I just had a look at the 2025 Toyota 4Runner, and decided to crawl around both inside and underneath. And while I’ll show you the hardware later, for now, let’s have a look at all the interior storage cubbies. Because storage, especially in an overland vehicle, is crucial.
As much as I want to discuss how the 4Runner and Land Cruiser are basically the same vehicle, it’s time to focus on what matters: storage. And the 4Runner has…an OK amount of that. Though it’s also limited, in a way.
Let’s get into it.
First things first: The second-row seats tumble; they do not fold flat. This means I, a 5’8″ dude, had to lay down at an angle and use a little cutout in the rear cargo area side trim for my feet; only then could I lay down outstretched.
As I understand, this is different than the current 4Runner, whose rear seat-backs do indeed fold flat, with only the bottom cushion leaning up against the front seats. This leaves plenty of room to sleep:
Sleeping in the new 4Runner without removing the rear seats just isn’t going to work. For me to fit, I had to lay down diagonally:
Here’s the cutout where my seat fit, barely:
On the hybrid model, things become a bit dire if you want to lay down, as there’s a large step in the floor due to the Nickel-Metal Hydride battery under the rear (you can see the cooling vents there on the C-pillar trim):
The hybrid battery also makes the load height rather high, so if you need to lift something heavy into the new 4Runner hybrid: Gird your loins:
As you can see, the non-hybrid isn’t as bad:
Overall, there’s tons of space behind the second row, and there’s storage on each side; on these two-row models this seems a bit randomly placed, but I suppose on three-row 4Runners those will be nice for passengers in the wayback.
The second row has the standard fold-down cupholders in the center armrest that you tend to see in pretty much every car, and there’s storage in each door, with the cupholder being my favorite bin in the whole vehicle:
Here’s a look at that deep cupholder under the JBL speaker and just ahead of a nice horizontally-oriented storage bin:
Let’s look closer at this masterpiece:
I love a nice, deep, cylindrical cupholder. Anyway, let’s move on. Check out the pockets behind the seats:
Up front, each door has three cupholders, along with a shallow, flat storage cubby on the outboard lower corner of the door:
In the center between the seats, we have two cupholders, a grab handle for the passenger to hold onto while off-roading (below the grab handle is a grid that you could theoretically clip things to, plus there’s a little plastic hook for grocery bags), a glovebox, and a bin above the glovebox:
Here’s the center console, which is a little on the shallower side:
To the right of the steering wheel is a small cubic storage bin, likely where some switch (perhaps a keyed ignition switch on lower-trim models?) might sit on other 4Runners:
And there’s an overhead glasses holder:
So the 4Runner has some limitations. No fold-flat seats, a tall rear cargo floor, and not too many novel storage solutions. Still, it does have 12 cupholders and it has this:
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Would a lift-up glass window be faster and less prone to failure? Definitely. But there’s just something about a power sliding rear window; it’s just awesome.
I’m a Toyota fanboy and swear by them, but I have to admit I’ve been a bit underwhelmed lately. This is a fine rig, but it just doesn’t hit hard with styling or features. I hate Fords due to their problems, but they created a stir with the Bronco. It looks good, has some cool features, decently capable off-road, and is fast. The Tundra had so much hype before the 3rd gen was released, and it was just a slightly more reliable Ecoboost copy with polarizing looks. Toyota didn’t even give us a V8 option. Now we have the new 4Runner. I feel like Toyota just played it safe, and there could’ve been a lot more potential to this. It’s like they started hiring GM engineers.
In all fairness, and aside from the development of the Prius, tell me one time since 1990 when Toyota did not completely phone it in.
2nd gen MR2?
Debuted in 1989 overseas but not in here in the USA until the early 90s I think, so I’ve gotta give you this one.
2nd gen Prius. Fifth gen Prius.
Looks like I’m keeping my Element for a few more years.
I realllllllly wish that someone would do this again. Just like I reallllllly wish Elements could legally sit three across in the rear seat.
Now I ain’t got so many dang kids and could get by. Please, someone make one again
Ok where the hell is Pat Rich?
