Redesigning a popular car isn’t easy. Change too much and you risk alienating existing owners; change too little and you won’t bring new owners into the club. This is even harder when a car has a cult following; finding that balance is even more delicate because enthusiasts can be a fickle bunch, and that’s putting it nicely. And then there’s Toyota, faced with the monumental task of redesigning this 2025 Toyota 4Runner Limited.
Very little compares to the unenviable position in which Toyota finds itself with this sixth-generation 4Runner. The outgoing, fifth-gen truck felt old school in the best and worst of ways, but that’s what people liked about them. The old V6 might’ve been a dog; the old five-speed automatic might’ve been a lazy slushbox, but the fifth-gen 4Runner was also stout and capable. It was free of overly complicated engineering and tech. It let you live out your overlanding fantasies without missing a beat. And if you broke anything, they’re dead-simple to work on.
On top of all that, 4Runner fans aren’t just fans. They’re fiercely loyal if not damn-near-rabid, surely capable of going nuclear if the new versions of their beloved 4Runners were too different. But Toyota actually pulled it off here, making the newest 2025 4Runner look and feel genuinely new and fresh without losing sight of its charm.
What’s new for 2025?
Everything, but at the same time, it’s all familiar. This sixth-generation rendition looks very much like a 4Runner, with its blocky silhouette, chunky fenders, and back window that still goes down. Up front, it wears a similar tough-guy-schnoz treatment similar to what’s on the new Tacoma, but not totally identical. Depending on the trim you go for, you get various visual dress-up bits; our top-spec Limited tester wears additional bling in the form of 20-inch wheels and trim bits like the front grille, skid plates, and roof rails finished in bright satin silver.
Down the side and around the back, it’s all 4Runner, with squared-off lines and bulges, chunky door handles, and an up-swept rear quarter window as a callback to past trucks. There’s also more truck to around, quite literally: the sixth-gen 4Runner is 7.8 inches longer and 2.2 inches wider than before, and its wheelbase is stretched by 2.4 inches. In terms of ground clearance, our Limited tester sits on the lower end of the lineup, though 8.8 inches of ground clearance is still quite good. If you regularly cut over fallen tree stumps, rock beds, and sidewalk curbs, the off-road-ready TRD Pro and Trailhunter trims offer 10.1 inches.
It’s what’s on the inside that counts
Inside, the 2025 4Runner sees a similar new-but-familiar treatment as the sheet metal. You could say this is where the old truck showed its age the most — and that would be putting it nicely. Of course, there was still a lot to like: the old truck was satisfying to helm, visibility all-around was fan-freaking-tastic, the physical switchgear was a breath of fresh air among the scourge of haptic-feedback controls, and going sunroof-open-and-back-window-down on the highway was a vibe and a half. But there was also a lot to dislike; it felt pretty solid and well-built overall, but materials felt so-so at best, and the infotainment? Don’t get us started.
This newest 4Runner addresses most our qualms quite nicely while keeping everything else we liked. Granted materials feel OK at best, but the overall look and layout is pretty much copy-and-pasted from their other new trucks. The new 4Runner is still satisfying to helm: getting in and out is challenging without running boards, but once you’re in, you sit high up, the steering wheel and shift lever feel appropriately chunky, and visibility all around is still excellent. Our Limited tester wears a two-tone black-and-brown colour combo that looks appropriately premium, there’s seemingly infinite storage cubbies and pockets throughout, and best of all, Toyota kept the chunky knobs and actual buttons for everything. It’s a usability godsend. Oh, and going sunroof-open-and-back-window-down on the highway is still a vibe and a half.
The biggest area of improvement inside the new 4Runner is infotainment. Losing the analog gauge cluster stings a bit, but the 12-inch digital instrument cluster is easy to read, highly configurable, and works with an equally fresh-for-the-4Runner 14-inch touchscreen display. This setup isn’t anything we haven’t seen before — Toyota more or less uses this interface everywhere else in the lineup, save for the GR86 and Supra — but it works well and modernizes the space quite a bit. Elsewhere inside, there’s plenty of headroom and legroom in the first and second rows, though we wouldn’t spend too much time in the optional third row. Cargo space ranges from 343 litres with the third row up to 2,381 with everything stowed, though the floor’s still quite high. If you’re loading heavier junk into the 4Runner’s trunk, lift with your legs.
How does the new 4Runner drive?
Normally, we shed a collective tear when a normally aspirated engine gets replaced with a smaller turbocharged unit, but not so with the latest 4Runner. Gone is the V6 of old, replaced by either a 2.4-litre turbocharged four-cylinder engine in lower-end trims including our Limited tester. Putting out 278 horsepower and 317 pound-feet of torque, it doesn’t seem like much of an improvement, but where it makes the power matters more. With peak torque available just off idle, the new 4Runner feels punchier than before, and the new eight-speed automatic is vastly smoother and better-suited to highway cruising than the old five-speed slushbox. Selectable four-wheel-drive is obviously standard, and Toyota’s Hybrid Max powertrain is reserved for range-topping 4Runners like the TRD Pro, Trailhunter, and ultra-luxe Platinum.
Granted the turbo-four doesn’t sound like much when you rev it out, but neither did the old V6. But the new 4Runner is quieter than before, too, and fuel economy is massively improved. It’s rated at 12.4 L/100 kilometres in the city, 9.6 highway, and 11.2 combined; we averaged an impressive-for-a-brick 12.6L/100 km, mostly around town and sitting in traffic.
Final thoughts
Reinventing an icon like the 4Runner isn’t a walk in the park, but Toyota pulled it off with the Sequoia, Tundra, and Tacoma. The 2025 Toyota 4Runner Limited is hardly an exception, updating what needed to be updated but without changing what fans loved about the old one. It’s better-mannered than before, and the tech is vastly improved, but still looks and feels like a 4Runner should inside and out. Look, we’re just happy they kept the buttons and knobs.
