Up next in 10
2025 Toyota 4Runner First Drive Review: Dino No More
6K views
Mar 29, 2025
There are a lot of Jurassic Park quotes going through my head. It’s hard not to get a little prehistoric when driving a Toyota 4Runner. The current model has been around since 2009, bits like a five-speed automatic doubling as automotive fossils. But I’m in the new one, the first in a decade and a half. That it will offer a more modern experience is a given, but can it keep alive the spirit that has made the 4Runner so sought-after by overlanders and tarmac roamers alike? Hold on to your butts.
View Video Transcript
0:00
If you would have started school the last time the Toyota 4Runner was all new
0:09
you'd now be graduating college. Yes, for the first time in 15 years, Toyota's body-on-frame
0:15
SUV is all new, and it really does mean all new. A new platform, new engines, new transmission
0:21
new trims, you name it, the 4Runner has changed it. Although, not quite everything
0:26
it still does have a power rear window because some things are sacred
0:35
So if it's true that good things come to those who wait
0:39
is this the best thing to happen to off-roading in a decade and a half? Let's go find out
0:56
Thank you
1:26
As Toyota tells it, this new shape both honors the 4Runner's history and aligns it closer to the Tacoma
1:33
In fact, from directly head on, it's kind of hard to tell the two apart. The 4Runner's nose is cleaner, ditching the faux vent teardrops underneath the Tacoma's headlights
1:42
There's a big angular grille because of course there is, though the mesh, insert, and surrounding styling are all different depending on which of the myriad grades buyers select
1:52
There are no less than nine trims in America. The SR5, the TRD Sport and TRD Sport Premium, the TRD Off-Road and Off-Road Premium, the Limited, the Platinum, the TRD Pro, and the Trailhunter
2:05
Now the TRD Pro and Trailhunter benefit from even wider fender flares for that cool squat look
2:11
Move around to the side and there's the familiar thick C thin D pillar treatment, but the glass now wraps up into the roof just like the original 4Runner
2:19
Wheels range from 18s through to 20 inches and back down to 18s on the Pro and Trailhunter
2:24
The latter also features an exclusive color, the excellent Everest, which is a deep, dark turquoise
2:38
Alright, we're out on the road in the Forerunner, and of course, it's a lot different from before
2:44
It's a lot more refined and comfortable. Some people will refer to the old one as a dinosaur
2:51
or in fact, even Toyota mentioned that in the morning presentation. And some people like that
2:56
Some people want that old rugged feeling, but some people also like Vegemite or putting pineapple on pizza
3:03
For more people, I think they'll really appreciate the better manners that this has
3:10
So I am in a limited trim right now, and it has the hybrid powertrain
3:14
and it's just a lot quieter and easier to drive. I mean, it's not that the old one was hard, but it also just suffered from that ancient powertrain
3:25
So a five-speed auto, not necessarily the greatest when you need to make a climb up a hill out here just south of San Diego
3:34
But, I put my foot to the floor. Pick up speed pretty quickly in this
3:41
Now it is a second quicker to 60 miles per hour than the old model, and I know that drag racing is the furthest thing from the point of a 4Runner
3:50
but it's just about getting up to speed quickly and feeling comfortable in modern traffic or on hills
3:55
or if you're towing up to the 6,000 pounds that the 4Runner is capable of towing, 5,800 pounds in any hybrid models
4:04
It's got a smooth, light steering that's pretty accurate. I can see out of it pretty well
4:14
I know that there are the questions of well really what the difference between this and Atlantic Cruiser now that they both on the same platform And that is a valid question The Land Cruiser does start a lot higher up in the price range
4:26
You're looking at, well, actually, right around the Limited 4Runner for where the Land Cruiser just kicks off
4:35
But you're getting a lot of content in this Limited model versus its spendy little sibling
4:41
What I like about this powertrain is that it still feels truckish without the negative aspects of that previous 4Runner
4:51
So it's a little grumbly and gravelly, but it has tons of torque lowdown
4:55
We're talking 465 pound-feet of torque from 1700 RPM. That's barely over idle
5:02
So that sounds great for when you're off-roading, but even on-road, it just means that I don't have to dig to get power
5:10
