Disclosure: A huge thank you to my friends at Southeast Toyota for providing my family with a 2015 Toyota 4Runner to test drive. Although I wasn’t asked to post, my family enjoyed this vehicle so much I couldn’t wait to share my experience.
If you follow my blog regularly, you saw that last week the girls returned home from 3 full weeks at Camp Grandma, a magical place where the word “no” doesn’t exist and dessert is served all day long. Okay, so maybe that’s an exaggeration, but not by much. What I didn’t tell you last week was how we got to and from Camp Grandma…because it wasn’t any ordinary road trip. No, it was much more than that, because my friends at Toyota were kind enough to provide my family with a 2015 Toyota 4Runner to test drive. Check. It. Out.
My husband was even more excited than I was when it pulled into our driveway. And, seriously, who could blame him?
Our Toyota 4Runner came with seating for 5, leather interior, and a beautiful dashboard, complete with a huge in dash screen and tons of apps. Navigation, satellite radio, bluetooth, backup camera…and within minutes of the car being delivered, my husband had already figured out how to get the car to read his emails and text messages to him while he was driving. The Toyota 4Runner is beyond smart.
Unlike so many other SUVs, the 2015 4Runner also comes with a ton of storage space. Oh, the storage! We regularly have problems fitting everything in the car on road trips. There’s always too much stuff and not enough car, but not with the Toyota 4Runner. The split design of the back seat allowed us to put two-thirds of the back seat down on the way up to Camp Grandma while we only had Everett with us (we used the extra space to transport some rather large baby items that we were giving to some friends who are due this month), and then put the seat up on the way back when we had all 3 kids and a whole lot of luggage. There was even room for some cupcakes that I picked up and couldn’t bear to part with!
And because everyone has asked me – yes, you can absolutely fit 3 car seats across the back seat. I’m not sure that it could accommodate 3 convertible car seats (perhaps if the two on the sides were forward facing and the middle seat was rear facing, although I didn’t try it), but it most certainly fit our 2 forward facing convertible car seats and a booster.
It drove like a dream, too – extremely responsive, with a fabulous turn radius and great pick up. For me, it drove a little stiffer and a bit more like a truck than the Highlander did, but I also felt that being higher off the ground gave me a great view of the highway and cars around me. It was perfect for this trip, where we were on the highway most of the time, making good use of the 4Runner’s Eco feature. And if you need someone to vouch for the smooth ride, just check with this guy:
He enjoyed two naps on our roadtrip up. TWO. That’s virtually unheard of these days. Naturally, there were noticeably fewer naps on the way back when his sisters were in the car…
So as you can see, the 4Runner was the perfect car for our road trip. It was comfortable and fun to drive, while providing all the technology we needed along the way. But as great as the 4Runner was, the hugs we got from the girls when we arrived were probably my favorite part of the trip. Three weeks is a long time to go without those hugs!
Are you looking for a new car? Have a question about the 4Runner? Leave me a comment and I’d be happy to answer it!
Thank you for this. We own a Toyota Tundra full cab. It’s my husband’s. Now I am finally able to afford a vehicle for me. I already test drive the Rav 4. Too small and I really didn’t like it not for me. I love driving the Tundra so if this is like a truck I’m gonna love it. It looks Hadassah too. I will go test drive it this week!!!