Let's go back to the last week of August 2009, eh? "The Final Destination" was the top movie, "American Idol" the top TV show, the Black Eyed Peas claimed the top tune with "I Gotta Feeling," and the average gallon of gas cost $2.43, which the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics says is worth $3.49 today. Oh, and that month, the current, fifth-generation Toyota 4Runner entered production in Japan. As colleague James Riswick alluded to, the 4Runner will be of legal driving age by the time it retires. But now there's a new one not far away, finally close enough to make sense for Toyota to begin the teaser campaign.
On an Instagram slideshow asking followers to identify a 4Runner's model year, the final image shows part of a rear end we've never seen before in what looks to be a color similar to the new Land Cruiser's Heritage Blue. The differences we can identify for now are new, trimmer taillights, a smoother tailgate with a redrawn handle pull and license plate area, a squared-off bumper with red reflectors and metallic-looking trim instead of a body-color finish. The 4Runner logo has been moved from the hatch pull crossbar to just above the bumper, the "R" in 4Runner now the same height as the following letters. Familiar lines remain, too, such as the basic outlines of the rear fascia that we can see, the horizontal indentation beneath the taillights, and the crease just above the bumper.
As for what's on the way, we still only have rumor. A thread at the 4runner6g forum predicts evolutionary styling with front-end looks similar to the new Tacoma pickup, and a range of four-cylinder engines in outputs from 228 hp to 326 hp matching the Tacoma specs — including one with a manual transmission. Previous scuttlebutt proposed a front sway bar disconnect, locking diffs front and/or rear, 32-inch tires from the factory, a TrailHunter trim, and the IsoDynamic shock-absorbing seats among other Tacoma-sourced bits. A prototype spotted in Arizona last month rode on Tacoma wheels, and looked like it had a similar rake to the front windshield as the new Tacoma, which is greater than the current 4Runner's windshield rake. Job 1 is expected to roll down the lines in July. Stay tuned.
