Joe Bacal, driver for JT Grey Racing & Performance driver training gave Lou Ann Hammond, CEO, www.drivingthenation.com a lap around the obstacle course at Diamond Cross Ranch in Jackson Hole, Wyoming in a 2014 Toyota 4Runner.
The first 4Runner was launched in 1984 and was based on the mechanics of the four-wheel-drive Toyota pickup truck. According to Toyota, Almost 30 years later, they have sold nearly 2 million 4Runners, and approximately 75 percent are still on the road! The redesigned 2014 4Runner Trail made it’s global debut earlier this year at the Stagecoach Country Music Festival in Indio, California, and the upscale 4Runner Limited was revealed at the FJ Cruiser Summit in Ouray, Colorado in mid-July.
The 4Runner has a reinforced body-on-frame design featuring a fully boxed frame, high-strength steel, and a rugged suspension system. At a press meeting a Toyota spokesperson told us that the 2014 4Runner is the last “body-on-frame” midsize SUV on the market, along with the FJ Cruiser saying, “we find that the 4Runner’s traditional body-on-frame DNA is an important feature for many buyers who also want the torsional strength to handle all terrains, even in the most extreme situations.”
Some of the off-road technologies include, Locking Rear Differential, CRAWL Control, Active Traction Control, and Multi-terrain selection. The multi-terrain selection includes mud, sand, rock, mogul, loose rock.
You will be able to recognize the new 4Runner as a 2014 through some of the new exterior features such as LED tail lights and redesigned wheels. If you get inside the 4runner you will see the brand new audio that includes the next-generation Entune Audio system and a refreshed interior styling.
There are three trim levels, Trail, SR5 and Limited. Trail is the trim level that we were in for the off-roading.
