Last year marked the 40th anniversary for one of the world’s most revered SUVs. The Toyota 4Runner has been not only a stalwart in the Big T’s four-wheel drive lineup for decades, it’s also a highly popular adventure travel rig and a common sight on the Expedition Portal classifieds. Despite susceptibility to the tin worm in some of the older versions, the 4Runner has a well-earned reputation for reliability, and with a few careful mods, excellent off-road chops. We were excited about the sixth generation’s redesign (coming hot on the heels of the 4Runner’s stablemate, the Tacoma) and recently Toyota announced 4Runner pricing for 2025 with inventory hitting dealerships this month.
Whoa, boy.
The latest iteration of the 4Runner certainly boasts some significant improvements over the previous one, including a hybrid powertrain, a new 2.4-liter turbo four-cylinder engine with 278 horsepower and 317 pound-feet of torque linked to an eight-speed automatic, optional disconnecting sway bars, off-road driving modes, and a standard electronic rear locking differential on high-spec trims. Toyota finally saw fit to bless the 4Runner with four-wheel disc brakes, and the 100-percent fresh interior bumps the technology and luxury factors up more than a few notches.
2025 Toyota 4Runner TRD Pro
The most compelling versions of the 2025 4Runner for overlanders are the Trailhunter and TRD Pro models. The former features 2.5-inch OME shocks, 33-inch Toyo rubber, boosted ride height, and a factory snorkel. Steel rock sliders and underbody protection are also standard, along with a high-power on-board AC inverter. The TRD Pro gets adjustable Fox dampers, a bespoke interior, performance intake and exhaust, and a grille-mounted LED light bar. The Trailhunter and TRD Pro are available exclusively with the iForce Pro Max hybrid powertrain that bumps the horsepower up to 326 and the torque to 465 pound-feet—very attractive specifications all around.
We predicted in April of last year that a new 4Runner would cost between $45,000 and $60,000, depending on the grade. While the SR5 base model’s starting price sticks close to the lower estimate ($42,200), the popular TRD Sport and TRD Off-Road trims see increases to $48,700 and $50,640 respectively (bumps of $4185 and $5140 over the old versions). If you’re looking to go hybrid in a Limited model, expect to write a check for $61,650 (up by $8640 from last year). TRD Pros and Trailhunters will start at a genuinely stomach-churning $68,350. Add a few options and the typical dealer markups for these top-trim 4Runners, and window stickers well past $70,000 will likely be common.
Alternatively, you could walk to the other side of the dealer lot and slip into a new entry-level Land Cruiser for $57,900 or a well-equipped hybrid Cruiser in the mid-$60,000s. The Lexus dealer across the street is offering the base model GX550 starting at $65,280. The 2025 4Runner shares a platform with both the Land Cruiser and the GX, and they’re all built in Japan. With a lot of uncertainty hovering around the incoming presidential administration’s global tariff situation, prices could creep even higher for what used to be Toyota’s entry-level 4×4.
Images: Toyota
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