For the first time in 15 years, Toyota is selling a truly new 4Runner. Sure, there have been minor facelifts and updates over the past decade, but the SUV is now on a new platform with fresh powertrain choices and everything for the 2025 model year. You’d expect that to come with a price increase, and in some ways, it’s not as extreme as you might think: the base price has gone up just $870 to $42,220. But if you want to pay anywhere close to that, you’ll either have to bring cash or finance it elsewhere, because Toyota’s in-house credit service is only offering super-high APRs starting at 9%.
This was first pointed out by CarsDirect, and a quick peek at Toyota’s payment estimator confirms it. Even with an 720+ credit score, which Toyota considers “excellent,” it will only quote you at a 9.02% interest rate for 60 months. Extend that out to 72 months and the APR climbs to 9.41%. That means for a 2025 Toyota 4Runner SR5 with the gas-only powertrain and two-wheel drive, you’ll pay a little more than $55,000 over six years.
Now, it’s not like the 4Runner is the only new vehicle without stellar financing options. Nobody can expect a hotly anticipated model to hit showrooms with major rebates or 1.9% APR. But this feels especially high considering you can get a Tacoma—which is essentially a 4Runner with a bed anymore—with a 5.99% APR. That discrepancy means a Tacoma with an identical MSRP to a 4Runner would cost about $5,300 less by the time the loan term ends.
I thought this might give someone a justifiable reason to buy a Land Cruiser over the new 4Runner, but upon further inspection, I found the story there is the same. Toyota’s financing options for the Land Cruiser are identical to its sister model’s on both 60- and 72-month loan terms. Again, if you’re one of the vast majority who can’t pay cash for a $40,000+ vehicle upfront, you might be better off checking with other lenders.
The price of borrowing money is real darn high.
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