Oppo meet in Moab. https://opposite-lock.com/topic/97120/moab-motoring-meet-midway-message-mupdate
Toyota is really dropping the ball with their new hybrids. Non flush fit battery packs in order to get less than an extra 5 MPG?
That was and is Hybrid compliance car BS.
The lack of fold flat rear seats is a tragedy, especially considering how much extra room Toyota would have for a folding rear seat mechanism with the raised floor on the hybrid yet they still didn’t pull it off.
Toyota should be ashamed of itself.
Agreed. For the amount of time they have had to design this, the integration seems like it was an afterthought entirely.
that batt bum really seems tacked on, like “oh shit, I forgot to do the battery. Let’s just add a little hat to the rear storage area and call it good”
5 mpg is a huge difference because mpg is not linear. +5 mpg for a 5th gen would be a 27% reduction in the amount of gas you have to buy. I.e. would save $16 to drive a full tank’s worth of miles, or nearly +100 miles per full tank of gas. Either way, that’s significant.
Except that because Toyota saddled themselves to a turbocharged I4 and an automatic transmission they didn’t maximize the possible MPG while increasing reliability, durability, and longevity (via going with an naturally aspirated Atkinson cycle engine and a planetary e-CVT transmission).
The overwhelming majority of Toyota’s hybrid offerings use naturally aspirated Atkinson cycle engines and planetary e-CVT transmissions. Considering how they cut corners everywhere else on the new 4Runner it’s no surprise.
I mean, I feel like even with the American shitboxes we forget that there are nearly always compromises because these companies exist to make money
What I’m seeing is that it would be really easy to pull the seat all the way out and have a relatively smooth floor. Or be able to build a platform over the folded (not tumbled) seat and be able to store stuff under the platform behind the seat.
I actually like this better than the old seat.
The front seatbacks look so naked; and without a hardback, they are going to get scuffed and torn so quickly. Especially if you try and put in a car seat or have younger kids that don’t have the presence of mind not put their short legs up and brush the seats with their sneakers. My GX has plastic that cleans easy and a more rugged pocket material.
These will all have a $6k RTT on top for all their Youtube overglamping vids. No need for sleeping inside.
I was looking for this comment. For every compromise in the design, there is an expensive solution.
I actually wouldn’t be surprised if they didn’t game exactly this out. And with Lexus/Toyota tacking on lots of expensive goodies in their build menus, I am fairly certain this what they expect.
The power sliding rear window is one of my favorite 4runner features. open it a few inches for the dogs to stick their noses out, roll it down with sunroof open on the highway, access the gear in the back when you cant open the hatch because the spoiler hits the canoe on top…
but does it need the armrest for the third row if there is no 3rd row? those just look like they would be in the way of putting actual stuff into the back, and awkward to reach into from outside.
This. The rear panels should be flat for the 2 row version, allowing better storage space. It might not be much, but those shapes are odd enough to interfere unnecessarily.
They should but I guess economies of scale prevented Toyota from doing that.
Either that or they didn’t want to pay $100K for new tooling which is nuts since it will pay off in less than a couple years (if previous sales volumes are any indication)
“the Nickel Metal-Hydride battery”
Just like a 2001 Prius? It’s not like there aren’t better battery chemistries now.
Toyota spent the last 20-odd years getting very good at making their NiMH packs that were developed from scratch
For the application, better battery chemistries don’t exist. It’s cheap, energy dense enough, reliable enough, and has a long enough lifespan. All the “better” technologies are more expensive with some other sort of large downside.
that’s funny since Ford has used Toyota’s hybrid system for almost 20 years, yet they switched to Li-Ion batteries over a decade ago and reliability didn’t suffer in any way. Moreover the switch brought weight savings.
Even Toyota switched to Lithium batteries for the 4th gen Prius, why fumble that on a newer vehicle?
How much more expensive would the lithium battery be? What would be gained?
do we know how well Li-On lasts in an off-road (i.e. bouncy) setting? Legitimate question I haven’t yet seen asked or answered on this thread yet.
Even once the Prius went to lithium batteries, they still spec’d the AWD ones with NiMH because they handle the cold better and they figured anyone buying an AWD Prius probably lives somewhere they get snow.
