Owner Review: 2025 4Runner SR5 4x4 w/ 3rd Row Seats - Impressions, Photos, MPG Figures

[Kokorone]

I’ve got a 5th Gen Limited and it’s XREAS (hydraulic cross linked) suspension does a fantastic job of minimizing body roll and brake dive. It is however prone to leaking at some point and prohibitively expensive to replace. Which means you end up with Bilsteins or wtvr instead.

So it’s great to hear that the 6th Gen is doing a better job on this front without the expensive XREAS. In general, the reviews have really praised the on-road demeanor of this new generation, which has certainly been an issue for the old one. It suffers from wandering at highway speeds and is very sensitive to wheel balance. Lots of owners get intermittent steering wheel shakes above 55mph or so, and only very careful RoadForce balancing seems capable of fixing it.

I quite literally had a 5th gen with the XREAS as well that were leaking and they were exorbitantly expensive to replace

 

[FWTBT]

Will be interesting to see if Toyota has been able to pull off this better on-road demeanor without sacrificing off-road ability and toughness / durability. If so, this 6th Gen will be quite an accomplishment.

I’m sad to see the demise of the bulletproof V6. I’d have been happy if they kept it and just paired it with an 8 speed trans to improve performance and eke out a bit more MPG. But if the rest of the truck is worthy of the 4Runner name, it’s hard to complain. More power, better MPG and a good highway driver combined with robust off road chops — that would be awesome.

I had feared that they’d somehow make the interior smaller while making the exterior larger (a problem with other makes) but blessedly this interior is actually slightly bigger in non-hybrid form, and seems to have better packaging too, with additional storage options. Really liking how they fit in the 3 rows (albeit without the sliding second row of the Limited. That is a loss.)

 

[origon09]

Hey Great post. Thanks for all the useful photos and write up. Can you get back to us on how it feels out in the trails. I was originally looking at a OR or ORP. But because the Sr5 looks so solid I might at least test drive it. The biggest thing for me is Heated seats. Where I live we get inclement weather like 4 months out of the year. So might be worth it for the heated side windows and heated seats.

 

[Kokorone]

Hey Great post. Thanks for all the useful photos and write up. Can you get back to us on how it feels out in the trails. I was originally looking at a OR or ORP. But because the Sr5 looks so solid I might at least test drive it. The biggest thing for me is Heated seats. Where I live we get inclement weather like 4 months out of the year. So might be worth it for the heated side windows and heated seats.

heated seats are actually surprisingly easy to add in aftermarket so I wouldn’t let that be a barrier if the next trims are too expensive for you.

 

[Kokorone]

Oh also for anyone considering the SR5 trim. It does come with heated mirrors! They don’t auto fold and they are missing turn signal indicators but they do defrost.

 

[JenningsESQ]

Thanks @Kokorone your great review and coverage of the ownership experience so far. Really helps those of us who still have quite a while to wait until our own deliveries.

 

[Kokorone]

Adding a few more pics in daylight. In love with how the car looks

 

[mars001]

Thanks for the pics! How hard is it to take things in and out of that box?

 

[Kokorone]

Thanks for the pics! How hard is it to take things in and out of that box?

It’s not too bad since you can stand on the tire to load things but it does make the car way too tall for most parking structures

 

[FWTBT]

More great pics, thanks. And congrats again! Have you figured out how much actual ground clearance there is? Not counting the front air dam, which obv can be removed (and would be by nature in any real off roading lol).

And what does it get for skid plates? Any steel plates below the engine bay, trans or transfer case?

 

[tomter]

Although I've ordered an ORP, I love the simple ruggedness of the SR5. That color is slick. Cloth seats are super. Congrats to the family and thanks for sharing the photos.

 

[Kokorone]

More great pics, thanks. And congrats again! Have you figured out how much actual ground clearance there is? Not counting the front air dam, which obv can be removed (and would be by nature in any real off roading lol).

And what does it get for skid plates? Any steel plates below the engine bay, trans or transfer case?

Got some pics of the undercarriage for you. I can confirm that this trim does NOT come with a full size spare tire which is of note.

 

[nubbins_]

Oh also for anyone considering the SR5 trim. It does come with heated mirrors! They don’t auto fold and they are missing turn signal indicators but they do defrost.

Needed to register here to say thanks for this detailed review. You answered pretty much all questions that none of the latest wave of "reviewers" could. Nice clear pictures for us all too. There's so much misinformation floating around from angry older gen owners in Youtube comments that it's getting legitimately hard to tell what is on the actual vehicle (e.g. heated seats, heated mirrors), so thanks for clearing up a lot of it.

It's been a rough 5 or so years watching the entire auto industry change since I was last in trucks. But I'm looking to ditch EV finally later this year and I think a SR5 is at the top of list for me right now. Especially since the SR5 package for Canada isn't too shabby.

Got some pics of the undercarriage for you. I can confirm that this trim does NOT come with a full size spare tire which is of note.

Is there still the same amount of room to simply put on, say, a 31.5" tire and steelie though? Or did Toyota add extra crap just to prevent fitment?

 

[docboy]

Got some pics of the undercarriage for you. I can confirm that this trim does NOT come with a full size spare tire which is of note.

Can you clarify "does not come with a full size spare tire?" Does that mean the spare tire you have is a compact spare tire? Or did you have to pay to have spare tire added? Thanks.

 

[Kokorone]

Can you clarify "does not come with a full size spare tire?" Does that mean the spare tire you have is a compact spare tire? Or did you have to pay to have spare tire added? Thanks.

Compact smaller spare included. Narrow tread and definitely not something you’d want to be stuck with in the middle of a trail