TRD was definitely nicer.

Got home last night and immediately removed the spoiler and I also swapped the chrome lug nuts to black ones I had and Plastidipped the front emblem. The dealership didn’t want me to swap wheels but they did let me take my tires which are 265 Open Country ATs. Overall I’m super excited for the 4Runner.

 

[Burgi]

Looks great! Love my Underground SR5 - I kept wheels but updated to 265/70r17 Falken Wildpeaks. Also removed air dam. What black lugnuts did you switch to? I'm going to do same but not sure which to use. FYI one thing I've noticed is speedometer and mpg gauge are slightly off now due to the larger tires on the stock wheels due to larger diameter.

Hey thanks. I really love the undergound too. The only downside is that it's pretty hard to keep clean.
I had the black lug nuts from my OEM Tacoma wheels. I think Toyota charges like $50 per lug nut so aftermarket is the way to go if you can find them. You could also try spray painting them but will probably have to touch them up every time you rotate tires. I didn’t even think about the speedo being off after going up in tire size but that makes sense.

 

[risurfstyle]

When you plastidipped the emblem how did you mask it? My understanding is the plasti dip will stick to the plastic parts so I was trying to figure out how best to apply since the whole grille is plastic

Hey thanks. I really love the undergound too. The only downside is that it's pretty hard to keep clean.
I had the black lug nuts from my OEM Tacoma wheels. I think Toyota charges like $50 per lug nut so aftermarket is the way to go if you can find them. You could also try spray painting them but will probably have to touch them up every time you rotate tires. I didn’t even think about the speedo being off after going up in tire size but that makes sense.

 

[Burgi]

When you plastidipped the emblem how did you mask it? My understanding is the plasti dip will stick to the plastic parts so I was trying to figure out how best to apply since the whole grille is plastic

I put a sheet of paper behind the emblem and then I used masking tape around the edges of the emblem and more sheets of paper around the emblem. Plastidip is really easy to work with. Even if you get a little overspray on other parts it’s easy to rub off after it dries.