2025 Toyota 4Runner 4WD Limited - The exception to my rule!

May the gods forgive me! I really liked this 2024 4Runner. I usually have no use for SUVs. I don't have a huge family, and I don't need to feel invincible.

Having said all that I'll let you in on a secret. I really wanted a first generation 4Runner. Back then (1984 model year) the 4Runner was essentially an enclosed pickup. I lived in Toronto back then and it snowed - often a lot of snow. You know what happens to a pickup when it snows? The bed fills with snow. So a 4Runner had most of the cargo room of a Toyota pickup but with a roof. The original 4Runner was a 2-door.

The 2025 4Runner is bigger than the original, and you can't get a 2-door, but it felt nimble regardless.

Like the original 4Runner the '25 version is only available with a 4-cylinder. A much more powerful 4-cylinder to be precise. In base form the 2.4-liter, DOHC, turbocharged engine makes 278 hp, and317 lb-ft of torgue. Want more? Opt for the hybrid (available only with 4WD) that ups the total output to 326 hp, and 465 lb-ft. All on regular grade gasoline!

The only transmission available (shed a tear) is an 8-speed automatic. You can get a 2WD but only with the non-hybrid engine, and either part-time or full-time 4WD.

The test 4Runner had the base engine and full-time 4WD. With "only" 278 hp the 5,000 lb + 4Runner is still capable of reaching 60 mph from a dead stop in 7.5 seconds, more than fast enough to let you merge (you do remember how to merge, right?) into traffic.

I wouldn't say the 4Runner is a fuel sipper but the EPA figures of 24-mpg highway, and 20 around town is acceptable.

There is 8.8" of ground clearance, and the climb in height wasn't bad. Even though I could get in without much effort the automatic, fold-down step was welcome (I'm not sure they warrant the extra $1,005 cost though).

The front seats were fine, and the outer two positions of the rear seat were comfortable but, and this is an ongoing but for almost every car maker, that rear center seat is a joke. On the Limited (as tested) there is seating for 7 (2+3+2). There is a third row for munchkins.

The great thing about the 4Runner, in fact most SUVs, is the cargo space. Fold all the seats down and you have 84.4 cubic feet of storage. Towing capacity is 6,000 lbs.

Generally I was happy with all the controls. I do wonder at times that most modern vehicles have way too many buttons. Yes, if you live with a specific vehicle for a time you get used to where everything is (maybe) but I just don't find many controls intuitive. Do I sound like a broken record?

I put a fair number of miles on the 4Runner. No, I never took it off-road. That's not my thing. Most of my miles were on a highway, with maybe 25% on city streets. Don't kid yourself, California roads are not glass smooth. For a truck, oops SUV, the 4Runner handled the potholes and uneven pavement with aplomb. 

Would I buy a new 4Runner? Maybe. Price is always a problem. The least expensive 4Runner is a SR5 (kind of ironic that the "5" once meant 5-speed manual transmission) at $41,270, a base Limited is $55,900, while the top TRD Pro and Trailhunter are $67,400. Prices are from toyota.com and subject to change. 

Statistics tell us that a very small percentage of 4WD or AWD vehicles are used off-road. If you are part of that small group remember to 

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