There are tradeoffs regardless of which battery chemistry you go with. It’s not like lithium-based ones are without flaws either.
My Pacifica has 10 cupholders and this thing has 12?! Just more space for crap to get stuck and be there forever lol
What is the American obsession with cupholders?
Speaking for me, but it’s not even necessarily about cups/bottles…other things can be stored in them.
In my Prius I keep a water bottle in each door in case of getting stranded for any reason.
The middle armrest can also hold my keys (since it’s push-button start) if I’m not wearing cargo pants (and therefore cognizant of them falling out of the pants).
Also, on a few occasions to help friends with their computers, I’ve put canned air in the cupholders.
And, in a pinch, they’re probably the closest thing to a garbage receptacle you’ll find in most cars.
So yeah, I doubt you’ll often see someone with a separate drink in all 12 or whatever is in a big 3-row SUV, but they have more uses than just drinks.
Then wouldn’t a square shaped storage container provide you with more effective storage for non-beverage containers?
Maybe I just don’t understand the justification to make them all round beverage containers. Using waterbottles as an example, typical non-reusable bottles are much smaller than the typical cupholder, so it’d wiggle around regardless – but a square shaped (maybe felt lined for noise?) storage nook might better fit a small first aid kit, wallet, book, etc… whilst still offering ample opportunity for disposal of unwanted items like crumpled receipts for fuel.
You make good points. I think they split the difference a bit (for example) with the design of the front door cupholders–the “splits” are just triangles on one side, so you could also fit something larger continuously through all three.
Regarding water bottle sizes–yes, you’re right. In the case of my Prius, the front doors have continuous slots from 1 rounded area, and it turns out to almost perfectly fit a bottle on its side. No rattling.
So, when it comes to whether you want squared space or cupholders, I can see how they have a balance to strike, and either way they won’t make everybody happy.
Maybe only one out of the four/six (depending on the number of rows) occupants in the car will actually have a water bottle, but since Toyota does not know where that person will be sitting, they put cupholders everywhere to cover any scenario.
This is a more user-friendly approach than e.g. only having one or two cupholders in the front, and forcing a rear occupant to pass their bottle back & forth. And those who have no need for the cupholders can use them for something else or ignore them.
It’s got 12x cupholders for 5x seats.
Larry the Lobster says “Always. Be. Hydrating.”
Considering nearly everyone seems to carry around rigid aluminum mega sized water containers that will never fit in any cupholder, not sure who uses them as cup holders.
Have you seen an American? We need lots of calories to get this big, the regimen requires a constant intake of sugar waters.
username checks out
From what I’ve seen so far, the 2nd row seats do fold “flat”, but you first have to fully tumble them and THEN re-lock the cushion to the floor. But what you do get is an uneven load floor, especially on the non-Hybrid version. Overall, it still ain’t great.
it’s also a flat load floor when you remove the seats entirely and replace with a custom-cut plywood sheet, but I suspect that ain’t great either
Who the hell needs that many cupholders? If you’ve got a carload of people consuming that many liquids, you’re going to be stopping at every rest area and gas station on the way to your destination. Hell, my parents didn’t want me drinking too many liquids on road trips when I was a kid, because I was always the one who had to pee first. To this day I still make sure to drink less water than usual when traveling. Maybe I’m just weird?
2 per seat is reasonable for me. Coffee and water, per passenger. So if it seats 6 in the 3 row, that tracks.
… and in 2025, I sleep diagonal in my 4Runner…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FMvsoD0gybE
Considering I do everything I can to avoid sleeping cars this not a huge issue. I like the 4runner just need to see how insane the prices are on them
MSRP will likely be close to the current gen, assume maybe 2-4k higher per equivalent trim. Dealer markups on the other hand… first TRD-Pros will probably be 25k+ over sticker
I fully agree. As a society we’ve invented hotels for a reason. I’ve never been a camping fan, doing it in the back of a vehicle seems even less enjoyable when compared to a tent.
Don’t get me wrong, I love the outdoors. I also love taking a hot shower, making a meal in a proper kitchen and sleeping in a comfortable bed.
