Just picked up a new to me, used 2024 1958.
When the 1958 was new, I was actually disappointed. Mainly because I had extensive seat time in a 2022 GX460 and I used that as a reference.
I was underwhelmed by the sound of the engine (compared to the smooth V8), the ride (lots of vibration over small bumps), and the quality of interior plastic (in Canada, all dash, upper door, door armrest, and centre console lid are hard plastic).
I have now driven the car for over a week, and happy to share some of my experience:
1. Hybrid engine - still not liking the sound, but it's not like the 70-80 series are great either. It does offer fantastic fuel economy in stop and go traffic. I can routinely average 21-25mpg on my mostly city communte. The power delivery reminds me of an older turbo diesel, a bit of a turbo lag, some turbo noise, and a boot full of torque follows.
2. Ride - I think it's comfortable enough for a simple passive system. I will take that as a compromise over AVS, air suspension, or X Reas/KDSS which can be expensive to maintain down the road
3. Quality of (interior) plastic - Getting used to it. I would prefer softer plastic, but it no longer bothers me as much as it used to.
4. Mods - I have swapped out the aggressive offset winter wheels to tires, to original all season, and immediately switched to a set of 17" Tacoma TRD OR wheels and tires.
5. Why I am a 1958 convert - Yes a lot of confirmation bias, as I just bought it but:
1958 is actually really unique offering, that didn't get marketed well. It is often seen as a base trim, that does not offer traditional creature comfort to other SUVs in the same price bracket.
But it is more like what Porsche does for the "T" trim. And Porsche does not market the "T" as a base, but a "special" trim with performance goodies on an otherwise base engine/transmission. If you follow Rennlist, fellow T owners often discuss about the advantage of ordering a very basic, low/no option model with the mindset of keeping weight and complexity to the minimum.
The 1958 has most of the off-road and on-road mechanical goodies: Torsen based AWD, with Centre and Rear Locking Diff. But keep the frills at a minimum, which bolds well for simplicity and longevity. And because it is priced significantly higher than the 4Runner, it will not sell well, which is actually a plus for me.
The hard plastic on the exterior, along with multi piece bumpers, makes it very easy to replace if damaged going off-road.
There are many other options. 4Runner/Tacoma/are cheaper, but do not offer a combination of Full time AWD and Rear Diff lock; GX550 that offers rear diff lock is significantly more; Sequoia/Tundra only offers part time 4WD; LX is way too expensive for most people to think about possibly taking it off-road.
No regrets so far.
When the 1958 was new, I was actually disappointed. Mainly because I had extensive seat time in a 2022 GX460 and I used that as a reference.
I was underwhelmed by the sound of the engine (compared to the smooth V8), the ride (lots of vibration over small bumps), and the quality of interior plastic (in Canada, all dash, upper door, door armrest, and centre console lid are hard plastic).
I have now driven the car for over a week, and happy to share some of my experience:
1. Hybrid engine - still not liking the sound, but it's not like the 70-80 series are great either. It does offer fantastic fuel economy in stop and go traffic. I can routinely average 21-25mpg on my mostly city communte. The power delivery reminds me of an older turbo diesel, a bit of a turbo lag, some turbo noise, and a boot full of torque follows.
2. Ride - I think it's comfortable enough for a simple passive system. I will take that as a compromise over AVS, air suspension, or X Reas/KDSS which can be expensive to maintain down the road
3. Quality of (interior) plastic - Getting used to it. I would prefer softer plastic, but it no longer bothers me as much as it used to.
4. Mods - I have swapped out the aggressive offset winter wheels to tires, to original all season, and immediately switched to a set of 17" Tacoma TRD OR wheels and tires.
5. Why I am a 1958 convert - Yes a lot of confirmation bias, as I just bought it but:
1958 is actually really unique offering, that didn't get marketed well. It is often seen as a base trim, that does not offer traditional creature comfort to other SUVs in the same price bracket.
But it is more like what Porsche does for the "T" trim. And Porsche does not market the "T" as a base, but a "special" trim with performance goodies on an otherwise base engine/transmission. If you follow Rennlist, fellow T owners often discuss about the advantage of ordering a very basic, low/no option model with the mindset of keeping weight and complexity to the minimum.
The 1958 has most of the off-road and on-road mechanical goodies: Torsen based AWD, with Centre and Rear Locking Diff. But keep the frills at a minimum, which bolds well for simplicity and longevity. And because it is priced significantly higher than the 4Runner, it will not sell well, which is actually a plus for me.
The hard plastic on the exterior, along with multi piece bumpers, makes it very easy to replace if damaged going off-road.
There are many other options. 4Runner/Tacoma/are cheaper, but do not offer a combination of Full time AWD and Rear Diff lock; GX550 that offers rear diff lock is significantly more; Sequoia/Tundra only offers part time 4WD; LX is way too expensive for most people to think about possibly taking it off-road.
No regrets so far.