That old, naturally aspirated V6 needed revs, and this just doesn't. It will also drive on nothing but electric power for short little bursts
5:19
but still, that contributes to a slightly better fuel economy. Now, this being the Limited, it does have the adaptive suspension
5:30
and that creates a ride that's actually pretty darn comfy. I don't feel like I'm driving a body on frame
5:38
I'm not second-guessing myself in corners. It's windy in here. I hear a lot of wind noise
5:47
But beyond that, in terms of the weird oxymoron that is the most road-biased off-roader
5:56
this makes sense. People want that off-roadability in occasional situations, but to live with, the 4Runner is just a lot friendlier now
6:06
and it's a far shot more refined than something like a Jeep Wrangler
6:13
What notes do I have about the 8-speed auto? Not a whole lot because it never seems to come up in the driving experience, good or bad
6:24
It's here. It does exactly what I need. I'm not noticing any sudden shifts
6:30
There's no lurching, no jerkiness. It's a really great transmission. Now, while there are jumps here at the high-speed course on the ranch that we're at for this
6:48
drive event, Toyota has us bypassing them because we're on a later-in-the-week drive wave
6:53
It's too bad, since they were plenty of fun in the Tacoma last year. The rest of the course is a hoot
6:59
The TRD Pro features those trick Fox QS3 shocks with remote reservoirs, giving it an agility
7:05
and adjustability that turns every run into a rally stage. Of all the trims, it's the TRD Pro
7:10
that speaks to me. The steering just gets better the harder you push
7:35
Okay, now we are in the Trailhunter. It's an all-new trim for Forerunner for 2025
7:47
We've already seen it on Tacoma, and guess what? It's basically the same recipe. Old man emu shocks
7:54
you have some chunky 33-inch all-terrain tires, you have a snorkel, which we might hear a little
8:00
bit later as I get on the off-road course and it is hybrid only. Let's get going
8:21
We're going to do some rock climbing here and I just want my front view camera so that I can
8:28
see exactly where I'm going. Now we are in four low climbing over just a dried up riverbed It pretty rocky but the trail hunter does it no problem and then i got quite a steep little hill that i have to climb to get out of here here we go
8:50
now like the tacoma the forerunner trail hunter my brakes are a little squeaky the forerunner
8:59
has stabilizer disconnect so I'm just going to do that for these uneven little yumps
9:06
See I have some squeaky brakes. Minor issue. Real slow. We're going a single mile per hour right now
9:16
Maybe there's a rock stuck in the brakes. Either way I'm just going to keep powering through
9:21
See? It just keeps going. It finds grip and no trouble, no fuss
9:36
Having this front view camera and the sides for that matter just makes it that much easier to
9:42
place the 4Runner. This is not something you could have done in the old model. It's very windy out
9:49
so now we're leaning a little bit and wow look at those winds just whipping up all the sand
9:59
of course the one advantage that the forerunner has versus its pickup sibling is that it doesn't
10:05
have a truck bed out back so it has a little tighter overhangs which make for in that case
10:12
particularly better departure angles. It's just a tidy package. It's the right size for trails. It's
10:20
really easy to maneuver. There are those squeaky brakes again. It's okay. Now maybe we put the
10:29
rear diff lock on just to get over these uneven left-right yumps which also have
10:37
some rocks just built into them just for that added little challenge. So I'm just gonna stay
10:43
straight, steady throttle, nothing. Nothing. This is not the most challenging course and that's not
10:52
really the point. It's just that this is more than what most people are ever going to experience
10:59
in a 4Runner. Maybe not a trail hunter. You're buying that with the intention of actually
11:04
going and doing the trails. And that's the thing is that this just makes it easier
11:09
It's just a helping hand when you need it. And of course, there's other advantages to the trail
11:14
hunter too. You have a reinforced roof that can hold up to 750 pounds when stationary
11:24
So if you're going to be camping on the roof, it's not a problem. All right. So again
11:30
This front-facing camera and the side cameras make it really helpful to avoid some sharper rocks
11:37
You want to keep those away from your vulnerable sidewalls. Now we just head up the hill
11:43
Now, as I was saying earlier, the 4Runner Trailhunter is hybrid only
11:48
