From Off-Roading to City Life the 2020 Toyota 4Runner is an SUV to LOVE

When you think Toyota 4Runner, what do YOU think of? For many, the immediate thought when you think of the 4Runner is outdoors. Camping, off-roading and adventure are what the 4Runner is known for. So when my family had the change to review the 2020 Toyota 4Runner, while we had adventures planned I definitely wanted to see how the car would handle city life. *Spoiler alert* the boys have asked to get the car back every day since it got picked up. The 2020 Toyota 4Runner definitely turned out to be an SUV to LOVE.

**Thank you to Toyota USA for loaning the 2020 4Runner Nightshade Edition to my family and I for review purposes. All opinions expressed in this post belong to Life with Tanay.**

Lets Talk About the Interior

Our family of 4 is used to having a lot of car space. We currently spend a good portion of our time in our minivan and we love to take the boys on “adventures”. Having a car with a roomy interior is something that we are definitely used to. The Nightshade Edition of the 2020 4Runner has optional 3rd row seating. This gives it the possibility to seat up to 7 passengers. While we didn’t utilize the 3rd row, I did open it up to give my Instagram friends a chance to check it out. With the 3rd row open, it does take the cargo space from almost 47 cubic feet, down to 9 cubic feet.

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Does the Toyota #4Runner come with 3rd row seating? _ Yes and no! Lol. The Limited, SR5 and Nightshade Editions (which I tested) have optional 3rd row seating. This takes the capacity of your 4Runner from 5 to 7 people! _ The third row is definitely meant for children, or if you’re tiny like me (5’2) you’d probably be okay! _ Check out how easy it is to take your #4Runner from 2 to 3 rows. #Toyota #toyotapartner #toyota4runner @toyotausa #carreels

A post shared by Tanay Michele (@tanaymichele) on Aug 30, 2020 at 12:27pm PDT

The Nightshade Edition also comes with a beautiful blacked out interior. This includes black steering wheel, shift knob, center console panel and inner door handle grips.

Driving the 2020 4Runner to Six Flags Wild Safari Drive Thru

We didn’t have any off-roading planned, but the 4Runner was the perfect vehicle to take on our safari adventure. The 4Runner gets about 19 MPG highway, which could make it a little bit expensive in terms of gas. We were able to drive the 140 miles roundtrip, without needing to fill up on gas at all. Also, since we aren’t spending that much time outside nowadays we drove the car considerably less than we would have last year for example.

The 2020 4Runner also received some new safety upgrades. Equipped with Toyota Safety Sense, the 4Runner considers the driver, passengers and pedestrians alike. Lane departure alert is one feature I really appreciate as I’m sure like any mom, my kids are constantly calling me while I drive. It definitely helps to have that alert that lets you know if for whatever reason you’re drifting into another lane.

Is the 2020 Toyota 4Runner a Good Family Vehicle?

While beautiful and spacious, there are definitely things to think about if you’re a family considering to purchase a Toyota 4Runner.

Gas mileage – 17 mpg city and 19 mpg highway. If your family spends a considerable amount of time in the car, you’ll definitely be making more trips to the gas station than with for example, a hybrid SUV.
Cargo space – With the optional 3rd row in use, the Toyota 4Runner only has 9 cubic feet of cargo space. This was fine for a small grocery trip, but wouldn’t have worked if we needed to use the 3rd row and the boys wanted to take their bikes to the park.

The 4Runner also may not be the best for moms of small children. The boys had a little bit of a hard time climbing in and out the car. Of course they didn’t care, but I had gotten used to them being able to climb in and out alone. It also slightly bothered me not having an automated trunk. It just makes things easier to go hands free when you have children and also a lot of stuff.

Overall Opinion about the 2020 Toyota 4Runner

In the end, my family ended up loving the 4Runner. The boys loved the space of the full sized SUV, even with having to climb up into it. I loved that the vehicle is packed with safety features while not losing it’s “tough” look. And James was happy to get a break from driving the minivan LOL. If you spend a lot of time road-tripping this is definitely a car to consider. And while other vehicles may seem like a better fit for city-living, the 4Runner has definitely become a contender.

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