Toyota is expanding the 4Runner range for the 2022 model year with a new TRD Sport trim level conceived to appeal to drivers who plan to stick to paved surfaces.
The new TRD Sport package is based on the SR5 trim level and maintains the truck’s part-time four-wheel drivetrain. However, it trades the SR5’s 17-inch wheels for a set of 20s and gets Toyota’s X-REAS on-road suspension for better smooth-surface handling.
Both of those items also feature on the 4Runner Limited; while Toyota has not published pricing for the new package, we suspect the company’s aim is to combine those features with a price lower than the nearly $56,000 MSRP attached to last year’s Limited.
The Toyota 4Runner TRD Sport is also set apart with a hood scoop, colour-keyed body accents, a front spoiler, and black roof rails.
This is the 4Runner’s third TRD model; the existing TRD Off Road and TRD Pro versions boast hardware to improve off-road performance.
The 4Runner faces new competition this year with Ford’s reborn Bronco, which brings similar levels of interior comfort and off-road capability to the mid-size SUV segment but in a more modern package; the current 4Runner dates to a 2010 redesign and has only seen cosmetic changes since then.
New to all 4Runner trims for 2022 are LED high-beams, which join LED low-beams and fog lights carried over from last year.
Toyota has left the 4Runner’s drivetrain unchanged: power is from a 4.0L V6 making 270 hp and 278 lb-ft of torque and a five-speed automatic transmission. All 4Runner trims once again come with Toyota’s Safety Sense P driver safety assist suite, comprising forward collision warning with automatic braking, lane-departure alert with sway warning, automatic high-beams, and radar cruise control.
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