Off-Road Rivalry: 2025 Toyota Land Cruiser vs. 2025 Toyota 4Runner

Car and Driver

23-05-2025

Looking at the opening salvo of Hell's Revenge you'll likely exclaim, "Are you insane?" You're required to negotiate a narrow fin of sandstone barely wider than the vehicle itself, with sheer drops to either side. After that spicy introduction, it settles into something more traditional as you descend into an area called Lake Michigan, which is neither a lake nor something that bears a passing resemblance to the body of water that meets the western side of the Mitten State. You wobble over the rocks of the "lake bed," then there's a steep ledge to negotiate, and so it goes. It's the perfect trail to compare the off-road chops of the Toyota Land Cruiser and 4Runner.
Much is the same between these two machines, but there's also a lot that differs. They are both powered by a turbocharged 2.4-liter four-cylinder engine that puts out 278 horsepower and 378 pound-feet, but that's bulked up by a hybrid system that boosts overall power and torque to 326 horses and 465 pound-feet. This so-called iForce Max powertrain is standard on the Land Cruiser but is optional on the 4Runner trim we focused on, the TRD Off-Road. You can also get the TRD Off-Road without the hybrid, making the base horsepower and torque above.
Toyota
Both share the same wheelbase of 112.2 inches, and the frames of both are of the TNGA variety. They have the same track width at the hubs but differ fractionally at the tire contact patches due to the various offsets of the wheels they can be fitted with. The suspension is therefore identical in terms of the hard points that all the bits bolt onto, and those bits are the same, as both have control arms up front and a live axle in back located by five links and coil springs. The Land Cruiser has a bit less ground clearance (8.7 inches versus 9.1), and this explains why it has less breakover angle (23 versus 24 degrees). It has a 33-degree approach angle, which compares to a 19-degree angle on the TRD Off-Road courtesy of its air dam. It comes off in a jiffy with six screws, and for our drive, Toyota had already yanked off the offending piece. So configured, you get the full 33 degrees of the TRD Pro and Trailhunter, which don't come with an air dam. Departure angle is also better on the 4Runner, 24 versus 22 degrees.
Toyota
2025 Toyota 4Runner.
From a powertrain perspective, the 4Runner with the base engine was the star, as it seemed utterly smooth and linear at the small throttle openings required for creeping over boulders. Its deft touch stood in contrast to the Land Cruiser's iForce Max hybrid system, which felt slightly jerkier, with an initial hesitance followed by a surge forward. The hybrid version of the 4Runner was similar to the Land Cruiser, but not as bad, leaving us to believe that the weight of the hybrid system plays a role, but it's down to the way that electric motors deliver torque. Electric motors make peak torque at zero revs, so they come out of the hole a little too hot if the throttle response isn't tuned just so.
Braking was similar, in that the nonhybrid 4Runner again ran rings around the other two. The brake pedal was easy to modulate at low speed, and the passenger was hardly aware you were dragging the brakes at all. In the Land Cruiser, by contrast, it was harder to be smooth, and the brake dabs were easier for the passenger to pick out. The 4Runner hybrid was similar, but not quite as obvious. Perhaps the difference comes down to the regenerative braking on the hybrids and requires a special booster, but is absent on the normal 4Runner.
Toyota
2025 Toyota Land Cruiser.
The weight of the driveline has some effect, but we could not quite parse it out. The Land Cruiser's full-time four-wheel-drive system has a lockable center differential, while the 4Runner has a part-time four-wheel-drive system that doesn't need a center diff lock mechanism because it doesn't have a center differential at all. This makes the Land Cruiser's system a bit heavier, which may explain why it was fractionally more sensitive than the hybrid 4Runner.