Depends on the vehicle. In my 1994 Toyota pickup with a camper top a twin mattress slides right in, so I bought a twin memory foam mattress for that, sheets, pillows, nice blankets, etc. back in the day there were so many places where either they didn’t have the room for me to get a proper sleep so I just slept comfy and cozy in the bed of my truck.
I don’t know what hotels you’re staying in but all of the ones I’ve stayed in the closest thing they have to a “proper kitchen” is a Keurig, a microwave, and a mini fridge.
Some of the suite hotels with kitchenettes (stove, oven, microwave, fridge, sink, dishwasher) can be pretty reasonable.
Indeed they can be, but I’ve yet to stay in one in my travels. They’re much less common than traditional hotels.
I hope many of my longroof brothers and sisters come here to say same thing – my ‘78 Aussie Ford wagon has an electrical rear window…. not new…. awesome but!
Yes! (Mom drove a 1982 Chevy Caprice Classic)
This seems absurd to me. Why on Earth did they decide to not engineer this? Everything has fold flat rear seats. Are they at least easy to remove with some kind of quick release, or do we have to get tools involved?
It’s because they’ve tried to make the 4Runner appeal to too many people. The 2nd row seats tumble to make it easier to access the 3rd row. The 200 series Land Cruiser was the same. The 4Runner would be a much better vehicle if it was more narrowly focused. No hybrid/battery pack, and no 3rd row. It’s a shame, since I really do like the exterior styling of this new one.
This is even more absurd in light of of the overlap between 4Runner, LC, and GX. All J250s giving us the same flavor. What’s the point? 4Runner could have been open top, LC the family cruiser/overland darling, and GX the same in a tux. That’s even without bringing the J300 over as the real LC, which is what they should have done.
I definitely agree. The new 4Runner should have been more like an FJ Cruiser/Wrangler/Bronco – focused on trail performance. Land Cruiser should have been focused on overlanding/payload etc. The Lexus should be the practical daily driver focused one. Get rid of the 4Runner limited/platinum, and get rid of the Lexus Overtrail.
But you will be able to spec a 2-row, non-hybrid 4Runner. Unless your complaint is about how cheap Toyota was in not speccing a different folding design for the 2-rows, in which case I agree with you.
(FWIW, someone in the comments said that the seatback will fold flat if you tumble it first, and then pull the seat bottom onto the floor again. But then you would need an elevated platform to match the folded seat height if you wanted to sleep in it.)
I understand the financial reasons why Toyota doesn’t have two different second rows. However, if I’m buying an SUV I want a fold flat floor. The new 4Runner would be better if it was like the previous generation that had a 2nd row that folds in a normal way. There’s no point in having a wagon shaped vehicle that isn’t good at holding cargo. Also, with regards to the non hybrid version, it looks like another compromise they made was to push the spare tire really low to make room for the battery. Since I haven’t seen in person, I can’t be sure. I suppose we’ll have to wait and see if your last comment is true. If it is, that’s definitely something Toyota should have highlighted.
Proof that Toyota is in bed with Big Rooftop Tent!
Oh, Big Rooftop Tent sounds pretty comfortable. Much better for stretching out than Small or Medium Rooftop Tent.
Clearly Goldwater Brewing, with their big microbrewery profits, is behind this.
https://assets.untappd.com/site/beer_logos_hd/beer-5390163_6822e_hd.jpeg
I know that reference LOL
“it does have 12 cup holders”
Is this a mobile bar or a car?
It’s a minivan
I think if offroading is a significant design direction, a vehicle should be categorically restricted from being called a minivan.
There are people that will use it as a minivan.
Yes, most of them. At least, if my area is any indication.
….my Prius v has seats for 5 and has 9. And as I said in another comment, “cupholders” can do more than just hold cups.
David, I think you have a really good point that is directed right at the 4runner crowd where I live. I’m not exaggerating when I say that I can’t drive around my city without seeing overland decked out vehicles of some kind (even down to crosstreks).
Not being able to fold the seats flat for a good sleeping area (albeit for average height people) is a miss on this 4runner. But, I guess that’ll just give the same folks an excuse to buy the roofnest tent they were planning on buying anyway!
