Toyota has officially previewed the redesigned 4Runner for the first time via Instagram. But the photo in question doesn’t offer much information beyond the model wearing its name at the bottom of the rear hatch and getting some new taillights. There’s likewise a contrasting bumper, which may just end up being an option. However, Toyota offering up a teaser for the 2025 model year should also indicate that the much-anticipated SUV’s formal debut is likely right around the corner.
A new 4Runner is a pretty big deal, as it’s one of those Toyota products with incredibly loyal customers and an extremely long lifecycle. The last time we saw an entirely new example of the model was 2009. While reviewers have started to bemoan the SUV as feeling quite dated, there’s a reason the manufacturer has been hesitant to issue an update.
Toyota fans come in a variety of flavors. But the convictions of the truly faithful often stem from prior ownership of a Toyota product that simply refused to succumb to old age. While this has helped a brand that primarily manufacturers comparatively basic vehicles develop a die-hard fanbase, it also makes every it a minor gamble whenever it deploys new technologies or decides to issue a redesign. In fact, the company itself is notoriously adverse to making sweeping changes for this very reason. Toyota is absolutely obsessed with quality control because it knows its customers have emotional attachments to vehicles that are often decades old.
That logic certainly doesn’t apply to all Toyota models, especially those that have proven to be no-more reliable than what’s available from its rivals. But it does apply to models like the Camry, Corolla, Highlander, and 4Runner.
While your author has seen a prototype of the new 4Runner in the wilds near Toyota’s R&D center, the vehicle itself remains a mystery due to the fact that it was heavily camouflaged. But the vehicle will clearly continue boasting lofty approach and departure angles with plenty of ground clearance. Platform sharing with the current Tacoma pickup also appears to be a given, though that’s based more on assumptions and leaks coming from within the company.
Assuming the Tacoma relationship is maintained, it’s assumed that a turbocharged 2.4-liter four-cylinder engine (offering somewhere in the neighborhood of 250 horsepower) will be the base powertrain. A substantially more powerful hybrid variant is presumed for higher trims. All-wheel drive is assured. But which nifty off-road features that accompany the system will be determined by trim levels.
The SUV is supposed to be revealed later this year and the teaser would suggest that date is coming sooner than later. The starting MSRP is assumed to ballpark somewhere around $42,000.
[Images: Toyota]
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