Possible spy shots of 6th gen 4runner?

Yes, to my ears the 4.0 will always sound like trash. I don't get the obsession with the cold start.

I mean I guess if one likes an engine that always sounds slightly broken, whatever floats your boat, lol.

 

I agree that it was never my cup of tea either. But i get it. Lol, never got any people wanted to spend money on an expensive exhaust system just to be loud either. I would buy it for performance gains. But to each their own. Not my money or truck. Lol

 

Lift up window????
And why is it in Ohio???

 

^Photo taken in Michigan, with a road sign saying that way leads to Ohio.

 

Still why Mi.? I see the put DS grab handle on the Land cruiser. We had a Grand Cherokee this week as rental. That didn't have one on Pax side STUPID!!

 

Toyota has a research and development site in Ann Arbor Michigan, so that make sense to see a test vehicle in that area.

 

So Sheldon can swallow its commercial grade engine.

You want the prototype thoroughly abused on shitty Michigan roads and exposed to Michigan road salt. The Japanese designers have never seen rust before.

 

Good point. Unfortunately mild winter here for testing though and not a lot of salt used lately.

 

So Japan is surrounded by an ocean of salt water & they never see rust?

 

^Same way California or Georgia are next to oceans and never see rust.

I have friends that work at Toyota Canada. Their counterparts at Toyota Japan lose their minds when they see the corrosion reports from here.

 

I can't say if it's what other folks had in mind but I've read that in Japan, the typical age of a vehicle is much less than that of say, North American countries.

I kinda figured Toyota bean-counters thought rust-proofing is something they can save a cent on since those who really care would buy and just do it themselves anyway but that's my completely unsubstantiated, zero evidence guess.

 

I think salting the roads is what kills it more than coastal climate.

 

To complete this argument one needs to understand several things about the Japanese automotive market and car ownership, this article describes it all in a nutshell.

 

Let's hope not.

Hoping that's just the disguise paneling throwing us off, as there's no good reason to abandon what many 4Runners favor strongly. Unlike the Sequoia which was even closer to death's door and a engineering compromise by comparison.

I think I know what video you were referring to...

That's a Honda. Coming around the same time. Basically the next generation Ridgeline SUV, the Passport.

Definitely belongs to Honda and with the timing, it's the next Passport. The Ohio plates give it away.

Probably a bit of both, according to a long gone insider. Tacoma SUV, with the upright C Pillar and D Pillar hopefully DIFFERENT from the Sequoia.

I heard they're gonna overlap big time, which is BS reasoning by Toyota and I bet USA wasn't giddy about it. Sounds like a decision made by Japan, to fill the gap. They never wanted to ditch the nameplate, but needed something under it. Hence, Prado 250. I think the 4Runner is not gonna be much cheaper than the 250 and that we know enough about what to expect already.

Non-hybrid 2.4 options, part 4WD on most trims. But it will be well into the 40s. CMK1 on another forum told me that a Dallas insider told him Toyota isn't worried about the 250 and 4Runner eating each other's sales. The 250 will be low volume, while the 4Runner will be higher volume. It's still being made in Japan.

There are some differences, but very similar to each other. It's gonna be like the 4th gen against the 2nd Gen Tacoma. Maybe one day it will also be built in Mexico, but for now it won't for initial start up.

It's the next Passport. Maybe it's still identical to the Pilot or maybe a shorter, total reskin using the same platform.

Definitely not, it's the new Honda Passport by the Ohio plates.

That really sucks to hear as a pre-DVVTi 1GR-FE owner...

It was rumored for awhile based on actual inside info, but it feels dated now. Heard in November on IG, that a Toyota employee said it would be released next September, but seeing the delays at Tahara and the timing of these spy shots, I definitely don't think September.

(EDIT: BTW Toyota USA deleted the guy's comment, on a post about the 2025 Camry. Might be legit as of Nov, but outdated now)

Toyota started testing the final Taco for public exposure last January, 11-12 months before production started in early December, so maybe these spy shots appear on purpose when they expect it to be that close to release? I'm guessing we'll see these on sale next January/Feb and maybe a spring/summer reveal.

They revealed the Tacoma in May 2023, about 4 months after the first spy shots of the final thing running around Michigan starting January 2023. Maybe we'll start getting teasers around March/April?

It's hard to gauge. The Tundra was revealed in September 2021, only 3 months before release, while the Tacoma was revealed 7-9 months before general availability in January-Feb 2024. The 4Runner has historically been kept to vest, but after 15 to 29 years anything can change.

I visited that location a few times, but unfortunately it was always a Saturday and not during the week. Best way to find Toyota spy shots, is to drive around Ann Arbor and Saline at night. I don't know why photogs never do it, but you have a high chance of catching them testing future models under cloak of night. Camoed prototypes are so common in Michigan no one pays much attention (unlike Texas), but in secluded Ann Arbor it's often Toyota's secrets being possible to spot at night.

Ann Arbor also generally does the "federalizing" process for all vehicles sold in North America, even if built in Japan. They've also been testing the new 4Runner in multiple locations in both USA and Canada since 2021, according to both off-forum insiders and one of own users here. It just got delayed over and over, which made me wonder if the design might be dated if it influenced the Tacoma and not the other way around?

Apparently it was originally designed as a 2023 model from what's been said, but some of the few changes they made were non aesthetic and more so technical. Luckily the Taco is still very new and although delayed 2ish years, the design for the 4R is hopefully still fresh enough.

All these Toyota testers will have either Texas or Michigan plates, pretty much since 2015-16. Yotas used to be mostly spied testing in Michigan or Cali until HQ relocated. Anything Ohio usually ends up being Honda or on very rare occasion, Jeep.

 

couple of more photos..

 

Left side muffler just like the new Taco.

 

Those wheels seem similar also

 

Good call. They are the same.

 

Wonder if we could get someone to crawl down and look under the frame and see if the weld spots are already rusting (see if how it looks in MI winter and if it’s like a 5th Gen) in this sense

 

They’re driving around with a camoed Taco with a bed rack system just to play with us!

 

The taillights being connected with a design piece (or lightbar in GX) seems to be a theme.

 

That's a resonator. Muffler is in its traditional location opposite the fuel tank. On the new Taco's Trail Hunter trim, the exhaust dumps before the axle with a turndown tip.

Wheelbase is definitely shorter than a Taco. The windshield is more raked than the 5th gen 4Runner or GX550/LC250. Earlier predictions of increased parts sharing with the Taco is being realized.