The 2024 Toyota 4Runner protects our plans to see a spectacular celestial event right before its replacement comes out. Michigan was only partly in the line of totality for the 2024 eclipse, so we rushed from our office in Ann Arbor to a rural area of Ohio to see it all. Tragedy and traffic jams almost ruined our plans, but we were able to race along unpaved tracks and dirt roads to a great spot to see the eclipse. It usually takes about an hour and a half to get from Ann Arbor, Michigan, where Invoice Pricing is based, to Findlay, Ohio. When we went to that spot on our way out of town to see the eclipse in its entirety, Google Maps said the trip would take more than three hours. We needed to understand why. A lot of cars, trucks, vans, and SUVs were on the main roads south of Ann Arbor. They were all carrying Eclipse fans like us. We were able to get out of our jam, though, thanks to a quick thought. We chose to do things the old-fashioned way instead of following Google’s advice. We used the app to find side roads that would take us as far as we could go. You can avoid the highway altogether, but you’ll have to drive on some pretty rough country roads with big holes, gravel that falls apart, and uneven ground. We were thankful to have a 2024 4Runner TRD Pro for the day. The mid-size SUV was painted in the new Terra color scheme for 2024, which gave us peace of mind as we drove down those country roads. We had a great time. Still, the extra time it took to get to our viewing spot for the eclipse—normally an hour and a half—made us appreciate the 4Runner’s features even more, such as its comfortable suspension, stable high-speed handling on dirt, and cutesy retro interior. The 2024 4Runner’s digital center clock is simple and looks like it came from the 1980s, but it was useful as we drove along the coast. We had just over three minutes of a complete eclipse, so we needed to get where we were going on time. We only had a short time to take pictures of the 4Runner before the moon blocked out the sun completely. There is irony in this story because this age of 4Runners is coming to an end. At exactly 10:15 p.m. ET tomorrow, Tuesday, April 9, a new generation will be born. It will probably be a completely modern computer in ways that this one isn’t, but this trip serves as a reminder of what the old model left behind.