Being able to sleep two people comfortably INSIDE of the vehicle is the #1 criteria for me. I’ve lived in a roof tent on top of a Toyota Hilux for two weeks before, and although it did the trick… I just really hated having to climb up/down the ladder in the middle of the night to pee, and felt a little more exposed with fabric sides with weather/wind/etc. I’m a wimp, I know, and I’m too old to care haha.
But, other than the fold flat seat issue, I really like how these look and I’m sure Toyota will sell about a billion of them, and I’m fine with that.
I have to say, it’s weird to me which features are “cool” enough to have the stamp of approval here despite reducing reliability.
To me, this window is an unnecessarily complex gimmick, which usually dooms something to universal scorn around here. But every so often, something breaks the trend and I wish I knew why. See also: pop-up headlights.
Well “around here” suggests we can’t all have our own views. All are welcome at The Autopian!
My old Grand Wagoneer had a power rear window. Was it a pain in the ass? Yes. Was it fun? Also yes!
You know what I mean though. There’s definitely groupthink around this type of stuff in the comment sections. Most things that add complexity for a perception of limited or no additional functionality are treated with skepticism if not outright disdain.
Again, everyone is welcome to their own opinions; I’m just pointing out something I find interesting.
Hasn’t the power sliding rear window been a staple feature of the 4Runner since the very beginning? I don’t recall this being an issue for most owners.
Worst case scenario it would be as reliable (or sketchy?) as any door-mounted power window considering it’s the same principle of a window regulator and up/down switch
Again, my position is not that I think the window is going to fail, although remember this also has the exterior-mounted switches that will presumably see more abuse and wider operating conditions than most window switches.
The purpose of my post is to point out the discrepancy in the comment sections between this whimsical feature getting near universal praise, and the comments on any premium-trim vehicle being filled with complaints about how every new feature under the sun is destined to fail and what we really want is a bare-bones crank window no touchscreen model out of the 1990s.
Something has to be REALLY cool and introduce a not-totally-excessive amount of complexity for it to be worth it. Pop up headlights certainly are. Power seats are totally not.
Tell me you aren’t married to someone of a different height than you without telling me.
Being useful doesn’t mean it’s cool. Power seats aren’t cool, and so they’re not worth it to the internet commentariat.
I guess I don’t think a roll-down rear window is any cooler than a pop-out rear window but then again a lot of stuff I think is cool isn’t considered that way by said commentariat.
I had a 3rd Gen 4Runner in my family for 20 15 years. The window never failed. The rear diff and radiator on the other hand…
I like power seats. Finer adjustments, the ability to save presets in some, and easier to adjust while driving if I get uncomfortable.
It’s a power window…I don’t think they needed to reorganize the engineering dept. in Toyota City to figure it out…
One could say the same thing about touchscreen infotainment, electronic door handles, (or power seats, see other comment) or any of the other things that get complained about regularly as complexity-adding gimmicks that are sure to fail in the future.
Here’s the thing…it’s basically a power window! Many cars have had them over the years, and 4Runners have had them for literally decades. I would be far more concerned about a stressed engine standing the test of time before a power window fail.
I’m not worried about any of that stuff failing.
It’s funny to me that some people are worried about some of it but not others.
What makes a power seat more likely to fail than a window regulator? Nothing. But that’s not the impression you’d get from reading these comments.
Weight is what makes power seats more likely to fail than window regulators. Both the weight of the thing they are moving, and the reduction in weight of the drive mechanism to bring down the weight of the vehicle.
Just let the man order the manual crank option!
FWIW, give me an option to get everything manual!
I’m not really a fan of the roll-down rear window, especially if there’s still the weird risk of bringing in exhaust fumes while driving. If it doesn’t suck in exhaust, though, I can see the ability to open it being a benefit for air flow. Open the windows and/or sunroof and that rear window and get really nice flow-through.
If it does still pull in exhaust fumes, it’s definitely worse than a pop-open window for me.
But I’m a fan of power windows, power seats, power locks, and ventilated seats, so I’m already an outlier here.
Most 4runners have large spoilers to prevent the fumes from coming into the window.
They still have the contraindication in the manual, but maybe that’s an overabundance of caution on their part.
Lawyers are gonna lawyer.
