2025 Toyota 4Runner Moves to Tundra Platform, Gets All Turbo Power

• The 2025 Toyota 4Runner will usher in a sixth generation of Toyota’s off-roader.
  

• The redesigned 4Runner loses its V6 and replaces it with the choice of either a 2.4-liter inline four-cylinder engine or a 2.4-liter I4 hybrid powertrain.

• Toyota says the 2025 4Runner is scheduled to hit dealers in the fall of 2024.

After nearly 15 years, Toyota’s fifth-generation 4Runner is finally getting ready to depart the assembly line.

Toyota’s current 4Runner debuted in 2009 and has only become more popular with time. For 2025, Toyota is moving the 4Runner to the same TNGA-F platform that underpins the latest Tacoma, downsizing the powerplant and totally replacing the sheetmetal.

For some, the underhood changes might be the biggest pivot. The venerable 4.0-liter V6 is finally gone, replaced, instead, with a 2.4-liter turbocharged I4. In base trim, this 2.4-liter I4 sends 278 hp and 317 lb-ft of torque through an eight-speed automatic.

Like the Toyota Tacoma, the 4Runner will also be available as a hybrid, which adds a 48-hp electric motor into the mix, cranking total output to 326 hp and 465 lb-ft of torque. This hybrid powertrain also uses an eight-speed automatic. From there, power travels to the rear wheels through a part-time or a full-time four-wheel-drive system.

For some context, the current 4Runner’s aforementioned V6 sends 270 hp and 278 lb-ft of torque through a five-speed transmission.

While Toyota hasn’t revealed any fuel economy figures, if the Tacoma is any indication, there will be gains. The 2.4-liter turbo under the hood of two-wheel-drive Tacoma pickups boasts 23 mpg combined, 26 highway mpg, and 20 city mpg. That’s a 2 mpg combined bump over the outgoing 3.5-liter V6.

We should expect a similar bump for the next-gen 4Runner. We can also see the 2024 Land Cruiser, which offers a similar powertrain, turns out 23 mpg combined from 25 highway mpg and 22 city mpg.

Surrounding this engine is entirely new sheetmetal. This sixth-generation 4Runner has grown considerably in its latest iteration, gaining in every direction. The ’25 Toyota 4Runner is 194.4 inches long and rides on a 112.2-inch wheelbase, gaining 4.7 inches and 2.4 inches, respectively, over the outgoing model. It’s almost two inches wider, too, at 77.8 inches.

As for ground clearance, Toyota says the new 4Runner can clear 9.2 inches, which is 0.2 inches higher than the outgoing two-wheel-drive model, but 0.4 inches lower than the outgoing four-wheel-drive 4Runner.

Alongside a new engine, standard 4Runners will see an 8-inch touchscreen media system, with higher trim models getting a 14-inch multimedia screen. Likewise, entry-level 4Runners pack a 7-inch digital instrument cluster, replaced by a 12.3-inch digital cluster on upper trims.

Toyota is adding a smart-key system with a push-button ignition as standard equipment across the board, and wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto are standard.

Underpinning all of this is the new TNGA-F platform shared with the Tacoma, Tundra, Sequoia, and Land Cruiser. This means the new 4Runner will feature a multi-link rear suspension and a double-wishbone front suspension.

Slick features for off-roaders like sway bar disconnects are also joining the list of 4Runner features. Toyota is oddly secretive about wheel and tire options, except for with the new Trailhunter trim. This version will ride on 33 inches of Toyo Open Country A/T tires.

As for the trim walk, the entry-point is still the SR5 model. From there, you move into the TRD Sport and TRD Sport Premium models. Those models all see the standard 2.4-liter turbocharged I4 mill.

Kicking off the hybrid-equipped models is the Limited Trim, which is joined by TRD Off-Road, TRD Off-Road Premium, and TRD-Pro. Rounding out the list of available models are the new Trailhunter and the luxe-focused Platinum trim.

As you’d expect from any generational shift, this 4Runner is packed with active driver assistance features. The ’25 4Runner comes standard with Toyota’s Safety Sense 3.0, which includes automatic high beams, lane-tracing assist, and a full-speed range dynamic radar cruise control system as standard equipment.

The 4Runner also gets lane-departure alert with a steering-assist system, a pre-collision system with pedestrian detection, and Toyota’s Proactive Driving Assist system. This last system uses the camera suite to help subtly add steering and braking inputs around other vehicles, pedestrians, or curves.

Toyota says this new 4Runner will be built at the company’s plant in Tahara, Japan, and is scheduled to hit showrooms this fall.

Pricing is still locked inside a Toyota executive’s filing cabinet, but it’s safe to say there will be a price increase. Currently, a 4Runner will set you back at least $42,100. Likely, the next-gen 4Runner’s base SR5 model will still start closer to $45,000.

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