2024 Toyota 4Runner: It’s Hugh Jass and We Love It

This year, the 2024 Toyota 4Runner is the largest it has ever been!

Now solidly an off-road vehicle (and boy, does it drive like one), it’s built on a truck-style frame, and it drives like a hard-working workhorse of yesteryear, which is reassuring when you are with your buddies trying to climb through rocks and dirt and other stuff of nature that may have gotten in your way.

You sit tall and wide in the 4Runner, a far cry from its early roots when it really was just a little gad-about-town.  Driving around town gets a little bouncy – and a little challenging – especially if you go through a drive-thru or two (or skinny lane) more than once a week. 

The 2024 4Runner looks like a truck, acts like a truck, drives like a truck and even quacks like a truck.  And for the most part, you must take care of it like a truck. 

There is plenty of room inside for your friends and all your gear – new, old and commemorative, however defined. There is 47 cubic feet of cargo room when you leave the backseats up – and 90 feet of cargo room when you put them down. 

No need to guess your friends’ weight or girth before you ask them to get in; they should fit in just fine. You may, however, want to make sure their steamer trunks and cooler chests are of reasonable size. 

Height and weight of this big boy will vary depending upon what kind of tires you get, whether you add roof rails, etc. Thus, this baby may not fit in your underground parking space (those of you who have one).

All 4Runners get just one engine choice: a V6 with 270 horses. That makes for a rip-roaring time, even in city traffic, and that really does seem like overkill when you are just trying to go for a nice (or simple) dinner, or just to park it – or just to visit your parents.

This is not a vehicle you buy if you are pinching pennies. Prices start at just over $41K US and average mileage is 17 mpg – so know that upfront.  And if you are considering this off-road beast, you are definitely not average – and why should you be?

As the summer and the planet heats up, it’s important that you stay as cool as possible.  How do you do that safely and smartly?

That’s why we are here at Bear World Magazine.  Stay Tuned.