2026 Toyota 4Runner Reviews, Pricing & Specs

The 4Runner and Tacoma pickup share a lot in terms of design, and it's hard to tell the two apart from the front. The 4Runner has a muscular look with pronounced haunches at each wheel and black wheel flares for the off-road models. The sheet metal is creased and angled—perhaps too much—and the creases are especially deep along the sides.

Up front, the grille sits high, and rests above a lower intake with an underbite, especially on the TRD Pro and Trailhunter models that get their own bumpers for better approach angles. Those models also have heritage-inspired front ends with “Toyota” lettering on the grille and an integrated light bar. In another nod to the original 4Runner of the 1980s, the rear side windows extend into the roof. Wheel sizes range from 18 to 20 inches.

The 4Runner’s interior has a simple, utilitarian look with chunky control dials that are easy to operate with gloved hands, and an abundance of hard plastic. The plastic adorns the dash, the center console, and door tops, and only the center console bin cover and door armrests are soft to the touch.

Cloth upholstery comes standard, synthetic leather is standard one rung up the chain, as well as on the TRD Pro and Trailhunter because it’s easy to clean, and leather upholstery is standard for the Limited and Platinum trims. But even with leather, this never looks like a high-end cabin.

The 4Runner comes with a choice of two powertrains and rear-wheel drive (RWD) or two four-wheel-drive (4WD) systems. The base engine, which Toyota calls i-Force, is a turbocharged 2.4-liter four-cylinder that generates 278 horsepower and 317 pound-feet of torque. The i-Force Max hybrid system adds an electric motor to increase output to 326 hp and 465 lb-ft.

Our 4Runner TRD Off-Road Premium tester had the hybrid powertrain. Despite the big torque figure, the 4Runner hybrid isn’t all that quick, with a mid-to-low seven-second 0–60 mph time. The eight-speed automatic transmission is well matched to the engine, and its tuning and the throttle response become more aggressive in the Sport drive mode. The 4Runner hybrid is quick enough for any daily need, but doesn’t match what’s expected given the torque figure. The torque, however, is good for off-roading, giving it the oomph to pull itself up hills and out of ruts, especially in its low-range 4Lo setting with the Crawl Control engaged.

Speaking of 4Lo, the 4Runner is offered with either part-time or full-time 4WD. Our TRD Off-Road model had the part-time system that also has 4Hi and 2Hi settings. Using either of the 4WD settings allows drivers of more off-road-oriented 4Runners to pick from six Multi-Terrain System (MTS) drive modes, which include Deep Snow, Mud, Sand, Dirt, Auto, and Rock. Each mode controls the throttle, traction control, and braking to help the 4Runner navigate such terrain. The more street-oriented Limited and Platinum models get a full-time 4WD system with a locking center differential that’s much easier to use.

Our tester had several features to improve off-roading. Every TRD Off-Road gets a locking rear differential, Bilstein remote-reservoir dampers, running boards, an extra inch of ground clearance for a total of 9.1 inches, 18-inch wheels with 33-inch all-terrain tires, the MTS system, and skid plates to protect the transfer case, oil pan, and fuel tank. The Premium trim adds a Multi-Terrain Monitor, which uses the surround-view camera to provide several extra views to aid off-roading.

The Trailhunter and TRD Pro go even further. Both sit another inch higher off the ground, come standard with disconnecting sway bars and unique front bumpers to improve the approach angle from 19 to 33 degrees, and have pre-wired auxiliary switches for aftermarket accessories. The TRD Pro also has Fox adjustable remote-reservoir shocks, an aluminum front skid-plate, and underbody protection for the transfer case and gas tank. The Trailhunter has a snorkel on the passenger-side A-pillar, Old Man Emu shocks for both on- and off-road performance, rock rails, an on-board compressor, an ARB roof rack instead of roof rails, a composite gas tank skid plate, and steel skid plates for the front end, transfer case, and rear differential.

The TRD Off-Road, TRD Pro and Trailhunter are serious off-roaders, but their on-road dynamics are compromised. With its body-on-frame platform, the 4Runner suffers from the jiggle and bounding of a pickup over bumps, and that’s magnified with these off-road-focussed models. Our TRD Off-Road tester’s Bilstein dampers were rather firm, so the suspension didn’t quell bumps all that well, despite the tall-sidewall 265/70R18 Michelin LTX Trail all-terrain tires.

Handling also suffers. The tall ride height causes notable lean in corners, and while the steering is direct with some decent heft, it’s rather slow. The Limited and Platinum ride lower, and have full-time 4WD, so they are easier to live with on the street, but handling still can’t match that of unibody crossovers.

The 4Runner can be had with two rows of seats for a five-passenger capacity or three rows to seat up to seven.

The front seats are the best, although they only come with manual adjustment as standard. Heated front seats are standard on all but the base trim, and Premium trims and up get power front-seat adjustments and a heated steering wheel.

