We’re getting much closer to the new Toyota 4Runner reveal.
Update: The 2025 Toyota 4Runner will debut on April 9. Stay tuned for much more information next week!
It’s clear the big reveal for the 2025 Toyota 4Runner is just around the corner, as we have yet another teaser showing off some of the 6th-generation SUV’s prominent features. Last week, we saw a bit of the tailgate, 4Runner badging and lower fascia. This teaser shows up the top portion of the rear-end design, though there’s still plenty of details we can go over here before the full debut.
First off, Toyota answered one question I was deeply curious about last week. One of the 4Runner’s most iconic features — its slide-down rear window that’s been with us from the beginning — is indeed sticking around for this new model. While you might fully expect Toyota to retain that feature, there’s always some chance automakers can design it out of existence from one generation to the next. After all, the Ford Explorer and a host of other SUVs used to have pop-up rear glass.
Another 2025 Toyota 4Runner feature you certainly can’t miss is the large infotainment screen. That’s a huge change from the relatively archaic system in the old-school model that’s been around (with some updates along the way, granted) since 2009. The unit we see here looks pretty close to the 14.0-inch screen in the new Tundra, if not identical, and it is clear the 4Runner will be rocking Toyota’s latest infotainment system. That part was a given.
While last week’s teaser suggested the new 4Runner would have Land Cruiser-like taillights, the upper portion of the rear lights actually look pretty close to the current 4Runner. In fact, it appears the new model has a remarkably similar roof like to the 5th-gen model from the beltline upward. That’s probably a good decision to assuage enthusiasts like me — we want new features, obviously, but don’t just take a design that’s proven immensely popular over the last decade and toss all of it away.
It seems like Toyota isn’t aiming to rock the boat too much with the car’s exterior design, and that’s fine by me. Instead, it appears the automaker is looking to update the new 4Runner where it desperately needed a change: technology and powertrain.
On the powertrain front, all signs point to this 6th-gen model getting a turbocharged 2.4-liter engine shared with the new Tacoma and the Land Cruiser. If it’s just the gas engine alone, that means this updated 4Runner should get somewhere in the region of 278 horsepower and 317 lb-ft of torque. That doesn’t put it on another planet from the current model, but I suspect the 8-speed automatic transmission will make the biggest difference in how this new car drives. Having three more gears should also help the 4Runner achieve at least slightly better fuel economy.
Now, whether the 2025 Toyota 4Runner gets a hybrid powertrain…that’s still a question mark. It’s certainly plausible if not likely thanks to both the new Tacoma and the Land Cruiser. Toyota is electrifying more of its lineup, so like the Tacoma, it’s most likely we’ll see the 4Runner TRD Pro emerge as the hybrid model, even if the rest of the lineup sticks with the gas engine alone.
Fortunately, we should have much more information on April 9, so keep an eye on TFLcar, TFLnow and our other channels for the new 4Runner and much more next week!
