We Bought a 2025 Toyota 4Runner Hybrid, And It Wasn’t That Hard
The Cars.com Editorial team just took delivery of a fresh-off-the-boat 2025 Toyota 4Runner hybrid to join our long-term fleet for a year of testing. Why the 4Runner?
The redesigned 4Runner is a controversial SUV. It’s the first redesign of the hugely popular off-road SUV in 15 years, and Toyota replaced the tried-and-true V-6 engine with a turbocharged four-cylinder, which is inherently a more complicated engine type. In addition, the new 2025 model is the first 4Runner with an available hybrid powertrain that adds power and efficiency.
We picked the 4Runner hybrid TRD Off-Road Premium for its balance between cost and off-road features while still having desirable tech and convenience features. Will the hybridized turbocharged four-cylinder be reliable? Will it deliver the expected fuel economy and performance? Would the roughly $61,000 for our 4Runner hybrid been better spent on a Toyota Land Cruiser with its standard hybrid powertrain? We plan to answer all of these questions and more in our year of ownership.
Related: 2025 Toyota 4Runner Review: Time for Some Soul Searching
You Can’t Order a 2025 4Runner, But You Can Get on a List
When we purchase a long-term test car, we do our best to navigate the shopping experience like an ordinary consumer, searching for cars using consumer tools as well as negotiating pricing and trade-in value just like anyone else off the street.
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You can’t technically order a 2025 4Runner to your specification. Instead, you work with a dealership to communicate your preferred trim level, color and options to get on a list of interested buyers. Dealers are allotted vehicles from Toyota, and you’re given the opportunity to buy one of those vehicles when one comes through that matches the combo you specified.
The 4Runner hybrid wasn’t on dealership lots yet when we started shopping in early February (deliveries of the hybrid didn’t start until March or April). By sheer chance, we intercepted a 4Runner hybrid on Feb. 7, the day before it was scheduled to be built and before anyone had claimed it. Perhaps it wasn’t too much by chance, however, because we found it on Cars.com by saving an inventory search for 4Runner hybrids that then alerted us when new matches appeared nearby. We also scoured dealership sites and Toyota.com for the latest inventory, but it was our own site that provided the listing first.
As a bonus, the dealership wasn’t charging markup on the hybrid TRD Off-Road Premium trim level we wanted, though they did have a markup on the topline 4Runner TRD Pro. The selling dealership required a hefty $2,500 deposit to hold the 4Runner for the estimated six-to-nine week delivery process — we’re used to paying $1,000 to hold a vehicle — though the amount could be refunded or applied toward the purchase of the vehicle.
Navigating Dealer Add-Ons, But no Tariffs
The 4Runner arrived at the dealership eight weeks after being built, and then the fun part started: How much will this cost us? The dealer didn’t want to discuss numbers until the car arrived so they could get an accurate price for our trade-in.
While the first pass at negotiations didn’t come with markup, there were questionable additions that we often warn consumers to be wary of, including a $599 Theft Protection Package for vehicle identification number etching, $399 for window tint and an $899 Appearance Protection Package. None of these were disclosed beforehand, and our salesperson said they were included on all vehicles, even though the fine print on the quote says “Appearance, Windshield, Theft and Dent protection coverage are optional.”
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Shop the 2025 Toyota 4Runner Hybrid near you
We pushed back, getting the VIN etching and window tint removed from the quote, but the Appearance Protection Package stuck. Getting more for our trade-in helped make up the difference, however, with our 2023 Jeep Grand Cherokee 4xe Trailhawk fetching $32,000 instead of the originally offered $29,750. Do we feel good about that? Not really, considering we asked for $34,000 and the Grand Cherokee was listed at roughly $71,000 just two years ago when we bought it. We saved roughly $2,500 on sales tax by trading in the Jeep instead of selling it separately (Illinois allows vehicle sales tax to be calculated from the final transaction price), but it still would have been nice to get more for the Jeep.
Thankfully, we didn’t have to navigate artificial tariff upcharges. The 4Runner is assembled in Japan, and its parts content is 95% from Japan, as well, but as of publication, Toyota hasn’t disclosed how it will handle pricing changes from tariffs. This dealership was honest and didn’t try to include any made-up tariff upcharges on our imported 4Runner.
What We Paid
The first quote came out to a balance due of $36,870.70. It took the list price (retail plus destination) of $61,219, added the aforementioned add-ons as well as taxes and administrative fees, and subtracted the trade-in amount. The final quote, with two of the three dealer packages removed and a higher trade-in value, resulted in a balance of $33,354.70, a 9.5% price reduction from the original quote. However, much of that was from removed charges that we didn’t want in the first place.
In all honesty, we didn’t expect much movement in price, and we didn’t put up a fight over the remaining appearance package because we didn’t want to give this car up to the next person who was surely waiting in line.
Our 4Runner did have a few optional packages from the factory in addition to the TRD Off-Road Premium’s standard equipment:
- Prewired auxiliary switches: $400
- Power moonroof: $850
- All-weather floormats: $199
- Gloss-black roof rack crossbars: $420
- All-weather cargo tray: $130
From here, we’ll add our 4Runner to the rotation of cars our team of editors drive. We plan on using it for family hauling, camping, towing, road trips and more to see if the 4Runner lives up to its reputation as a capable and versatile off-road SUV.
More From Cars.com:
- Diverse 2025 Toyota 4Runner Lineup Priced From $42,220 to Nearly $70K
- Off-Road Toyotas Compared: 2024 Land Cruiser Vs. 2025 4Runner
- What Are Old Man Emu Shocks?
- Run 4 the Trails: All-New 2025 Toyota 4Runner Gains Turbo and Hybrid Power, Trailhunter Trim
- 2024 Toyota Land Cruiser Review: Readjust Your Expectations
Cars.com’s Editorial department is your source for automotive news and reviews. In line with Cars.com’s long-standing ethics policy, editors and reviewers don’t accept gifts or free trips from automakers. The Editorial department is independent of Cars.com’s advertising, sales and sponsored content departments.
