The long anticipated release comes as automakers are increasingly hedging their bets on EVs with hybrids
After weeks of teasers, the final product is finally here: the actually new, sixth-generation 2025 Toyota $TM 4Runner is even more off-road capable than before, but with widely improved technology, handsome new looks, and new trim levels for greater visual impact and off-road prowess. It seems the new 4Runner may have been worth the fourteen-year wait. Read on for the full rundown.
The sixth-gen 4Runner comes with two powertrain options. The first is the 2.4-liter turbochared inline-4 i-Force engine that makes 278 horsepower and 317 lb-ft of torque, an increase of 50 hp and 74 lb-ft over a base new Tacoma. This is the standard engine on the SR5, TRD Sport, TRD Off-Road, and Limited trims.
If you’re more interested in being an owner of the most powerful 4Runner ever, then you’ll want to opt for the i-Force Max hybrid. This powertrain bumps your output to 326 horsepower and 465 lb-ft of torque (the same as the Tacoma) by pairing the 2.4-liter engine to a 48-hp electric motor and a 1.87-kWh battery pack. This option is available on the TRD Off-Road and Limited models, and it comes standard on the TRD Pro, Trailhunter, and Platinum trims. An 8-speed automatic is the only transmission option, a huge upgrade over the old 5-speed.
The new 4Runner is built on Toyota’s TNGA-F truck platform that you might recognize from other models like the Tacoma, Tundra, Sequoia, and Land Cruiser. This gives you a tough, boxy steel-ladder frame with multi-link coil rear and double wishbone front suspension. On the 4Runner Toyota is introducing an available stabilizer bar disconnect mechanism to increase suspension articulation without your tires needing to leave the road. Paired with a 32-degree approach angle and a 24-degree departure angle, plus a multi-terrain monitor that allows you to see potential obstacles from the center console, you might just become the most proficient off-roader out on the trail.
You have options between two-wheel drive (with an automatic limited-slip differential), part-time four-wheel drive or full-time 4WD. The latter two get an electronically controlled two-speed transfer case with high/low range, active traction control, and automatic limited-slip diff. An electronic locking rear differential is standard on the TRD Off-Road, TRD Pro, and Trailhunter.
Every 4Runner comes with the multi-terrain select modes to allow you to cater your driving experience to the terrain at hand, and it functions in both 4WD High and 4WD Low modes. If you want a relaxed off-road drive, you also have access to Crawl Control, which serves as a low-speed off-road cruise control with multiple speed settings.
If you really want to hit the trail, Toyota has also introduced the new Trailhunter trim that is described as an overlanding-esque upgrade to an already capable machine. Toyota partnered up with aftermarket off-road companies that so many overlanders already love, this time to create your ideal machine straight from the factory. Your additions here include 2.5-inch Old Man Emu forged shocks with rear external piggyback remote reservoirs, an ARB roof rack co-designed with Toyota, and 33-inch Toyo Open Country A/T tires to add some additional ground clearance. You’ll also have rock rails, high-strength skid plates, a 20-inch LED light bar with color-selectable fog lamps, a low-profile high-mount air intake, and a 2400W AC converter that provides power to the cabin and rear cargo area.
If the Trailhunter trim is too trailhunter-y for your tastes, then you’re in luck: the 2025 4Runner also has a new luxury trim called the Platinum. It still has all that standard off-road capability, but you’ll also get to bask in the glory of heated second-row seats, a standard tow tech package, a head-up display, and automatic rain-sensing wipers.
Of course, you don’t have to go all out to benefit from Toyota’s ever-enhancing technology. You’ll get all the usual goodies, like wireless Apple $AAPL CarPlay and Android Auto, a wireless charging pad, USB-C charging ports, a smart key, and an optional digital key. A pair of screens are standard, with some models getting larger units of both the central touchscreen and gauge cluster display.
The new 4Runner’s looks harken back to the original machines, with lots of boxy flares, hard lines and angular elements. There are “wrap over” rear quarter windows like on the ‘80s models, and of course the 4Runner’s signature rear power window remains. Toyota is offering the 2025 4Runner in some great colors, too.
Pricing has yet to be released, but based on previous pricing expect the new 4Runner to start somewhere around $43,000. That would make it about ten grand cheaper than the new Land Cruiser.
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