2023 Toyota 4Runner Reviews, Pricing & Specs

Toyota bases the new 2023 4Runner 40th Anniversary Special Edition on the SR5 trim level, and for the sake of brevity, we’re going to refer to it as the 40 ASE for the rest of this review. It adds $3,330 to the price of the SR5. This upcharge buys you retro body stripes, a heritage grille design, bronze 17-inch wheels, bronze exterior and interior badges, bronze seat and interior stitching, floor mats, and a numbered plaque on the dashboard that tells you what number your 40 ASE is out of the 4,040 that Toyota will build for 2023, 400 of which are destined for Canada. Note that if you want this special edition 4Runner, you can only get it with black, white, or red paint and a black artificial leather interior.

The line-up for 2023 includes the Toyota 4Runner SR5, TRD Sport, Limited, 40th Anniversary Special Edition, TRD Off-Road, and TRD Pro trim levels. New car prices range from $51,050 to $66,220, plus a $1,930 destination charge. Our 40 ASE test vehicle had no options and carried a manufacturer’s suggested retail price (MSRP) of $54,380.

We never thought it would happen, but somehow, stuff from the 1970s is cool again. Those yellow, orange, and red stripes sure are groovy, and the bronze alloy wheels are the bomb.

Toyota applies these flourishes to the fifth-generation 4Runner. It has the look and stance of truck-based SUVs of the past, which gives it an enduring appeal. The interior is equally purposeful, and while there is plenty of plastic covering various parts of the cabin, it looks and feels solid and of quality. In addition, the idiot-proof controls are easy to locate and use, even if you’re wearing gloves.

Every model year 2023 Toyota 4Runner has a 4.0-litre V6 engine making power specs of 270 horsepower at 5,600 rpm and 278 pound-feet of torque at 4,400 rpm. A five-speed automatic transmission sends power to standard four-wheel drive (4WD; rear-wheel drive (RWD) is not offered in Canada). It supplies a towing capacity of 2,268 kilograms (5,000 pounds).

Two 4WD systems are available. The most common is a part-time 4WD system. The 4Runner Limited offers a full-time 4WD system. No matter which drivetrain the 4Runner has, the Natural Resources Canada fuel economy rating is 13.8 litres per 100 kilometres in combined driving. We averaged 13.9 L/100 km in the 40 ASE.

The 4Runner has 24.4 centimetres of ground clearance and standard Active Traction Control. Depending on which version you get, there are several additional off-roading technologies. They include a locking rear differential, a Crawl Control off-road cruise control system, and Multi-Terrain Select, which manages wheelspin depending on which of four settings the driver chooses.

In addition, several 4Runner models offer specific ride, handling, and off-road performance enhancements. The TRD Sport and Limited have a suspension designed to improve on-road athleticism, the TRD Off-Road trim offers a suspension that improves wheel articulation by disconnecting the sway bars, and the 4Runner TRD Pro has a skid plate and a suspension system tuned for high-speed performance in the dirt with front and rear Fox shock absorbers.

We’ve spent plenty of time off-roading in Toyota 4Runners, and they never fail to impress us. Furthermore, in addition to providing the right hardware, the 4Runner offers available Panoramic View and Multi-Terrain View Monitor camera systems to aid visibility. For this review, conducted during a series of storms, we plowed through thick, greasy mud with relative ease and blasted through standing water. We did not, however, tackle any mountain or desert trails during the dicey weather conditions.

Instead, our black 40 ASE did what most 4Runners do. It ran errands in a suburb of a major city. And since it was raining, and the 40 ASE does not have automatic 4WD, we needed to be mindful of reduced traction on the slippery streets in rear-wheel drive (RWD) mode.

The 4Runner is a flawed grocery-getter and kid-hauler. Acceleration is best described as leisurely. The brake pedal operates like a light switch; one moment, there is no response, and the next, there is too much. The steering is heavy and slow, administered using a wheel that is too big for this size vehicle. Larger and sharper bumps cause the SUV to lose some composure and skitter a bit. Furthermore, the 4Runner gives you a sense of invincibility, yet it’s not infallible. It is important to recognize the latter while reveling in the feeling of the former.

The 4Runner’s powertrain relentlessly gained more than 300 metres in elevation along our usual test drive route, holding a steady 95 kilometres per hour without any gear hunting or engine surging. A right turn revealed that the 4Runner can hustle around gentler bends in the pavement. But, as we wound downhill, the kinks and curves along the dry part of the road revealed the lack of tire grip, slow steering response, and sketchy dynamics.

That is not at all surprising. This is a truck with body-on-frame construction that’s made to do truck things. It is much more at home in the dirt and mud, scrambling over rocks and across washes. Unfortunately, that’s not where most 4Runner owners spend most of their time.

One of our favourite things about the Toyota 4Runner is its rear window, which powers down into the tailgate. Lower it, open the sunroof, and drop all four of the automatic down/up windows, and the resulting flow-through ventilation provides an immersive driving experience similar to a Ford Bronco or Jeep Wrangler, but without as much sun exposure.

