The 2025 Toyota 4Runner: Everything You Need to Know

Editor’s Note: We’ve updated our explainer now to include Toyota’s recent teaser image of the 2025 4Runner’s rear on Instagram.

It’s hard to deny that the Toyota 4Runner remains one of the most charming SUVs on the road. It’s capable, it’s bulletproof — and, perhaps most importantly, it just looks cool. The trouble is, the fifth-generation version — which entered production back in 2009 — has grown outdated. It gets less than than 20 mpg on the highway, and its five-speed automatic transmission offers half the number of gears that the new Ford Bronco does.

All this is to say, it’s time for Toyota to give us an upgrade for the 4Runner. Luckily, one should be arriving very soon. Here’s what you need to know about the upcoming sixth-generation 2025 Toyota 4Runner.

Toyota finally shared its first teaser image of the 2025 4Runner

Credit: Toyota

On March 28th, Toyota posted an Instagram gallery that initially seemed innocuous, asking followers if they could identify each model year of various 4Runner photos. Those who engaged with the gallery were rewarded with a small surprise, though – a teasing image of what’s clearly the rear lift gate and bumper of the 2025 4Runner. Based on what’s shown, the new 4Runner appears to borrow at least some design cues from the new Land Cruiser. Now with one images making the rounds, we’d expect more to follow soon.

The 2025 Toyota 4Runner has been spied on the streets

Car and Driver published spy shots of what appears to be the 2025 Toyota 4Runner

Car and Driver spotted what appears to be a camouflaged 2025 Toyota 4Runner testing outside Toyota’s development facility in Ann Arbor, Michigan. It’s hard to gleam much insight from the spy shots with the heavy draping. But this still looks very much like a body-on-frame truck-based SUV.

When will the sixth-generation Toyota 4Runner be revealed?

Toyota

Toyota has not announced an official reveal date for the 2025 4Runner yet. The brand has been busy overhauling its off-road truck and SUV lineup: that process began with the all-new 2022 Toyota Tundra, continued with the all-new 2023 Sequoia then continued with the all-new 2024 Tacoma and all-new 2024 Land Cruiser. The 4Runner should be next in line.

Toyota did reveal that the fifth generation 4Runner will carry on into the 2024 model year. So the earliest the new 4Runner could arrive would be the 2025 model year. According to a January 2024 report from TFL, rumor has it the new 4Runner will hit dealers in the fall or winter before the end of the 2024 calendar year. A rumor from the 4Runner6G forum claims the new 4Runner will be entering production in July 2024, which would align with a late-2024 arrival in showrooms.

What will the 2025 Toyota 4Runner look like?

Tyler Duffy

Both TFL and the 4Runner6G rumor suggest that the new 4Runner will bear a strong resemblance to the 2024 Tacoma. It should share front-end styling features and have a similar-looking interior. One particular change noted is a more vertical C-pillar than the existing SUV, to allow easier entry to the second row.

What engine will the 2025 Toyota 4Runner use?

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Toyota has been downsizing engines as it moves its body-on-frame trucks to the TNFA-F platform. That means the 4Runner almost definitely will transition from a 4.0-liter V6 to turbocharged four-cylinder power.

According to a TFL source, the 4Runner will get the same iForce turbo 2.4-liter inline-four gas engine from the Tacoma with an eight-speed automatic. In the Taco, that engine pushes out 278 horsepower and 317 lb-ft of torque.

Will the 2025 Toyota 4Runner offer a manual transmission?

Toyota

Typically, manufacturers don’t add manual transmission options to cars anymore, but the 2025 4Runner could be an exception. The 4Runner 6G rumor has the new 4Runner’s engine lineup tracking with the Tacoma. So the 4Runner could offer a manual transmission on the iForce inline-four just like the Tacoma does.

Adding a manual would fit with the rugged, old-school appeal of the 4Runner. And rivals like the Jeep Wrangler and Ford Bronco offer manual options.

Will the 2025 Toyota 4Runner come with a hybrid engine?

Jason Bax

That’s a bit murky. Back in 2017, Toyota did say it plans to offer a hybrid on every model by 2025. And if the 4Runner is getting the Tacoma’s engine lineup, the Tacoma’s hybrid iForce Max four-cylinder with 326 horsepower and 465 lb-ft of torque would presumably be in play.

The trouble is that hybrid is the standard powertrain for the Land Cruiser. And it’s hard to see a hybrid 4Runner not overlapping with the new Land Cruiser, which is supposed to start around $55,000. The Land Cruiser could, effectively, fill the role of the hybrid 4Runner.

If Toyota does offer a hybrid on the 4Runner, we’d expect it to be limited to upper trims like it is on the Tacoma.

Will the sixth-generation 4Runner get a Trailhunter version?

Tyler Duffy

Toyota has introduced a new Trailhunter premium grade for its trucks and SUVs. It’s oriented more toward rock crawling and overlanding while the TRD Pro is more of a Baja-style desert runner. The 4Runner66 post notes that the 2025 4Runner will get a TRD Pro trim. We’d be surprised if Toyota did not include a Land Cruiser.

Will the 2025 Toyota 4Runner have an upgraded interior?

NATHAN LEACH-PROFFER

Definitely. TFL reports that the 2025 4Runner interior will feel “almost identical” to the new Tacoma. So expect the 4Runner to follow suit with substantial modernization and upgrades, including an available 14-inch touchscreen.

Will the 2025 Toyota 4Runner get an electric version?

Toyota

Probably not. Toyota previewed its EV roadmap in 2021, although reports from fall 2022 had Toyota rethinking that roadmap. We’ve seen a concept that looks a lot like an electric Tacoma, but nothing similar for the 4Runner (though getting from a Tacoma EV to a 4Runner EV would not be a huge technical leap).

We suspect Toyota will offer an electric 4Runner eventually. But barring a radical rethink of the 4Runner, we don’t expect an EV to come at the launch of the sixth generation. Toyota may wait to introduce a 4Runner EV until it can implement its new EV battery technology.

Will the new 2025 4Runner still be built in Japan?

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Traditionally, the 4Runner has been built in Japan like the Land Cruiser. But that could change with the new sixth-generation model in 2025. Sharing a platform and componentry with the Tacoma could allow Toyota to build the 4Runner alongside it in North America.

What sort of fuel economy will the 2025 Toyota Runner deliver?

Toyota

The current 4Runner earns an unimpressive 17 mpg combined. That should improve in the next generation. The 2024 Tacoma gets 19 mpg city, 24 mpg highway and 21 mpg combined in 4×4 SR5 trim. That should be a solid approximation of where a Tacoma-based gas 4Runner ends up.

A TFL report spotted a note on Toyota’s website showing the Tacoma earning 27 mpg combined with the iForce Max hybrid. That could be where the 4Runner ends up if Toyota does opt to offer a hybrid.

How much will the 2025 4Runner cost?

Tyler Duffy

Toyota has not revealed official pricing for the 2025 4Runner yet. But we don’t expect pricing to change dramatically from the current model, which starts at $39,555 and tops out in the mid-$50,000 range.

That price range would track with gas-powered Tacoma pricing. The 2024 Taco starts at $38,765 for the SR5 4×4 Double Cab. And it would keep the 4Runner beneath the Land Cruiser, which is expected to start around $55,000.

Toyota