and I know that that might ruffle a few feathers. If you're overlanding, do you really want the added complication and weight of a hybrid system
11:57
And I get that argument. you could probably make a pretty significant overlanding machine by buying a base SR5 and
12:05
then spending the significant money that the trail hunter normally costs to just build your own
12:13
I say do it but the advantage of this hybrid system is well what batteries are so good at is
12:19
tons of torque immediately so when I'm climbing over rocks I get access to that 465 pound feet of
12:28
torque basically just off idle. It makes it really easy to climb over, and Toyota has done such a good
12:38
job with integrating the hybrid system with this eight-speed transmission. There's no jerkiness
12:44
you're never second-guessing exactly how much throttle you need to apply to get that power to get over any sort of obstacle It very predictable Cool All right so we are heading downhill and I just going to switch over to DAC roll control And yeah this slows us right down Now I am going two miles per hour but of
13:11
course I can speed that up by shifting this rotary dial. And now it is low. This is less than a mile
13:22
per hour. This is, well, one kilometer an hour. Uh, we're going to be here a while. Yeah, it goes up
13:32
in single kilometer increments. You've got five to choose from. And like Toyota said, it is improved
13:40
and much quieter. I'm not really hearing much of the system do its thing. I'm just slowly heading
13:48
down the hill. Now at that lowest increment, it is very slightly jerky because it is such a low speed
13:58
But here at this quickest speed, which is still a little shy of three miles per hour
14:05
uh, yeah, it's very smooth. It's smoother than I could probably manage in terms of being on this
14:13
rough terrain. Your foot might move forward and backward off the brake just a little bit
14:18
This is easy. All the models at this first drive event are pre-production prototypes, so a final verdict
14:25
on the cabin quality will have to wait. Nonetheless, many of the materials match those in the Tacoma, no surprise there, and the
14:31
architecture sure ain't changing. It's a certain step up from before, but lower trims still contain a whole lot of featureless
14:39
black plastic. The TRD trims at least bring in some bright colors as a highlight, and the TRD Pro goes
14:45
all in with available bright red seating. Now, no matter the trim, there are plenty of physical controls with satisfying clicks
14:52
and twists. Yep, also like the Tacoma. Highlights include the multi-function rotary dial handling 4 high and 4 low, drive modes
15:00
and multi-terrain select, all depending on the situation. There are some good storage spots dotted throughout the cabin as well
15:07
I dig the comfy cloth seats of the base model. Other models swap in soft text or leather, which is swankier but no more comfortable
15:14
Now there's only one three-row tester here, so while I haven't gotten a chance to fold myself
15:20
into the way back, Toyota says it has carved out fractional increases, so I'm not expecting a big
15:26
change. Three-row availability is again based on trim, and it is different between Canada and the
15:32
US. In America, the basic 2025 Toyota 4Runner SR5 lists for $42,220 including destination
15:40
Now that's a reasonable sticker price for the big leap forward in tech and refinement here
15:48
Move up to those tippy-toppy models like the TRD Pro and the Trailhunter, however, and you're clearing $68,000
15:55
Canadian pricing and trim availability is largely the same, though the Great White North skips the TRD Sport Premium
16:01
pricing begins at $57,840 Canadian including destination rising all the way up to a collar
16:08
tugging $87,841 for the trail hunter now is it really the best thing to happen off-roading in a
16:15
decade and a half no probably not but the 2025 Toyota 4Runner is a successful update on a formula
16:22
that is basically a brand unto itself there are so many trims for this because each one services
16:28
as a particular niche. It's matured, it's grown up, and that's great, but it still maintains that
16:34
truckish rugged feel that everyone really seemed to enjoy with the last one, while maintaining
16:39
enough distance from its Land Cruiser sibling. The 2025 Toyota 4Runner successfully improves
16:46
this recipe, and I'm sure based on this first drive, it could be just as successful in the last
16:51
one, and maybe even as long-lasting
#Autos & Vehicles
#Custom & Performance Vehicles
#Hybrid & Alternative Vehicles
#Motor Vehicles (By Brand)
#Motor Vehicles (By Type)
#Off-Road Vehicles
#Toyota
#Trucks
# Vans & SUVs