4runner Enthusiast Blog

Toyota is bringing an affordable new four-chamber motor back to the base SR5 rendition of its completely overhauled 2010 4Runner. Yet, as we as of late found, this doesn’t fundamentally further develop mileage for this body-on-outline ute. All things being equal however, it seems to empower Toyota to offer a worth chief model at a much more reasonable cost.

The 2010 Toyota 4Runner beginnings at $27,500 for the four-chamber, back tire drive SR5. That is a $1,140 cost cut versus the base RWD 2009 Toyota 4Runner SR5 V-6. The current year’s base V-6 4Runner runs $29,175, nonetheless.

Quite a long time ago, the vast majority of Toyota’s 4Runners in the U.S. were sold with affordable four-chamber motors. That was the ’80s, however Toyota offered a four-chamber rendition the entire way through the start of ten years, and only a couple of years after the fact, for 2003, Toyota started offering a V-8 on the 4Runner.

This year, the V-8 is no more. The new four — the very 2.7-liter motor that is additionally introduced in the Tacoma — makes 157 pull and 178 lb-ft of force and is just presented with two-wheel drive, in 4Runner SR5 trim. An authority recommended that different models weren’t offered due to worries that the model would be underpowered with all wheel drive or as a Path model.

One gander at the authority EPA mileage evaluations give you another point of view — and an illustration that more modest motors don’t continuously bring better efficiency. The four-chamber motor isn’t probably going to save you much cash for a really long time in the 4Runner, in light of the fact that even in four-chamber structure the motor takes around almost 4,300 pounds of check weight.

The four-chamber 2010 4Runner is appraised at 18 mpg city, 23 interstate, while the V-6 4Runner, with back tire drive, does nearly also, at 17/23 (17/22 with all wheel drive). Towing limit is 2,000 pounds for the four-chamber model, versus 5,000 pounds for the wide range of various 2010 4Runners.

Last year’s 4Runner V-6 evaluated as low as 16/20 with all wheel drive — the upgrades mostly credited to overhauled gear proportions — and with the now-stopped V-8 motor the 4Runner accomplished only 14 mpg city, 17 roadway.

A base Toyota Highlander — about a similar size, and with a similar size four-chamber motor (however in fact not a similar unit) — weighs around 3,800 pounds and gets 20 mpg city, 27 thruway.

On the whole, Toyota expects four-chamber models to just make up around five percent of 2010 4Runner deals, cross country, with absolute deals of 25,000 to 30,000. At one time, Toyota sold in excess of 100,000 4Runners each year.

Shockingly, Toyota will just make the four-chamber 4Runner accessible just in select business sectors. In California, where there’s as yet a business opportunity for back tire drive sport-utility vehicles, Toyota intends to sell by far most of them; it will probably be offered all the more broadly in Southern states yet just extraordinary request in Northern climes.

One thing’s without a doubt: By getting into the four-chamber market, Toyota has a motor choice that is not presented in any of its opponents like the 2010 Nissan Pathfinder, 2010 Kia Borrego, or 2010 Passage Traveler.

Albeit V-6 forms of the 2010 Toyota 4Runner are as of now at showrooms, the four-chamber model will show up this month or next. Remain tuned tomorrow as TheCarConnection.com brings you driving impressions of the pristine 4Runner, and we’ll refresh you on how the four-chamber form piles up when we can get some seat time.