Toyota 4Runner 5th Gen

Toyota started building the fifth-generation 4Runner at Tahara, Japan, in August 2009, unveiled it at the State Fair of Texas on 24 September, and then essentially forgot to replace it. Production ran until August 2024. In between, the world got turbo fours, ten-speed gearboxes and touchscreens the size of tea trays; the 4Runner kept its 4.0-litre V6, its five-speed automatic and its roll-down rear window. Car and Driver called it "basically made of bronze and granite." Buyers called it a bargain at any price: US sales climbed from 46,531 in 2010 to a peak of 144,696 in 2021.

A PRADO IN A COWBOY HAT

Underneath, the N280 shares its platform with the J150 Land Cruiser Prado, the Lexus GX 460 and the FJ Cruiser, and like them it is a proper ladder-frame truck with independent front suspension and a live rear axle. It was built only in left-hand drive and never sold in Japan. The 4th gen's 4.7 V8 did not survive the transition; instead, every truck that mattered got the 1GR-FE V6, now with Dual VVT-i. A 2.7-litre four-cylinder lingered on 2WD models for 2010 only.

Launch trims were SR5, Trail and Limited. SR5 and Trail 4x4s got a part-time system with a two-speed transfer case; the Limited went full-time. All had A-TRAC brake-based traction control, but the Trail was the one that mattered: Crawl Control, an electric rear locker and the optional Kinetic Dynamic Suspension System (KDSS), kit that had previously been reserved for Toyota's posher off-roaders. Nobody was going to mistake it for a sports car — but nobody buying one wanted that.

THE LONG PLATEAU

The 2014 facelift brought the pointier face with projector headlamps, LED tail-lamps, a revised dash with the Optitron cluster, better brake lines and Trailer Sway Control — and, notably, no driveline changes. For 2015 Toyota added the TRD Pro, with TRD-tuned Bilstein remote-reservoir shocks (later TRD Pros, including Car and Driver's 2022 test truck, ran Fox dampers), TRD front springs and a front skid plate. For 2017 the Trail became the TRD Off-Road, mechanically the same truck with more badges. The Nightshade package arrived for 2019.

For 2020 every 4Runner finally got Toyota Safety Sense-P, plus a new head unit with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. 2022 added push-button start, LED headlights and a TRD Sport trim that borrowed the Limited's X-REAS suspension and 20-inch wheels. 2023 brought a 40th Anniversary Special Edition limited to 4,040 units, and 2024 a TRD Pro-only paint called Terra. Car and Driver noted the truck hadn't had a major facelift in a decade; sales suggest nobody minded.

WHY THE TRAIL CROWD KEPT BUYING IT

It certainly wasn't the numbers. Car and Driver's 2022 TRD Pro needed 7.7 seconds to reach 60 mph, averaged 15 mpg overall and wallowed on pavement with "a huge amount of body roll and brake dive." What it had instead was a powertrain with no surprises: the 1GR-FE runs a timing chain with no scheduled replacement, the five-speed is old enough that every failure mode is documented, and the chassis is shared with enough Toyotas that the aftermarket is vast.

That aftermarket became the point. Trail4R alone has catalogued everything from transmission services to KDSS geometry correction, and suppliers sell lifts, control arms, sliders, bumpers, lockers and long-travel kits by the pallet. The KDSS debate became a 5th gen rite of passage: brilliant for a stock truck's flex and road manners, a headache once you lift it past about three inches. Owners argued about it for fifteen years, which is roughly how long Toyota left the truck alone.

THE AFTERMATH

The 6th gen arrived for 2025 on the TNGA-F frame shared with the Tacoma and Land Cruiser 250, swapping the V6 for a 2.4-litre turbo four and an optional hybrid. Even so, the old truck racked up 92,156 US sales in its final calendar year, according to Car and Driver. Its towing rating was 5,000 lb; the new one manages 6,000.

Used, the 5th gen is now the default 'buy once, build forever' SUV. TrueCar notes that 2010–2013 trucks under 150,000 miles can often be had for under $20,000, while Drivingline observed TRD Pros "regularly selling for well above MSRP." The usual inspections are frame rust, KDSS leaks, front axle seals and torn CV boots on lifted trucks. None of it is exotic, which is precisely why these trucks keep getting bought, lifted and driven into places a crossover would never come back from.