2025 Toyota 4Runner vs. 2024 Toyota Land Cruiser: How They Compare

We look at the dimensional, interior, and powertrain differences between Toyota’s two new off-road-oriented mid-size SUVs.

• The 2025 Toyota 4Runner has debuted, and we’re seeing how it compares with the new Toyota Land Cruiser.
• Toyota’s two new off-road-oriented mid-size SUVs share a wheelbase and have similar exterior dimensions, except the Land Cruiser is over five inches taller.
• Whereas every Land Cruiser has a 326-hp hybrid turbo four powertrain, the 4Runner offers that setup and a standard 278-hp nonhybrid setup on lesser trims.

The new Toyota Land Cruiser has been (in)famously downsized in both size and price, but the redesigned 2025 Toyota 4Runner still differs in ways that should make it less expensive. Let’s take a look at how Toyota’s two new off-road-oriented mid-size SUVs compare with each other.

Powertrains

The 4Runner’s base 278-hp 2.4-liter turbo four lacks the hybrid system, while the Land Cruiser comes standard with the beefier electrically assisted powertrain that’s good for 326 horses and a substantial 465 pound-feet of torque. However, that same i-Force Max hybrid setup is available on most 4Runner models; it’s also standard on the higher-spec Platinum, TRD Pro, and Trailhunter trims. Toyota hasn’t yet released fuel-economy estimates for the 4Runner, but we expect the hybrid models to be close to the Cruiser’s combined EPA estimate of 23 mpg.

An eight-speed automatic is the sole transmission for both Toyota SUVs. While only the 4Runner offers rear-wheel drive, nearly all have a part-time four-wheel-drive system; all Land Cruisers get the full-time system. Both SUVs can tow up to 6000 pounds. However, only the 4Runner offers sophisticated damper setups that the Cruiser simply doesn’t.

Dimensions

Size-wise, the new 4Runner shares the Land Cruiser’s 112.2-inch wheelbase, and its overall width (and underlying suspension track widths, presumably) are about the same. The big difference is the height, where the Land Cruiser’s roofline is some 5.3 inches taller.

When it comes to off-roading, the 4Runner has slightly better clearances, with an approach angle up to 32 degrees and a departure angle as steep as 24 degrees. The Land Cruiser is a little behind, with up to a 31-degree approach angle and 22 degrees of departure. The 4Runner also has 9.2 inches of ground clearance versus the Cruiser’s 8.7-inch max.

Interior and Cargo

Having sat in a Land Cruiser when it was introduced as well as tested the Lexus GX550 version, we feel the TLC offers a more commanding seating position and a better view out over the hood and to the sides compared with the new Tacoma (or anything closely related to it, such as the new 4Runner).

Cargo space should be better in a Cruiser too, although that theory may not hold with a nonhybrid 4Runner that doesn’t have to carve out space for an underfloor battery. On the flip side, all Land Cruisers are five-passenger machines because they all carry said hybrid battery. Meanwhile, some 4Runners offer three rows of seating.