We can all day-dream about off-road adventures. Powering over sand dunes in Baja. Scrabbling over rocks along California’s Rubicon Trail. Mud-bogging along some Vermont backroad.
Closer to home, there’s the 1,200-mile Florida Adventure Trail – FAT for short – that stretches across north-west Florida, from the Alabama state line, down the Gulf coast and ending up in the Ocala National Forest.
It’s on my bucket list to experience one day. I already have mud boots.
Fact is, however, for most of us who buy a go-anywhere 4×4, the biggest off-road challenge we’ll face is a muddy parking lot at a Little League game after a summer deluge.
But for all you dreamers out there, I have the perfect 4×4. One that combines proven off-road capability, with a few luxury touches for those times you’re not climbing rocks.
Toyota’s 4Runner has been around since 1984 when it was little more than a Hilux two-door pick-up truck with a removable fiberglass bed cap.
Four decades and six generations later, it’s matured into a terrific daily-driver, with turbo power, the option of hybrid-assist, and an eight-speed automatic with Sport modes. Yet one that hasn’t lost is wanderlust.
While 4Runners kick-off in price with a stripped-out, base, two-wheel drive SRT at $43,320 – no, you wouldn’t want it – I’ve just spent the week with a 4Runner 4WD Limited, priced from $58,850, or $62,785 as tested.
For that you get plenty of hi-lux features, like leather upholstery, heated and cooled front seats, 20-inch alloys, 14-inch touchscreen, plus that 4Runner-trademark power-down tailgate window.
See it in our tester’s lovely Heritage Blue paint, and it still looks like something out of a Tonka Toy catalog. The front end, in particular, has a scowling, slightly-angry face guaranteed to scare small pets and young children.
In profile, it’s all bulging wheel arches, fenders like John Cena’s biceps, and a hood as long and flat as Texas.
It still rides on an I-beam-stiff frame chassis it shares with Toyota’s Tacoma and Tundra pick-ups, and fancier Land Cruiser and Sequoia SUVs.
Whereas the last-generation 4Runner used a big ol’ 4.0-liter V-6 for propulsion, this latest version comes with a turbocharged 2.4-liter four-cylinder packing 278 horseys and 317 lb-ft of torque.
Invest an extra $2,800 in your 4Runner and you can upgrade to a hybrid version. It features an electric motor sandwiched between the engine and 8-speed automatic to increase power to a more-like-it 326 hp and 465 lb-ft.
That said, while 0-to-60 mph acceleration drops from around 8.2 seconds to 6.7 secs, fuel economy improvements are minimal – you’re looking at just 23 mpg combined.
The battery also takes up valuable space in the load area and means there’s no option of a third row seat. Add in that hefty price premium, which pushes the cost of a Limited to almost $63,000 before options, and I don’t think it’s worth it.
Out on the road, the non-hybrid 4Runner feels lively enough, especially if you hit the Sport button, which is like adding a shot of 5-Hour Energy to the gas tank.
There’s nothing too sophisticated about the way the 4Runner goes down the road. Over anything but pool-table-smooth blacktop, it jiggles and jolts. Even switching to the softest Comfort mode does little to soften the ride.
Those standard 20-inch Dunlop Grandtrek all-season tires are more designed for grip in the mud rather than sharp handling. Couple that with less than precise steering and you take sharp curves with care.
But it’s built for adventure, so when you load up the back with camping gear and strap a kayak or two to the roof, that’s when the 4Runner makes sense.
Now remind me which way is that Florida Adventure Trail? This 4Runner might just be the perfect truck to try it for size.