There's decent space in the second row but the seats aren't that comfortable. Headroom and legroom are good, but the seat bottoms sit too low to offer the thigh support needed for comfort on any trip over about 10 miles. It’s also tough to get in there due to short rear doors and a high step-in height. The Platinum trim adds heated and reclining second-row seats.

We drove the two-row 4Runner and can’t imagine that the three-row version would be any good. We suspect it has a low seat bottom with even worse thigh support than the second-row seats. Legroom checks in at a measly 31.8 inches, so the two people you put back there will likely have to be kids.

Cargo space is about as spacious as the 4Runner’s midsize rivals, but the space isn’t quite as accessible. Gas-only two-row models have 48.4 cubic feet of space behind the second row and 90.2 cubic feet behind the first row. With the hybrid powertrain, the two-row 4Runner has 42.6 and 82.6 cubic feet behind the second and first rows, respectively. The three-row configuration is offered only with the base gas-only powertrain; three-row models have 12.1 cubic feet behind the third row, 44.8 behind the second row, and 84.1 with all the seats folded.

That second row can either fold flat as a step up from the rest of the load floor, or the seat bottoms can tilt up to create a flat load floor that isn’t as long. Models with the hybrid powertrain lose space because of a higher load floor that creates a higher liftover height to load items.

The 4Runner comes standard with a 7-inch digital instrument cluster and an 8-inch touchscreen. However, the instrument cluster expands to 12.3 inches in all but the base trim, and the touchscreen grows to 14 inches in any Premium trim or higher.

Our tester had the 14-inch screen, which could use a bit more pizazz. It lacks a home screen and looks like a white sheet of paper during the day without any distinctive design elements. However, it’s large and close at hand so it’s easy to use. A line of icons along its left side provides quick access to functions such as navigation, phone, and entertainment. The screen reacts quickly to commands, and generally performs well.

The 4Runner comes with a one-year trial of Remote Connect, which provides remote control of vehicle functions through the Toyota app, a multi-year subscription to Safety Connect, which offers emergency assistance and a stolen vehicle locator, and a multi-year subscription to Service Connect that sends maintenance updates and vehicle health reports. A Wi-Fi hotspot is standard for only a month, after which a subscription is required.

Our tester also had the 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster, which provides three areas of programmable information. A five-way controller on the left side of the steering wheel lets the driver choose what’s in those spots. It’s the usual stuff, such as the trip computer, current media, a compass, and fuel economy, plus useful vehicle-status information such as pitch and roll, a turbo gauge, and temperature gauges.

Other standard tech features include wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, a three-month satellite radio trial, and on all but the base model, a wireless phone charger. The standard radio has eight speakers, and those who get the larger touchscreen also enjoy a 14-speaker JBL audio system.

Toyota equips every 4Runner with its Safety Sense 3.0 suite of safety features. It consists of a forward collision warning with pedestrian detection, automatic emergency braking, adaptive cruise control, lane-departure warning, lane-keep assist, road-sign recognition, and high-beam assist. Also standard—but oddly not considered part of Safety Sense—are blind-spot monitors, front and rear cross-traffic alert, and traffic-jam assist.

Newly redesigned vehicles usually score well in crash tests, and while the 4Runner was overhauled for 2025, it has mixed crash scores. It received four out of five stars overall from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) in a market where most vehicles get five. The culprits are four-star ratings in the frontal crash and rollover evaluations.

It also got mixed results from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS), with a Marginal score in the moderate front overlap crash test, headlights that rate Poor to Acceptable to Good depending on the trim level, and an incomplete rating in the small front overlap test because it’s only been tested on one side. It did get Good ratings in the updated side crash test and for its vehicle-to-vehicle and vehicle-to-pedestrian front crash prevention systems, though.

The 2026 Toyota 4Runner is available in nine trim levels. All are meant for off-roading, but four in particular ramp up the equipment for more capability. The lineup consists of SR5, TRD Sport, TRD Sport Premium, TRD Off-Road, TRD Off-Road Premium, Limited, Platinum, Trailhunter, and TRD Pro trims. Prices start at $43,665 (including a $1,595 destination fee) for the SR5 and top out at $69,995 for the TRD Pro.

The i-Force Max hybrid system costs $2,800 more than the TRD Off-Road and TRD Off-Road Premium and $4,800 more than the Limited trim. It’s standard for the Platinum, Trailhunter and TRD Pro, but not available with the SR5 or Sport models.

That makes the TRD Off-Road the most affordable way into the most efficient 4Runner. It starts at $54,885 and its hybrid powertrain delivers an EPA-rated 23 mpg city, 24 mpg highway, and 23 mpg combined. That’s not much better than a RWD non-hybrid model, which gets 22 mpg combined, or even the other 4WD non-hybrid versions, which rate 21 mpg combined. The window-sticker fuel economy rating is not easy to achieve, either. In our 130 miles of mixed city and highway driving in the TRD Pro i-Force Max hybrid, we averaged just 16.1 mpg.

The 4Runner is purpose-built for adventure, so we recommend choosing one of the three off-road-focused models and using it exactly that way. Otherwise, pick a crossover with more on-road and passenger comfort.