The mission? Take three new Toyota Trucks to far-flung adventures across California. The prize? $10,000 — and bragging rights. Welcome to Toyota Destination Detour. Watch as six adrenaline junkies take three new Toyotas (a Land Cruiser, a 4Runner, and a Tacoma) on a 36-hour road trip challenge across rugged terrain and unexpected detours.
Three teams of athletes drove to distinct California locations for this Toyota Destination Detour challenge: a father-daughter team headed for the surf in a Toyota 4Runner, pro cyclist and filmmaker partners took a Toyota Tacoma toward the Eastern Sierra, and newly introduced trail runners paired up in a Toyota Land Cruiser bound for the mountains.
Each team must complete a unique series of challenges in 36 hours across California, navigating solely with paper maps. Each team member’s brain activity is reviewed in real time as part of the challenge, as well: the value metric is comprised of how much that individual feels the value in the task they’re performing, while the safety metric calculates stress and risk alongside safety and feeling good about the task. These scores, measured in percentages, are projected alongside the team’s total score throughout the episode.
The team that returns to Los Angeles with the most points when time’s up earns $10,000 and well-deserved street cred.
Team 4Runner is made up of the highly competitive father-daughter pro surfing duo, Josh and Sierra Kerr. Together, dad and daughter must head to prime surf locations for water-based challenges: finding the best local seafood from a local fisherman’s tip, snapping a selfie on Avila Ridge, and catching waves at Pismo and Shell Beaches.
Their 4Runner proves reliable no matter where they venture — from the wharves in town to the beaches and dunes off the beaten path. The 2026 4Runner blends capability, reliability, and rugged style into a downtown-to-off-road masterpiece.
Team Land Cruiser headed straight for the San Bernardino Mountains. While each knew of the other professionally, they had never met personally — until now. Both hailing from British Columbia, elite professional trail runner Jazmine Lowther teamed up with ultra-runner and creative powerhouse Hilary Ann Yang.
Their challenges included trail running in Crestline wearing matching jorts, trading shoes with a stranger for half of a mile run, and even picking up some strange local merch to share with the rest of the teams back in L.A.
Team Land Cruiser matched their truck choice perfectly with the catchphrase, “More grit, more glory.” The 2026 Land Cruiser comes standard with CRAWL control, full-time 4-wheel drive, and rugged ability. No wonder these women tied for first place in this episode, thanks to their secret team weapon: a modern twist on a classic overland vehicle.
Team Tacoma’s ride to the Alabama Hills for a biking challenge; (photo/GearJunkie)
Team Tacoma drew the longest haul as the trek out to otherworldly landscapes in the Alabama Hills. Luckily, long hauls are nothing new to this team.
Lael Wilcox, a record-breaking endurance cyclist known as “the fastest woman to pedal around the globe,” kept this teammate close to home by taking on the challenge with her real-life partner, Rue Kaladyte, an accomplished photojournalist and cyclist.
These two have traveled the world on their bikes together for almost 7 years; for this episode, the journey was a higher priority than their challenges, thanks to the distance they had to travel. Although Team Tacoma has yet to put any points on the board, they’ve made the desert their playground in their 2026 Tacoma.
Team 4Runner makes waves of their own in the sand dunes; (photo/Gear Junkie)
Watch for the next episode of Toyota Destination Detour to find out how each team earns more points in this 36-hour challenge.
Head over to Toyota to find your dream destination vehicle yourself — will it be the classic muscle of the Land Cruiser, the playful power of the Tacoma, or the rugged reliability of the 4Runner?
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