After months of rumors, leaks and teasers, the 2025 Toyota 4Runner is finally available. After 14 years, the automaker is offering an all-new replacement for the popular off-roader. It has plenty of modern features and a fresh, rugged design, but it’s hard to deny its stylistic similarities to the new Tacoma. This is because the two share several components before the B-pillar.
The new 4Runner rides on Toyota’s TNGA-F platform shared with the pickup. The 4Runner team had to work closely with its American colleagues to develop the SUV it wanted with the features it needed, according to Keita Moritsu, chief engineer of 4Runner and Land Cruiser.
The 4Runner team began working early in the model’s development with Tacoma’s designers, almost everything in front of the B-pillar was shared between the two. The two groups worked hand in hand to design the new SUV.
“We did our best to try to share components as much as possible with the Tacoma, but everywhere else we really worked to bring out the originality of the 4Runner,” Moritsu said, speaking through the via a translator when launching the model.
This includes sharing powertrains. The 4Runner is available with Toyota’s turbocharged 2.4-liter i-Force four-cylinder engine. However, unlike the Tacoma, it’s only available with one power output: 278 horsepower and 317 pound-feet of torque. The i-Force Max is also available, putting a turbocharged four-cylinder hybrid good for 326 horsepower and 465 lb-ft of torque under the hood.
An eight-speed automatic is the only transmission choice, unlike the Tacoma, which offers a manual transmission with the i-Force engine. Toyota rates the 4Runner with a towing capacity of up to 6,000 pounds, slightly less than the pickup. The similarities also extend to the suspension between the two, with fundamentally similar builds and designs, but the SUV features unique tuning to account for the extra mass.
“Both the Tacoma and 4Runner have the spirit of the American market,” Moritsu said. Consumers will be able to enjoy the new SUV when it goes on sale this fall.