The biggest thing is, these windows fucking suck in real life. When we had a 4runner all it did was bring dirt into the car. It’s the same as the tundra one, people always crow about it, but it sucks in real life and isn’t a feature that is worth ruining others for.
I would guess that you didn’t have the rear air spoiler. We did and never had an issue with dust or exhaust.
No, we didn’t. I lived on a couple mile dirt road, and that rear window was rendered useless.
That’s some blasphemy – bordering on heresy – if I’ve ever heard it.
I’ve got a 4Runner, and the rear window gets used all the time. Hauling 12-foot lengths of lumber, keeping dogs cool, doing loading/unloading when you’ve got stuff stacked in the back and you don’t want to deal with what slid around back there, if you’ve got something on the roof rack (like a sea kayak) which renders you unable to pop the hatch all the way open.
I’ve had SUV’s with all the systems – side by side like the old Trooper, just-a-hatch like the LC, the 4Runner – and the rolling rear window is one of a handful of things that’s a meaningful differentiator in the utility realm. There are certain things the 4Runner hatch is less good at (I could fit a full-size refrigerator in my Trooper, something I can’t do with the 4Runner, though other appliances will fit), but I will say that if the rolling rear window wasn’t a thing for the gen-6 I’d have been very, very, disappointed.
I lived in the woods on a dirt road, it was dusty as hell. I agree all your use cases are nice, but it wasn’t useful for me unless I wanted to go places wearing a mask and clean the interior daily.
I’m glad you mentioned these real use cases. If you have bikes on a hitch-mount rack on the back of your car (or even an unloaded rack in its stowed position, as I do for basically half the year), you can’t raise the tailgate at all. This is such a pain in my ass. All. Summer. Long. My kingdom for separately opening glass!
I love it on my Tundra. It really doesn’t suck much dirt if you have a bed cover. It’s one of the selling points.
It’s probably not near as bad on a truck. My tundra is a dc, so I only have the little hole, maybe I’m jealous! But I’ve honestly only seen 1-2 Tundras around me with it down, and there are a lot of them around me. Obviously thats not a stat that backs anything up, just my experience.
For me the rear window has benefits and we use it fairly often. It gives an great airflow when driving with the windows down, it allows you to haul longer things than would otherwise fit and allow access to the storage area without having to open the hatch (nice if you’re parked in a tight spot).
Personally I prefer the simplest solution that meets my needs, but this is one thing I’m willing accept complexity.
This is probably my favorite unique feature on any car made today, so I’m willing to accept an extra window regulator.
Being able to open the window for tossing things in the back is nice, but being able to open every window in the vehicle while driving along? Allowing air to flow right through the back? It’s awesome and I feel it gives a small slice of the Wrangler experience with none of the annoyances or drawbacks of having to operate a top of some sort. I wish so many more cars offered this as and option. Especially vans.
I have a 1st gen 4Runner. Driving with the rear down just pulls in all the exhaust. I dont get all the love.
If you really want, you can look into a spoiler…not sure if they had that for 1st Gen.
Do these break often? I don’t know many people with 4Runners, but I’ve never heard of anyone complain about a broken rear window on them.
Co-workers brother has a 4Runner with a broken one right now.
I think that’s how most people do it. 🙂
When my dad was doing a lot of fly fishing, one key criterion was that his vehicle needed a large, flat place to sleep. He had a few Jeeps (Grand Cherokees, a Commander) and then switched over to the 4Runner. He wouldn’t fit in this iteration.
Diagonally!
You don’t sleep hanging upside down like a bat?
They should’ve used that back seat design where you pick up the seat bottoms first, then fold the seat backs into the floor. Toyota has used that in the past.
Does the rear seat recline by any chance?
Can the rear seats be removed entirely, or no?
*grabs angle grinder* baby, we can remove entirely anything you want
Remove now! Worry about reinstall later (eye’s up Harbor Freights on sale welders and phone number of my guy who can do it cheaper)
The current 5th gen has those same rear window controls on the outside of the hatch as well.
Love them!
Do the Land Cruiser’s seats fold flat? And does it also have the high cargo floor?
Yes, it’s not good. More on that soon!
Thanks, excellent reporting!