The Toyota 4Runner’s lineup expanded with the current generation and now offers a dizzying nine trims, two powertrains, and two four-wheel-drive systems. New for the sixth generation is the Trailhunter, and for many enthusiasts, it’s love at first sight. The Toyota 4Runner Trailhunter’s Snorkel Isn’t Even a Snorkel, So Be Careful
The 4Runner Trailhunter is worth getting excited about; I sure was when it debuted! With 2.5-inch forged ARB Old Man Emu shocks with external piggyback remote reservoirs, and 33-inch all-terrain rubber from the factory, this thing comes packing. It also comes standard with a snorkel, but it’s probably not for what you think.
Up front, Toyota doesn’t even call that thing that comes out of the passenger-side front fender and up the A-pillar a snorkel. The Japanese automaker dubs it a “high-mount air intake.” Looks like a snorkel, right? Maybe, but there’s a big and important difference between a snorkel and a high-mount intake setup.
Confusing the two could be the difference between a fun adventure and a bad day that, at worst, could result in destroying your engine.
A snorkel is a sealed, high-mount air intake system that enables a vehicle to ford deeper water, increasing its ability to breathe higher. The keyword there is sealed, to ensure water doesn’t get into the intake system and drown the engine, which, at worst, could result in a seizure and a rebuild.
Toyota calls it a high-mount air intake because it’s not water-tight. The design simply moves the air intake point of entry higher off the ground, so if you were traversing dusty trails, the air grabbed and sucked into the engine will have a better chance of being clean and free of those dust particles.
Plot twist: The 4Runner TRD Pro, which is meant for going fast over unpaved earth, whereas the Trailhunter is meant for going slow on unpaved earth, does not have a high-mount air intake.
Aside from functional confusion comes livability. The high-mount air intake is loud. Start the 4Runner, and you’ll hear the air suck into that turbo-four hybrid powertrain when the engine starts up. Every time the throttle is applied, a loud whoosh comes online. These noises are more hidden and in the background in other applications, like the 4Runner’s taller, boxier sibling, the Land Cruiser, because the intake is hidden under the hood and behind the firewall. Same deal with every other 4Runner trim, except the Trailhunter.
Look, I adore the fact that the Trailhunter gets skid plates that run from the front bumper back to behind the transfer case. I will tell you the Trailhunter’s suspension and tire pairing make it easily the most comfortable 4Runner out of the box. But whether you want to live with the intake? That’s up to you and whether you and your loved ones are down with the whoosh whoosh noises from the turbo-four. Functionally speaking, it won’t let you go through deeper water or really enhance your off-road experience at all. Buyer beware.
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