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Short version: the V8 was one generation only, 2003 to 2009. A V6 was available from 1988 through 2024. The manual ended with the third generation, so every 4Runner from 2003 on is automatic. Today's 4Runner uses a turbocharged four-cylinder, with or without a hybrid system.
Six generations, forty years, three questions. The highlighted row is the only place a V8 ever appears.
| Generation | Years | V6 | V8 | Manual | Engines offered |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sixth | 2025 to now | 2.4L turbocharged four-cylinder, on its own or as an i-FORCE MAX hybrid. Eight-speed automatic only. | |||
| Fifth | 2010 to 2024 | 4.0L V6 for essentially the whole run. Automatic only. The last V6 4Runner is a 2024. | |||
| Fourth | 2003 to 2009 | 4.0L V6 or 4.7L V8. The only V8 4Runner ever built. Automatic only. | |||
| Third | 1996 to 2002 | narrowing late in the run | 2.7L four-cylinder or 3.4L V6. The last generation offered with a manual gearbox. | ||
| Second | 1990 to 1995 | 2.4L four-cylinder or 3.0L V6, with a five-speed manual available. | |||
| First | 1984 to 1989 | from 1988 | 2.4L four-cylinder from launch, with a 3.0L V6 added for 1988. Manual available throughout. |
Engine and transmission availability varied by trim, drivetrain and market within each generation, so a specific listing may not offer every combination shown for its era. On the manual specifically, published sources disagree about exactly which model year was the last inside the 1996 to 2002 generation, which is why this page says availability narrowed and ended with that generation rather than naming a single year. Always confirm against the vehicle itself.
Seven model years, one generation, one engine: the 4.7-litre V8. If a V8 4Runner is specifically what you want, that is the entire search. Anything outside those years has six cylinders or four.
The fifth generation ran the 4.0-litre V6 all the way to its final model year. The 2025 redesign replaced it with a turbocharged four, so a 2024 is the newest 4Runner you can buy with a six-cylinder engine.
Manual availability wound down through the third generation and stopped with it. Every 4Runner built from the 2003 model year onward has an automatic, and the current one is an eight-speed.
This is the part that surprises people who have owned a 4Runner before. Dropping from six cylinders to four sounds like a step backwards, and on the numbers it is not.
The current i-FORCE 2.4-litre turbo makes 278 horsepower and 317 lb-ft. The 4.0-litre V6 it replaced made 270. The i-FORCE MAX hybrid version goes considerably further, to as much as 326 horsepower and 465 lb-ft, which is a great deal more torque than the V6 ever produced and it arrives lower in the rev range where a body-on-frame SUV actually uses it.
The 2025 redesign put the 4Runner on the same platform and the same engine family as the Tacoma, the Tundra, the Sequoia and the Land Cruiser. Toyota now builds one turbocharged four-cylinder in several states of tune and shares it across all of them, with the larger vehicles using twin-turbo V6 versions. The 4Runner's V6 did not lose an argument on its own merits. It was retired along with the architecture it belonged to.
Then you are shopping a 2003 to 2009 vehicle, and that is a used-car conversation rather than a new-car one. Those are twenty-year-old body-on-frame trucks now, so condition, service history and what is underneath matter far more than which year is on the title. Our guide to the best year for a used 4Runner covers what to check before you commit, and you can see what is on the ground in our used 4Runner inventory.
If you are coming out of an older V6 4Runner, drive the i-FORCE MAX hybrid before you decide anything. Almost everyone expects to miss the six-cylinder and most people stop thinking about it somewhere around the first on-ramp. If you drive it and you still want the V6, that is a real answer too, and a 2024 is where you should be looking.
The current 4Runner starts at $42,270 for the SR5, and there are twelve configurations across the range once the i-FORCE MAX versions are counted separately. It is rated at up to an estimated 23 mpg combined, seats up to seven with the available third row, and carries Toyota Safety Sense 3.0 as standard on every trim.
Price shown is Manufacturer's Suggested Retail Price (MSRP) and excludes tax, title, license, registration, destination and dealer documentation fees. Fuel economy figures are EPA estimates and will vary with driving habits, load and conditions. See Tuscaloosa Toyota for current pricing and complete details. Current-generation specifications compiled from Toyota's published data on 2026-09-09; see toyota.com or fueleconomy.gov.
Only the fourth generation, 2003 through 2009. That is the single window in which Toyota offered a 4.7-litre V8 in the 4Runner. No 4Runner before 2003 or after 2009 has eight cylinders, which makes those seven model years the only ones worth searching if a V8 is what you are after.
From 1988 through 2024. A 3.0-litre V6 arrived partway through the first generation and carried into the second, the third generation used a 3.4-litre, and the fourth and fifth used a 4.0-litre. The last V6 4Runner is a 2024, because the 2025 redesign moved to a turbocharged four-cylinder.
Manual gearboxes were offered through the third generation, which ran from 1996 to 2002, and availability narrowed toward the end of that run. Every 4Runner from the 2003 model year onward is automatic only. If you want a manual 4Runner you are shopping a vehicle that is at least a couple of decades old.
No. The current 4Runner uses a 2.4-litre turbocharged four-cylinder, either on its own at 278 horsepower or as an i-FORCE MAX hybrid making up to 326 horsepower. The hybrid produces more power and considerably more torque than the 4.0-litre V6 it replaced.
The 2025 redesign moved the 4Runner onto the same platform and engine family as the Tacoma, Tundra, Sequoia and Land Cruiser. Toyota now builds one turbocharged four-cylinder in several states of tune across all of them, which is why the six-cylinder disappeared from the whole family rather than just from the 4Runner.
On paper, comfortably. The i-FORCE makes 278 horsepower against the V6's 270, and the i-FORCE MAX hybrid makes up to 326 horsepower and 465 lb-ft, which is far more torque than the V6 ever produced. What the V6 has is fifteen model years of track record, and that is a fair thing to value.
The SR5 starts at $42,270 Manufacturer's Suggested Retail Price, and there are twelve configurations across the range once the i-FORCE MAX hybrid versions are counted. Prices exclude tax, title, registration, destination and dealer documentation fees.
Yes, and if you are coming out of an older V6 4Runner it is worth driving the hybrid back to back with the standard turbo four. Call us at (205) 553-3325 and we will have both waiting at Skyland Boulevard so you can feel the difference rather than read about it.
Fifteen minutes settles an argument that no spec sheet will. Tell us which 4Runner you drive now and we will have the right two waiting.
Tuscaloosa Toyota | 3325 Skyland Blvd E, Tuscaloosa, AL 35405
