Toyota builds them on the same frame with the same engines. The question is whether the sandy stuff rides in a bed behind you or inside with the window down. The beach answers it by lunch.
The opinions on this page come from Beach4x4, our rental company in Kill Devil Hills, whose 4x4s run the Carova beach every day of the season. The Beach Test Drive is our drive-before-you-buy program: a new vehicle, this beach, nobody selling. Planned for summer 2027.
Both use part-time four-wheel drive on most trims and offer 33-inch tires on the TRD Pro and Trailhunter. The Tacoma TRD Pro’s front seats have their own shock absorbers; that is not a figure of speech.
What the beach will tell you
They feel close on the road, because they are. The difference is what happens when the family and the gear and the sand all come back to the vehicle at the same time. Highway 12 below is North Carolina Highway 12, the two-lane road up the Outer Banks; the drive from Kitty Hawk to the Corolla beach ramp is about 45 minutes of it.
Toyota 4Runner
Everything inside
They share the frame, the engines and the front seats, so the two feel close through Duck and Corolla. The 4Runner has a roof and a cargo floor over the back wheels, so with nothing in it the ride over the patched pavement is a little more even.
The step up is a real step, and the view out is the one every 4Runner has had: upright, square, a hood you can see the corners of.
Four-high at the ramp, Sand on trims with Multi-Terrain Select, and go. 33-inch tires on the TRD Pro and Trailhunter.
Rolls down with a button, and the cargo area turns into a porch. Everything rides inside, dry and locked, and by August it all smells like the beach.
Five seats, or seven on the gas SR5 and Limited.
The family that wants everything inside and locked, a third row now and then, and one vehicle for the next decade.
Toyota Tacoma
Everything in the bed
A pickup, and it drives like one: the bed is light when it’s empty, and you feel it over the bumps. On the TRD Pro, the front seats have their own shock absorbers, and you’ll know what that means the first time the sand gets rough.
Up and in, with a bed behind you instead of a roof.
Four-high at the ramp, Sand on trims with Multi-Terrain Select, and the mid-size pickup you see on this beach every morning does what it does every morning. 33-inch tires on the TRD Pro and Trailhunter.
Rods, the wet wagon, the cooler and the sandy everything ride behind you, outside, and hose off at the end of the day. This is the whole argument for the pickup.
Five seats in the four-door, and nothing behind them but the bed.
The family that fishes, or surfs, or just doesn’t want the sand inside.
The few numbers that matter on sand
Current model year, from the factory. Trims vary; the one you rent or drive depends on who put it on the sand.
| Toyota 4Runner | Toyota Tacoma | |
|---|---|---|
| Engines | 2.4-liter turbo four, 278 hp; hybrid, 326 hp | 2.4-liter turbo four, up to 278 hp; hybrid, 326 hp |
| Four-wheel drive | Part-time on most trims; full-time on the Platinum and the four-wheel-drive Limited | Part-time on most trims; full-time with a locking center differential on the hybrid Limited |
| Where the gear goes | Inside, behind a rear window that rolls down | In a 5- or 6-foot bed |
| Seats | 5, or 7 on the gas SR5 and Limited | 5 (four-door) |
| Tires | 33-inch on TRD Pro and Trailhunter | 33-inch on TRD Pro and Trailhunter |
| Rear locker | Standard on TRD Off-Road, TRD Pro and Trailhunter | Available |
| Front seats | Standard | Shock-absorbing IsoDynamic seats on the TRD Pro |
| Stabilizer disconnect | Standard on TRD Pro and Trailhunter | Standard on TRD Pro |
| Crawl control | Available with Multi-Terrain Select | Available |
Equipment by trim from Toyota’s 2026 4Runner and Tacoma releases.
Watch them side by side
Edmunds drove these back to back. Their video, their opinions. It is here because it is the best one we found; we make nothing from it.
Toyota 4Runner vs. Land Cruiser vs. Tacoma. Edmunds, on YouTube. Model years shown: 2025. Plays from YouTube when you press play; YouTube’s terms and cookies apply then.
Why the Carova beach is the test
Homes in Carova are reached over the sand, so this is real four-wheel drive on soft and packed sand, not a loop around the block.
About 45 minutes up Highway 12 through Duck and Corolla each way. How it rides at 45 miles an hour matters as much as how it floats at 35, the beach limit.
A few hours on the sand is long enough. If you are still torn, you drove two good vehicles.
Frequently asked questions
Which one is better on the sand?
Both will do this beach, aired down and in four-wheel drive. The difference is how each one feels doing it, and that is what the drive experience is for.
Can I drive both on the sand before I decide?
Yes. The Beach Test Drive, our drive-before-you-buy program planned for summer 2027, puts shoppers in new adventure vehicles for five and a half hours on the Carova sand, and lets a second driver take a second vehicle the same day. Until then, Beach4x4, our rental company in Kill Devil Hills, rents 4x4s for this beach by the day or the week.
Do you take sides?
No. Nobody rides along and nobody steers you toward one. The reviews and the video we link are theirs, not ours. If neither one is right, you found out on the sand, not after you bought one.
Sources
Prices on this page are the makers’ published starting prices on the dates shown and change with every model year. Dealers in The Beach Test Drive program sell to its drivers at the factory invoice, which is a different number; that program explains it. Opinions on how each trim feels are ours, drawn from the published equipment lists and from running four-wheel drives on this beach.
Related: Which 4x4 for the beach? All the comparisons · The 4Runner on Outer Banks beaches · The Tacoma on OBX sand · Which 4Runner trim? · Which Tacoma trim? · Best tires for sand · How to air down