Hey hey!
Checking in to say hi. Kiddo and I have successfully completed our move/road trip from Key West, Florida, to Denver, Colorado! The 4Runner was wonderful to drive, even packed to the gills with our personal belongings
We made several stops along the way; not driving more than 8 hours in any given day, along with a five-day stop in Disney World. Including those stopovers, it was a very enjoyable 10-day trip. No issues with uncomfortable seats, and the built-in lumbar support was a blessing. Cruise control was very responsive; especially cruising up and down the mountains through Tennessee. Thank goodness for the awesome backup camera, as the truck was completely packed full, and I couldn't see out the rear view mirror (I have after-market blind spot mirrors as well). Altogether, it was a 2,200 mile trip, from Key West, to Orlando, to Atlanta, to Nashville, to St. Louis, to Kansas City, to Denver, averaging about 18.1 mpg.
Even though the 4Runner came with an on-board GPS, it's pretty much like what you get with most standard-equipment GPS devices, and lacks some of the cool features of standalone GPS units. I happened to have snagged a pretty good Gold Box deal on Amazon for a Garmin nüvi 2597LMT. (I also added on a Sesame Street Bert & Ernie voice package on top, per my other post... LOL) I liked that the Garmin had 3-D renderings of highway exits and lane indicators, along with handy lists of close-by gas stations and restaurants. I'll do a more detailed review of the Garmin later on, but having used a Magellan before, I have to say, I prefer some of the features of the Magellan instead, like announcing turns a little earlier than the Garmin tends to do.
https://www.amazon.com/Garmin-Bluet...493157831&sr=8-2&keywords=Garmin+nüvi+2597LMT
I also ran an extension cord from the power outlet in the cargo area up to the passenger seat, so my daughter and I could fully charge our myriad of devices. I found that the 100w output up on the dash just wasn't enough. I had Bluetooth audio streaming, and the phone couldn't charge and stream at the same time, unless it was plugged to the extension cord, connected to the 400w in the back of the truck. I would love to see Toyota add a little more juice to the front outlets for power-hungry devices like smart phones and tablets.
It's been a week since we arrived in Colorado, and we are absolutely loving it out here. I've had a chance to get the truck dirty, through some muddy back country roads, taking the kiddo horseback riding, and up and down hilly roads each day. Lots of fun, and I'm very pleased with my new purchase of this truck.
Checking in to say hi. Kiddo and I have successfully completed our move/road trip from Key West, Florida, to Denver, Colorado! The 4Runner was wonderful to drive, even packed to the gills with our personal belongings
We made several stops along the way; not driving more than 8 hours in any given day, along with a five-day stop in Disney World. Including those stopovers, it was a very enjoyable 10-day trip. No issues with uncomfortable seats, and the built-in lumbar support was a blessing. Cruise control was very responsive; especially cruising up and down the mountains through Tennessee. Thank goodness for the awesome backup camera, as the truck was completely packed full, and I couldn't see out the rear view mirror (I have after-market blind spot mirrors as well). Altogether, it was a 2,200 mile trip, from Key West, to Orlando, to Atlanta, to Nashville, to St. Louis, to Kansas City, to Denver, averaging about 18.1 mpg.
Even though the 4Runner came with an on-board GPS, it's pretty much like what you get with most standard-equipment GPS devices, and lacks some of the cool features of standalone GPS units. I happened to have snagged a pretty good Gold Box deal on Amazon for a Garmin nüvi 2597LMT. (I also added on a Sesame Street Bert & Ernie voice package on top, per my other post... LOL)
I liked that the Garmin had 3-D renderings of highway exits and lane indicators, along with handy lists of close-by gas stations and restaurants. I'll do a more detailed review of the Garmin later on, but having used a Magellan before, I have to say, I prefer some of the features of the Magellan instead, like announcing turns a little earlier than the Garmin tends to do.https://www.amazon.com/Garmin-Bluet...493157831&sr=8-2&keywords=Garmin+nüvi+2597LMT
I also ran an extension cord from the power outlet in the cargo area up to the passenger seat, so my daughter and I could fully charge our myriad of devices. I found that the 100w output up on the dash just wasn't enough. I had Bluetooth audio streaming, and the phone couldn't charge and stream at the same time, unless it was plugged to the extension cord, connected to the 400w in the back of the truck. I would love to see Toyota add a little more juice to the front outlets for power-hungry devices like smart phones and tablets.
It's been a week since we arrived in Colorado, and we are absolutely loving it out here. I've had a chance to get the truck dirty, through some muddy back country roads, taking the kiddo horseback riding, and up and down hilly roads each day. Lots of fun, and I'm very pleased with my new purchase of this truck.
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