The story
After fifteen model years of the 5th gen, Toyota revealed its replacement on 9 April 2024 and started building it at Tahara, Japan, that December — later than planned, because parts shared with other models were in short supply. The N500 rides on the TNGA-F (GA-F) ladder frame that also underpins the Tacoma, the Land Cruiser 250 and the Lexus GX 550. It swaps the old 4.0 V6 for a 2.4-litre turbo four, offers a hybrid for the first time, and still lowers its rear glass into the tailgate at the touch of a button.
THE TACOMA WITH A ROOF
Car and Driver put it bluntly: the new 4Runner is "essentially an SUV version of the Tacoma," sharing its mechanicals, cabin switchgear and much of its styling. The wheelbase grows 2.4 inches to 112.2, matching the Land Cruiser and GX 550, and most of that stretch went in ahead of the front doors to free up space around the body mounts. That is why TRD Off-Road, TRD Pro and Trailhunter trucks can leave the factory on 33-inch tires — something 5th gen owners did with a grinder.
There are nine trims: SR5, TRD Sport, TRD Sport Premium, TRD Off-Road, TRD Off-Road Premium, Limited, Platinum, TRD Pro and Trailhunter. KDSS, the hydraulically linked anti-roll bars of the old truck, is gone. In its place the TRD Pro and Trailhunter get an electronically disconnecting front anti-roll bar, optional on the TRD Off-Road. Those three trims also get an electronic rear locker; the rest make do with a limited-slip rear differential.
FOUR CYLINDERS, EIGHT GEARS, ONE BATTERY
Every 6th gen uses the T24A-FTS 2.4-litre turbo four and an eight-speed automatic. In i-FORCE form it makes 278 hp and 317 lb-ft, with peak torque at 1,700 rpm against the old V6's 4,400. The i-FORCE MAX hybrid sandwiches a 48-hp motor between engine and gearbox for 326 hp and 465 lb-ft; it is standard on the TRD Pro, Trailhunter and Platinum and optional on the TRD Off-Road and Limited. Towing rises from 5,000 lb to 6,000 lb with either.
Car and Driver's numbers are good rather than transformative: 7.5 seconds to 60 mph for a gas 4WD truck and 6.7 for a hybrid Trailhunter, against 7.7 for the last V6 TRD Pro it tested. EPA ratings climb to 21–22 mpg combined for the gas truck and 23 for the hybrid, though C/D's heavy Trailhunter managed only 17 mpg observed. The same test noted transmission temperatures 'flirting with the red zone' after repeated acceleration runs — an observation 6th gen forum owners have echoed on long off-road climbs.
TRD PRO VERSUS TRAILHUNTER
The two flagships split the off-road mission. The TRD Pro runs manually adjustable 2.5-inch Fox internal-bypass dampers (C/D's reveal identified them as QS3s), forged-aluminium upper control arms, a TRD intake and a cat-back exhaust — tuned, like the Tacoma's, for fast desert running. The Trailhunter is the overlander: ARB Old Man Emu 2.5-inch dampers with rear remote reservoirs, an ARB-designed roof rack, steel skid plates, an onboard compressor in production form, and 10.1 inches of ground clearance against at least 8.1 on lesser trims.
Both wear 33-inch Toyo Open Country A/T III tires in 265/70R18 and list at $68,350 in Car and Driver's 2025 pricing, against $42,220 for a base SR5. That puts the top trims uncomfortably close to the Land Cruiser 250 and GX 550; C/D's own pick was the $50,640 TRD Off-Road 4WD. Toyota sold 98,805 4Runners in the US in 2025, so the formula clearly still works, and for 2026 Car and Driver reports no major changes.
SIDEBAR · TRAILHUNTER
Toyota hires ARB
The Trailhunter is Toyota admitting what owners have done for decades: bolting Australian overland kit to a 4Runner. It comes with ARB's Old Man Emu dampers, an ARB-designed roof rack, raised clearance (2 inches front, 1.5 inches rear per Wikipedia), heritage 'TOYOTA' grille lettering, a 20-inch LED light bar and colour-selectable fog lights.
Its most talked-about feature is the tall intake on the passenger-side A-pillar. Car and Driver stresses it is not a snorkel — the point is cleaner, dust-free air, not deep wading — and that it pipes a constant chorus of turbo whooshes into the cabin while trimming 3 hp, leaving the Trailhunter at 323 combined horsepower.
