Review and Test Drive: 2020 Toyota 4Runner TRD Pro and Nightshade Edition

2020 Toyota 4Runner TRD Pro in Army Green

DRIVING THE 2020 TOYOTA 4RUNNER

Press the start/stop button of either of the 4Runners and it would fire up a 4.0-liter normally aspirated V-6 engine that develops 270 horsepower and 278 pound-feet of torque, paired to a five-speed automatic transmission that lurches a bit when starting out in drive but otherwise seems like a good pairing.

Once underway in the TRD Pro, the ride is firm and doesn’t shock the system off road, thanks to the Fox shocks – the same ones the Tacoma TRD Pro gets – that Toyota bestowed upon the 4Runner. The 4Runner Nightshade Edition was a bit less rigid, more suitable for the more typical things SUVs are used for today such as running to the store and transporting a family or Little League baseball team.

Crawl Control makes driving on a steep downhill less stressful.  Select one of the five available speeds and off you go: The computer handles everything but steering.

2020 Toyota 4Runner NightShade Edition

The 4Runner’s Multi-Terrain Select system adjusts wheel slip based on whether you are driving in mud, sand, rock, or mogul, the latter covering uneven terrain such as V-ditches, slopes, and ridges, be it uphill or downhill.

Finally, Toyota added its Safety Sense-P package as standard on all 4Runners. This adds a plethora of driver-assistance technology including automatic high beams, pre-collision detection with pedestrian detection, dynamic radar cruise control, and lane departure alert.

BOTTOM LINE

The two 4Runners are completely different beasts, despite many of the same underpinnings.  From the military look of the Army Green TRD Pro to the more subdued NightShade Edition, the 4Runner is one impressive vehicle and can be ordered with shockingly different personalities.

Be it the 4Runner Nightshade or the 4Runner TRD Pro, the time-tested and extremely reliable powertrain suits the 4Runner perfectly and one of these may just be the SUV you were looking for.

(Photos: Accura Media Group)

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