Toyota answered the Chevrolet K5 Blazer and Ford Bronco II by putting a fibreglass roof and a rear seat on the Hilux 4WD Xtracab: the 4Runner of 1984, built by Toyota Auto Body with a solid front axle on leaf springs and the 22R and 22R-E engines. The Hilux Surf was the Japanese version.
The 1986 model year moved to independent front suspension; the 1989 second generation was a four-door wagon on its own body, and from the third generation of 1995 the 4Runner shared its chassis with the Land Cruiser Prado. In North America it is Toyota’s longest-running body-on-frame 4x4 after the Land Cruiser.
N60 removable roof (1984–1989)
2 VEHICLES IN THIS CHAPTERTwo-door with a removable rear roof, the 22R and 22R-E petrols, the 2L-T diesel in Japan and the 3.0-litre 3VZ-E V6 from 1988; independent front suspension from 1986.
Registry records · chapter 1
N120/N130 four-door (1989–1995)
1 VEHICLE IN THIS CHAPTERThe second generation of 1989 was a four-door steel-roofed wagon with coil-sprung rear axle; a two-door remained in some markets until 1993.
Registry records · chapter 2
Prado chassis (1995–today)
2 VEHICLES IN THIS CHAPTERFrom the N180 of 1995 the 4Runner and Hilux Surf shared the Land Cruiser Prado platform; the N210 of 2002, N280 of 2009 and the sixth generation of 2025 continue it as a body-on-frame wagon.
Registry records · chapter 3
Base models
The structural configurations the registry and the Creator build from; each page carries the researched specification.Sources
- Toyota 4Runner — Wikipedia
- 75 Years of Toyota — vehicle lineage — Toyota Motor Corporation