Next Toyota 4Runner Takes Tacoma Styling to Virtual Extreme to Drive an SUV Point

After last year Honda took command of the Japanese-flavored roster of novelties (all-new HR-V, CR-V, Civic Type R, Pilot, Accord, etc.) Toyota prepared a measure response with stuff like the returning S235 Crown nameplate – now a crossover-style sedan, the reinvented Prius including in Prime plug-in hybrid form, the arrival of the Corolla Cross Hybrid instead of the retired C-HR subcompact CUV, and many more.

And it seems that was just the appetizer after we saw stuff like the mighty 362-hp Grand Highlander Hybrid Max family-oriented three-row crossover SUV, the Corolla Nightshade range, or the upcoming Trailhunter series. Speaking of adventures (and workhorses, for that matter), of course, the most important novelty of the first half of 2023 revolves around the introduction of the fourth-generation 2024 Toyota Tacoma mid-size pickup truck.

The best-selling nameplate has a lot of woes – like the newly standalone D41 Nissan Frontier, the all-new Chevy Colorado and GMC Canyon twins, and the US-spec 2024 Ford Ranger and Ranger Raptor. But it also comes with many hero attributes, from the returning TRD PreRunner trim to a new Xtra Cab configuration, the Trailhunter overlander, and the 326-hp i-Force Max hybrid powertrain. Plus, it might soon get reinforcements from the sixth-generation 4Runner off-road SUV sibling.

Well, no worries if that is not happening fast in the real world – for the 2024 model year or 2025MY at the worst – because the imaginative realm of digital car content creators will try to alleviate everyone's impatience. Dimas Ramadhan, the virtual automotive artist behind the Digimods DESIGN channel on YouTube, has even taken up the task of revealing the all-new 4Runner on more than one CGI occasion.

Thus, if the first time the author didn't have a solid Tacoma foundation for his unofficial vision and went against the truck's design philosophy when trying to hypothetically fight the hordes of Ford Bronco and Jeep Wrangler SUVs, now the mid-size pickup truck cat is out of the bag, and so are the renderings based on it. As such, this time around, the pixel master's imagined 4Runner takes directly after its bed-equipped sibling in the styling department.

And while the hypothetically rugged design should be taken with a healthy dose of salt, as always, we can safely expect that Toyota will jump at the chance of equipping the next 4Runner with the same powertrain options as the newly introduced 2024 Tacoma. That means goodies like the eight-speed auto or six-speed manual transmissions, plus the trio of 2.4-liter turbo gasoline engine derivations ranging from 228 to 278 horsepower without electric assistance and surging to 326 hp and 465 lb-ft (630 Nm) of torque when adding an electric motor to form the 'i-Force Max' assembly.