On the trail, there was always a bit of head toss, but it was much more noticeable in the Land Cruiser. You sit up taller, so it may be the physics of the cabin. But the dampers on the TRD Off-Road 4Runner are 46-mm Bilsteins, which makes them monotubes. The Land Cruiser has unbranded black units, with necked down portions near the ends that give them away as twin tubes. Physics or no, this is a clear advantage for the TRD Off-Road. And who knows? This may be why the Cruiser seemed a bit touchier, too.
Toyota
2025 Toyota 4Runner.
There's no question about the looks of these rigs. The Land Cruiser has a more upright roofline and a lower beltline. It's a whole lot better in terms of trail visibility and getting in and out of the thing. It's 2.5 inches taller than the TRD Off-Road, and that leads to 1.6 inches more rear headroom than the 4Runner, which brained us every time we ducked into the back row. The front headroom isn't as bad once you're inside, but you've still got to watch your skull more on the way into a 4Runner.
As for rear legroom, the 4Runner is definitely more cramped, at 34.8 inches versus 36.7 for the Cruiser. Trail visibility isn't as bad as it might have been over the hood (especially if you bought a TRD Off-Road Premium, with the forward camera), but it's still a thing. But the view down out the side was a clear win for the Cruiser, and that was no small issue on the fin leading onto Hell's Revenge.
Toyota
2025 Toyota Land Cruiser.
Other differences are plain to see but less obvious unless you have the two trucks side by side. The rear window is a big one. The Land Cruiser has a flip-up panel, but the 4Runner has its signature roll-down window that you can easily keep down on the trail. The 4Runner has a bigger optional screen at 14.0 inches, while the Land Cruiser's biggest offering is 12.3 inches. Now, we think this 12.3-inch screen is actually better integrated into the dash than the 14.0-incher, which seems unceremoniously plopped atop it, but that's a matter of personal taste. The TRD Off-Road nonhybrid has a lower load floor because it doesn't need to make accommodation for the hybrid battery underneath. It has 90 cubic feet of cargo space behind the first row and 48 behind the second, which compares to 82/46 cubic feet for the Cruiser and 83/43 for the 4Runner hybrid.
A big difference is that the Land Cruiser has a Stabilizer Disconnect Mechanism (SDM) that unlocks extra articulation by disconnecting the front anti-roll bar, but the 2025 4Runner doesn't have one on the TRD Off-Road—which is odd, because the related Tacoma offers it. Now, we made these runs without using this feature on the Land Cruiser to keep things fair. For now, at least, you must spend big bucks and get a 4Runner TRD Pro or Trailhunter to get the SDM.
Toyota
That brings us to the bottom line: The 4Runner offers many more off-road focused options. You can get a TRD Off-Road for as little as $50,600 and bulk it up with Premium gear for $56,420. If you want the TRD Off-Road hybrid, that goes for $53,440, and it'll cost you $59,200 for the Premium. Meanwhile, the Land Cruiser starts at $58,150 for a base model without SDM or $62,920 for one that has it. Want a 4Runner TRD Pro or a Trailhunter with everything? The Land Cruiser doesn't play in this market. Prepare to fork over $68,350 for a 4Runner with the works, which nets a trick suspension (Fox or Old Man Emu) with SDM.
When the Land Cruiser came out, none of these comparisons were possible. We thought the world of it, and we still do. But this back-to-back-to-back driving was not possible 12 months ago. Now that it is, we're torn. We can make a more compelling case for the 4Runner TRD Off-Road, which is a slightly better driver now that we've taken it to Hell and back. If only it came with the SDM, it'd be perfect. Except for that matter of bonking our head. That still hurts.
Dan Edmunds
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Car and Driver
Dan Edmunds
Technical Editor
Dan Edmunds was born into the world of automobiles, but not how you might think. His father was a retired racing driver who opened Autoresearch, a race-car-building shop, where Dan cut his teeth as a metal fabricator. Engineering school followed, then SCCA Showroom Stock racing, and that combination landed him suspension development jobs at two different automakers. His writing career began when he was picked up by Edmunds.com (no relation) to build a testing department.