If you’re a shorter person, climbing into and out of the 4Runner takes some effort. But once you’re aboard, you’ll find comfortable seats. While you can get ventilated leather seats in the 4Runner Limited (heated seats and a heated steering wheel are standard in Canada), our 40 ASE test vehicle made do with Toyota’s SofTex artificial leather.

Toyota provides dual-zone climate control and numerous storage locations in the 4Runner. Unfortunately, many of them lack a rubber liner, which means things can slide out and tend to vibrate and rattle.

The second-row seating area is quite roomy, offering good legroom, decent headroom, air conditioning vents, and USB charging ports. The rear seat itself is a delight, supplying excellent leg support and a properly angled backrest for maximum comfort. You can also get a third-row seat in a 4Runner. However, it is uncomfortable, it takes up cargo space and raises the load floor when folded flat, and it leaves no room to carry anything when in use. We’d skip this option.

Open the tailgate to reveal a bumper that doubles as a seat. This is a perfect place to sit and get cleaned up after adventures involving dirt, mud, sand, salt water, etc. The cargo area also has several storage cubbies and trays and a handy 120-volt AC power outlet.

If you ignore our advice and get the third-row seat option, congratulations. Your midsize SUV now holds just 254 litres of cargo. That’s only a little more than a Mazda MX-5. If you took our advice and stuck with the standard five-passenger seating, you have a minimum of 1,337 litres of cargo space behind the second-row seat. Translated, that is a substantial amount of space for a midsize SUV. Depending on the trim level and equipment, a 2023 4Runner can also pack

There isn’t much modern technology aboard the 2023 Toyota 4Runner. This SUV has traditional analog gauges with a narrow strip of a digital driver information centre between them, and the biggest infotainment display you can get is an 8-inch touchscreen. Toyota even uses real knobs and buttons, and they’re big enough and spaced far enough apart that if you’re wearing gloves because it is cold out, you can still use them. In other words, the 4Runner’s interior is heaven to some people.

Better yet, the infotainment system is legitimately excellent. It has Apple CarPlay, Android Auto, and SiriusXM satellite radio. Several connected services plans are also available, each with complimentary trial subscriptions.

Upgrades include a navigation system, additional connected services, and a JBL premium sound system to replace the standard eight-speaker setup. In our experience, both audio systems are bass-heavy, so you’ll need to make adjustments to find a tolerable sound quality.

Though the display is small and the graphics date back years, the infotainment system’s home screen shows the radio station, the navigation map, and phone contacts. Get into a newer Toyota with the automaker’s latest infotainment tech, and you can’t display more than one menu or function at a time.

Better yet, the test vehicle’s voice recognition performed (almost) flawlessly. It could not find reggae music when asked, and since the 40 ASE has manual heating and air conditioning controls, it could not change the cabin temperature. But it handled all of our usual commands quickly, accurately, and with ease. That’s not always the case with newer Toyotas.

As with the list of in-cabin technology, the 4Runner’s Toyota Safety Sense menu of safety features provides everything you really need.

Standard equipment includes forward-collision warning with pedestrian detection, automatic emergency braking, adaptive cruise control, lane-departure warning, and automatic high-beam headlights. This year, Toyota makes blind-spot monitoring and rear cross-traffic alert standard on every trim level.

During testing, the adaptive cruise control supplied smooth braking when other vehicles cut into the gap ahead, the tech evidently able to finesse the brakes better than we could. However, when we changed lanes to pass slower vehicles, or a slower vehicle ahead changed lanes or exited the highway, the 4Runner took its sweet time getting back up to speed. In addition, the lane-departure warning can become irritating as it beep-beep-beeps with each infraction. You can turn it off using a button on the steering wheel.

Unfortunately, the 2023 4Runner shows its age when it comes to crash-test ratings. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) gives it an overall rating of four stars because it earns no better than a three-star rating for front passenger protection in a frontal-impact collision. Notably, the 4Runner also gets a three-star rating for rollover resistance. Considering how high it sits off the ground, that’s not surprising.

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) has not performed a full set of tests on the 4Runner. However, it gets a Marginal rating for driver protection in the small overlap frontal-impact test.

By modern standards, 2023 Toyota 4Runner prices are affordable, especially for what you get in terms of size, space, and off-road capability. Aside from needing to feed its seemingly unquenchable thirst for fuel, the 4Runner is a cost-effective SUV.

Beyond this, there are many appealing things about a Toyota 4Runner. It looks tough and rugged. It has a reputation for legendary reliability. It feels indestructible and provides significant off-roading capability. The technology is simple, helpful, and effective. It is roomy and comfortable for up to five people. And it conveys your “active lifestyle” as few other SUVs can.

Unfortunately, the lousy fuel efficiency and unimpressive safety ratings are two huge hurdles for the old-school 4Runner to surmount. As much as we like it, this SUV is overdue for a redesign.

Note: Images and video show a US model.