So, as it turns out, I wield the power of God. Earlier this week I wrote about how the fifth-generation Toyota 4Runner has been to 13 consecutive New York International Auto Shows since it debuted in 2010. Well, it looks like Toyota heard me, because just a few hours later the automaker posted a teaser image on its Instagram account showing off a little image of the upcoming sixth-generation 4Runner.
Yes, I know this is a coincidence. Anyway, we cannot glean too much information from the post on Instagram. It contains six images – the first five are of the previous generations of the body-on-frame SUV. The final image is the big one here. We get a glimpse at the rear bumper of a baby blue sixth-generation 4Runner. Viewers also get a look at a silver bumper and a little sliver of the driver’s-side taillight. We can also see a license plate that reads “LUS 282.” Maybe that means something – who knows? The final big thing we can see is a new “4Runner” nameplate and font that is located on the lower part of the tailgate.
That being said, the Instagram post doesn’t say when we’ll actually see the new 4Runner. My best guess is that it’ll pop up in the next couple of months and go on sale at some point for the 2025 or 2026 model year. I’d also expect the new 4Runner to drop the old car’s ancient 4.0-liter V6 in favor of a turbocharged Toyota i-Force and i-Froce Max four-cylinder motors.
The sixth-generation 4Runner is a super long time coming. As I said, the fifth-gen car came out back in 2010. It’s received a number of minor updates since then, but it has largely remained the same.
It’s going to be interesting to see where Toyota ends up positioning the new 4Runner, considering the fact the new Land Cruiser is here and is a fairly similar size to the 4Runner.