2025 Toyota 4Runner – Better And Pricier

The market for truly off-road capable trucks and SUVs has been getting increasingly crowded over the last several years with new entries like the Ford Bronco and Rivian R1 joining veteran models like the Jeep Wrangler and Toyota 4Runner. Toyota itself has been expanding its own off-road lineup by bringing back the Land Cruiser and adding new variants of the Tacoma and the Lexus GX. The 4Runner has been the anchor of the Toyota off-road lineup for more than 40 years, but the latest generation was with us for the last 15. Despite its age, it remained surprisingly popular with nearly 120,000 sales in 2023 and over 92,000 in 2024 as Toyota prepared to replace it. We’ve now had the opportunity to drive the new 4Runner and we’re confident that fans will approve of it. 

Like the Tacoma, Tundra, Sequoia, Land Cruiser, and Lexus GX and LX, the new 4Runner is based on the TNGA-F architecture. That means it shares a lot of basic features. In particular, the 4Runner shares its powertrains with the Tacoma and Land Cruiser. That means the old V6 is gone and every 4Runner has a 2.4-liter turbocharged four-cylinder engine and 8-speed automatic transmission. 

But it’s also available with the hybrid system used in all of the other TNGA-F trucks and SUVs. For the four-cylinder models including the 4Runner, a 48-hp electric motor is added to the transmission along with a 1.87-kWh nickel-metal-hydride (NiMH) battery. Toyota is one of the last automakers still using NiMH batteries in hybrids with pretty much everyone else now using lithium ion. The NiMH batteries are significantly cheaper and they have proven to be very reliable and durable in the dozens of hybrid models Toyota offers. They have less energy density than lithium ion so they are larger and heavier which means they take up more space but we’ll come back to that later. 

The gas-only variant produces 278 hp and 317 lb-ft of torque while the hybrid bumps those numbers to 326-hp and 465 lb-ft. That’s a significant improvement from the old 4.0-liter V6 which generated 270-hp and 278 lb-ft. But it’s especially noteworthy because the V6 torque peaked at 4,400 rpm while both of the new options peak at just 1,700 rpm making them significantly more driveable. 

There are more trim levels than ever for the 4Runner with 9 distinct variants from the base SR5 to the off-road oriented TRD Pro and Trailhunter at the top. Similar to the new Tacoma, the TRD Pro and Trailhunter are the most off-road capable variants but they are set up differently from each other. Both come only with the hybrid powertrain but the Trailhunter is tuned more for overlanding and rock crawling while the TRD Pro is set up for higher speed desert running, similar to Ford’s Raptor lineup. 

The Trailhunter is instantly recognizable by its 18-inch bronze finished alloy wheels with 33-inch Toyo all-terrain tires and a standard raised air intake (aka snorkel) running up the passenger side A-pillar from the fender. The snorkel doesn’t increase the 4Runner’s water fording capabilities because under hood elements haven’t changed and when driving with the passenger window up, there’s a lot of additional intake noise. Underneath, there are plenty of skid plates and Old Man Emu dampers along with an ARB roof rack. Trailhunter comes standard with steel skid plates in the front, under the transfer case, and rear differential, and with a composite plate under the fuel tank. 

The TRD Pro also gets the 33-inch Toyo tires but they are on black wheels. It also utilizes Fox QS3 adjustable shocks with remote reservoirs on the rear axle to help keep the fluid cool. A step down from these top models is the TRD Off-Road which relies on Bilstein monotube remote reservoir shocks. . The TRD Pro and Off-Road get less protection with composite plates in the front and under the transfer case and fuel tank for the Off-Road and an aluminum front plate for the Pro. 

We drove out from downtown San Diego to Vogt Ranch in a platinum trim which was nicely finished inside although it still has a decent amount of hard plastic surfaces on the doors and console. All 4Runners get a grab handle on the passenger side A-pillar to make getting in and out easier. The adaptive variable suspension on the Platinum provides a surprisingly good ride on surface streets. However, the low front air dam and and 20-inch wheels with all-season tires mean this version shouldn’t go any further than a dirt or gravel road. 

There are 2 USB-C ports in the bin ahead of the shifter along with a wireless charging pad. There’s also a shelf above the glovebox and another USB-C port on the edge of the infotainment screen for charging a phone. The Platinum and Limited come standard with full-time four-wheel-drive while the off-road models get a part-time system with two-speed transfer case. The base SR5 and TRD Sport are available with rear drive or part-time 4WD without four-low.

At the ranch, Toyota arranged three separate off-road courses tuned to the strengths of the Trailhunter, TRD Pro and TRD Off-Road. The Trailhunter route was much more technical and featured lots of large rocks on the trail as well as along the edges. In 4WD low, the exterior cameras stay on until about 15 mph which is helpful when navigating around those rocks to avoid slicing a tire on a sharp edge or to see what’s on the downhill side of a steep breakover. 

On the very technical route for the Trailhunter, that 15 mph cutoff for the camera was generally fine due to the inherently lower speeds. However, on the trails used for the TRD Pro and Off-Road, a higher speed similar to the 20 mph threshold on the Ford Bronco would have been preferable. The TRD Pro setup worked really well on the higher speed trail (up to about 30 mph in places) and kept the body very stable with limited head toss. Unlike the Tacoma TRD Pro, the 4Runner doesn’t offer the separately suspended Iso-dynamic front seats which is probably just as well since they really eat into rear seat leg room. 

On the less technical, but also lower speed trail, the TRD Off-Road handled obstacles like moguls without issue and never got hung up although it did have its front air dam removed. All three off-roaders were equipped with a locking rear differential and front stabilizer bar disconnect to provide for more wheel articulation. 

After our off-road adventures, we took a 4WD TRD Sport for an on-road drive. While the previous four trims we drove were all equipped with a 14-inch touchscreen with Toyota’s latest infotainment, the entry models make do with an 8-inch display.  While relatively small by current standards, the display was at least crisp and bright and Toyota’s interface makes it straightforward to use without too much clutter. 

The only real downside was the abundance of hard plastic which is really only an issue because the vehicle we were driving cost over $50,000. Therein lies the biggest issue with Toyota’s latest trucks and SUVs, they tend to be relatively expensive compared to primary competitors like the Ford Bronco and Jeep Wrangler. The Ford and Jeep offer features like removable doors and roof, more underbody protection and arguably better interiors at that price point. 

While a Wrangler or Bronco can certainly be optioned up to higher prices, the TRD Pro and Trailhunter both start at $67,000. Similar price premiums can be found on the Tacoma models. The base SR5 rear-drive starts at $42,220 delivered which is only a few hundred dollars more than the outgoing model, but from there the price increases get much steeper with the new TRD Pro running about $12,000 more than the last version. Of course that gets you significantly more power from the hybrid, but given Jeep’s recent price reductions, Toyota is going to have to rely on the loyalty of its customers to retain them, especially given some of the recent quality issues the company has had. 

Overall, the new 4Runner is very good, and a huge improvement over the old model, but it would be much more competitive if it were priced better. 

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