2025 Toyota 4Runner Is Finally Here for Your Next Adventure

Yahoo

28-01-2025

The sixth-gen Toyota 4Runner is finally in showrooms now, after 15 years of the fifth-generation model.
It comes with your choice of two powertrains: a 2.4-liter turbo four-cylinder and a 2.4-liter turbocharged hybrid.
Prices range from the low 40s to the upper 60s.
If you've been waiting for a new 4Runner from Toyota, you've been waiting a long time—15 years if you started off when the last one, the Gen V, came out. Well, your wait is up. Behold, the all-new sixth-generation 2025 Toyota 4Runner.
And while it is all-new, it shares almost everything with the Land Cruiser and Tacoma pickup. No problem there—those are both solid rigs. Almost every car, truck, and SUV maker shares componentry, and this componentry isn't bad at all.
It rides on a body-on-frame chassis powered by your choice of gas or hybrid powertrains.
If some complained that the previous 4Runner didn't have enough power and torque, the new model addresses that with an i-Force 2.4-liter turbo making 278 hp and 317 lb-ft of torque. The i-Force Max hybrid offers 326 hp and 465 lb-ft.
And if mileage was a concern for the previous I4, depending on configuration the new 4Runner returns with an EPA-estimated 19 mpg city/25 mpg highway/21 mpg combined in 4WD to a maximum 20/26/22 mpg in base 2WD trim. Your mileage will vary all over the map.
And that's where you'll be able to go. The 4Runner isn't one of those poseur crossover utilities based on a Camry or Corolla or whatever car bodies remain. It is and always has been designed for serious off-roading. Unless you're planning some serious off-roading, stick with a Crown Signia.
With a standard eight-speed automatic transmission (no CVTs here), you will get the power down in two- or four-wheel drive. With a total of nine models to choose from, there will be something that suits your needs among the 4Runners.
The top-of-the-line model, in my opinion, is the Trailhunter, and it comes with the most equipment to conquer the most challenging trail. The Trailhunter comes with the i-Force Max hybrid powertrain, the setup with 326 hp and 465 lb-ft of torque.
Trailhunter includes standard Old Man Emu shocks (Old Man Emu suspension systems by ARB are 'designed for superior performance, comfort, and durability,' says ARB), a low-profile high-mount air intake (which may or may not look kinda silly), and 33-inch Toyo tires with 18-inch bronze-finished rims (that'll be scraped up after your first 400 feet of genuine rock stomping).
There's also an on-board air compressor and distinctive exterior features like RIGID Industries color-selectable LED fog lamps, an ARB roof rack on a roof that can hold up to 770 pounds, and even a bronze-colored 'TOYOTA' heritage-inspired grille with an integrated LED light bar.
Both Trailhunter and TRD PRO models ride on 265/70 tires on 18-inch rims, which are a good combination for not only off-highway rock-hopping but comfort on-road, too. Both also have 33-degree approach angles, 24-degree breakover angles, and 24-degree departure angles, meaning you can crawl over just about anything that gets in your way.
Those top models are priced in the mid-$60,000 range, depending on how you spec them.
But you can get a competent four-wheeler at the lower end of the 4Runner spectrum, too. The entry-level SR5 2WD comes standard with an automatic limited-slip differential (Auto LSD) that will get you into and out of almost any situation. The entry-level SR5 starts at just over $42,000 depending, again, on how you spec it out.
And you can spec these all kinds of ways across those nine model lines, almost all of which are capable and competent on any surface.
For instance, the 4Runner's four-wheel-drive models have an electronically controlled two-speed transfer case with high/low range along with Active Traction Control (A-TRAC) and an automatic limited-slip differential.
An electronic locking rear differential is standard on TRD Off-Road, TRD Pro, and Trailhunter grades. The Limited is offered with an available full-time four-wheel-drive system with a center locking differential on i-Force Max models, while this setup is standard on Platinum grades.
How does it all work? I got to try out several 4Runners on a variety of motocross dirt tracks in the SoCal desert east of San Diego. With a twist of the drivetrain selector, I was in 4-wheel low in seconds and began creeping along on steep whoopdeedoos meant for flying dirt bikes.
When the windshield filled with blue sky, I switched on the forward-facing camera to see which way to turn. For steep downhill or uphill stretches there was Toyota's Crawl Control, which maintains the throttle and grip like a low-speed cruise control.
The only fault I noted was that over a slightly higher-speed dirt course where I wanted to hang the tail out like Ivan Stewart, I found the traction control intervening all too easily. More time playing with the Drive Mode Select knob, which changes between available modes allow the driver to change the settings of the drive force, suspensions, steering system, etc., might have sorted that out to my satisfaction.
Standard drive modes include Normal, Eco, and Sport, which adjust shift and pedal mapping, HVAC performance, and steering feel.
The Limited and Platinum grades add two pre-programmed drive modes, Sport S+ and Comfort, as well as a Custom mode allowing you ultimate control over your driving experience. A Tow/Haul setting is available, too, to use up every one of those 465 lb-ft of torque.
On paved highway the 4Runners I drove were all competent for their classes. Toyota says the new 4Runner competes with other midsize off-road capable SUVs like the Ford Bronco and Jeep Wrangler.
Most Broncos are competent off-highway, too, and are priced several thousand dollars cheaper than the 4Runner if you're willing to forgo two doors. It's been decades since the 4Runner had a two-door model.
The Jeep Wrangler is even more competent off-road and costs even less than the Bronco, depending, as is always the case, on which features you want. Once you get Bronco and Wrangler up to four-door models the prices get closer together.
All three competitive models are within inches of each other on the specs chart, with the Bronco and Wrangler four-doors four and six inches longer, respectively, in wheelbase but six and seven inches shorter in overall length. Those two 4Runner competitors also have a few cubic feet more total passenger volume.
All three models sell at a rate of about 100,000 to 150,000 a year, which means decent profit for their makers.
How about inside? The 4Runner only comes with four doors and five seats. There's an eight-inch (or optional 14-inch) touchscreen that displays Toyota's Audio Multimedia system that supports the wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto that all the kids want, along with as many as 14 speakers in the JBL premium audio system.
And it goes without saying nowadays that the vehicle includes a full suite of ADAS to alert you to almost any threat to your driving safety.
So should you buy one? It's competent and comfortable and comes with Toyota's reputation for bulletproof reliability.
With that 770 pounds of roof load rating, you should be able to pile enough gear on top of your 4Runner to sell the Mercedes cargo van you've been van-lifing in and really get out in the wilderness.
Which one: 4Runner, Bronco or Wrangler? Let us know below.