Another day and another teaser of the 2025 Toyota 4Runner. It’s a solid way to start a Thursday, I admit, especially since this new photo confirms the next-gen adventure rig will retain the drop-down rear window. That’s a feature we’ve all come to love, so it makes sense for Toyota to keep it around (not that the car company has ever been one to depart from tradition). Even still, there’s more to glean from this seemingly simple photo so let’s get into it.
It’s true that the 4Runner is no longer a removable-top-wheeler, but us off-road dorks take what we can. A roll-down back window gives alludes to an open-air experience without blowing everybody’s hair around and exposing them to 60-mph sticks and stones. The tailgate buttons allow it to be powered up or down, as in recent years. This is pretty neat.
Peer past where the back glass would be and you’ll find a big infotainment screen. It looks like the 14-inch display that’s already used in the Tundra, Sequoia, and so on. Even though it’s huge, it looks great. I have reviewed several trucks that use this screen. The UX is intuitive and the resolution is good for everyday use.
What you might not notice straight away is what looks to be a digital gauge cluster peeping through between the driver’s seat and headrest. That’s great and all, but it’s likely telling of something else: A hybrid powertrain. I say this because all Tundra pickups with hybrid powertrains come standard equipped with a 12.3-inch digital dashboard. This means that the 4Runner you see here is a hybrid. It’s likely to be a 2.4 liter turbo four, just like in the new Tacoma & Land Cruiser.
Now, it’s too early to say if every 4Runner will offer the hybrid powertrain as standard. Land Cruiser is a good example of this, with its 326 horsepowers and 465 pound feet of torque. It’s possible that the 4Runner will feature a gas-only option as well to differentiate it from the Land Cruiser, and if that’s the case, expect the non-electrified turbo I4 to produce 278 hp and 317 lb-ft of torque—still an improvement over the current 4Runner‘s V6 with 270 hp and 278 lb-ft.
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We won’t be waiting much longer to see the new 4Runner in full. The automaker shared a video to Instagram with “April 9” appearing then quickly disappearing behind the rear window. By now, we’ve essentially seen the entire back half. Camouflaged photos show boxy overall styling, so all that’s left to the imagination is the front-end design. Less than a week and we won’t have to guess anymore.
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The Drive published the post 2025 Toyota 4Runner to Keep Drop-Down Rear Glass and Hybrid Power Teased first.
