The Limited V6 2WD ($34,350) and 4WD ($36,625) come with leather upholstery, heat and memory functions for the front seats, black wood-grain-style interior trim, dual-zone automatic climate control, premium stereo with six-CD changer, HomeLink, auto-dimming inside mirror, engine immobilizer, automatic headlamps, a cargo-handling system, and 18-inch aluminum wheels. The grille is color-keyed and the running boards are illuminated. Limited V8 2WD ($36,110) and 4WD ($38,385) list the same standard equipment. Limited models ride on the standard suspension, but can be ordered with the X-REAS suspension ($450); V8 models can add pneumatic self-leveling ($950).

A third-row seat is available for the 4Runner in a limited number of package combinations.

A GPS navigation system with a rearview video camera is optional on all 2006 models ($2,420-$2,840). A power moonroof ($900) and a new rear-seat DVD player ($1,580) with wireless headphones is available for all models. Some Limited-level luxuries are offered as stand-alone options for SR5 and Sport Edition.

All 4Runners come with Toyota's Star Safety System, which includes Vehicle Stability Control (VSC), traction control, anti-lock brakes (ABS), Electronic Brake-force Distribution (EBD) and Brake Assist. All models also feature a Hill-start Assist Control (HAC) while 4WD units add Downhill Assist Control (DAC).

Passive safety features include dual-stage front airbags; and three-point seat belts at all positions, with pretensioners and force limiters to reduce the chance of belt-related injuries. Front side-impact airbags and curtain-style head protection airbags for front and rear passengers are optional ($650-$680) on all 4Runners and are equipped with a rollover-sensing system and a cutoff switch. All models come with a tire pressure monitor

Walkaround

Back when Toyota pickup trucks were sleek and compact, the 4Runner looked like a sleek, compact wagon (with extra ground clearance) based on a Toyota pickup. All that changed when the current-generation 4Runner arrived in 2003, or at least the sleek-and-compact part did. While still clearly related to a Toyota truck, today's 4Runner is big and burly. It only looks small in relation to Toyota's even bigger Sequoia.

Styling changes for 2006 add still more visual muscle. The trapezoidal grille remains, but now it slashes into the bumper below; and one big, bold horizontal crossbar has replaced the two slimmer bars used previously. Foglights, when ordered last year, were contoured to the surface of the bumper; now they are standard, and they hunker down in squared-off foxholes. The more massive and bumpy front bumper sets a chunkier theme that continues through more prominent overfenders and body cladding (making the 2006 model an inch-and-a-half wider than the '05). Headlights and taillights have been more subtly re-shaped, with the teardrop effect of the former slightly exaggerated.

More than ever, the 4Runner looks off-road rugged and ready to hit the dusty trail. Backing up that contention are skid plates for the engine, transfer case and fuel tank, all of which come standard. (Even 2WD models get the engine and fuel tank plates.) A molded-in step adds a functional look to the broad rear bumper.

Visual cues help distinguish among the three trim levels. Bumpers are body-color on all three models. On SR5, however, grille, door handles, and the license-plate trim are chrome, and running boards are painted black. The Sport edition retains the hood scoop and is further distinguished by a smoked-chrome effect in its grille and headlamp trim, and by a graphite-and-black roof rack. Tubular side steps replace the SR5's running boards. The Limited looks almost military with its body-color grille, black roof rack and black running boards (which are illuminated). The standard aluminum-alloy wheels have six spokes on SR5 and Sport Edition; five on Limited, and they grow from 16 inches to 17 to 18 as you move up the line.

4Runner's windshield, side windows, and side mirrors are made of hydrophilic glass and repel water like a waxed car or a window that has been treated with Rain-X. The glass causes water to form large drops, which are quickly shed by gravity or wind. The side mirrors are angled out to increase the driver's field of view. The available moonroof includes a two-stage wind deflector designed to reduce wind noise when traveling above 55 mph.

Interior Features

The Toyota 4Runner cabin is a good place to be in rugged terrain and nasty weather. For starters, it's roomy and comfortable. It's highly functional. The quality of materials and they way they fit together is good, and loaded models are quite luxurious. Overall, the 4Runner cabin looks traditional SUV, in spite of some high-zoot features.

The standard cloth is nice, and the cloth seats in the SR5 and Sport Edition are comfortable, with side bolsters to keep the driver in place when cornering or driving off road. All seats offer adjustable headrests and three-point seatbelts, and the driver's seat adjusts eight ways, manually on the SR5 V6 and powered on all others. The driver and front passenger sit up high, as one expects in an SUV, yet flatter to the floor, as in some low cars like a Ford Mustang. The driver's legs stretch out, rather than down, toward the pedals. It's a feeling we've noticed in some Jeeps, going back quite some years, and it's the side effect of a very practical SUV impulse to pull the ground clearance up as high as possible while keeping the overall profile low for stability.