2024 TOYOTA TACOMA PICKUP COMES READY FOR THE BIG SPENDERS
- We drove a $57,720 Tacoma Limited 4WD hybrid that was well suited (with its coil spring multi-link rear suspension) for highway meandering with an intuitive eight-speed automatic that left us barely missing the six-speed manual.
- In Southern California, Toyota groomed an off-road track on which the Tacoma TRD Pro shined in its off-road demonstration, displacing copious amounts of reddish sand on banked hairpin turns and allowing for a 40-mph jump. The IsoDynamic seats work well.
- The new Trailhunter trim gives you an option for a well-equipped adventure vehicle, better for overlanding rather than the Baja-inspired TRD Pro.
There’s a pecking order among light-duty pickup trucks: The full-size trucks are the most capable, more expensive, and able to tow the most, so their compact siblings tend to get the cold shoulder, like the runt of the litter.
But that’s not true for the Toyota Tacoma, and that’s because of its unmatched success in the US market. It overtook the Ford Ranger in 2005 for the No.1 sales spot among compact pickups, and it’s spent the last 19 years building a loyal customer base and mercilessly crushing the competition in a dominance unseen in any other mainstream vehicle segment.
While Toyota spent part of 2023 retooling plants to launch the fourth-generation Tacoma, the automaker sold nearly 235,000 examples in 2023, outpacing the No. 2 Ford Maverick by nearly two and a half times. Tacoma also outsold its full-size Tundra brother by nearly two to one—a dynamic that just doesn’t happen with Detroit automakers.
Toyota could have stood pat with the previous-generation Tacoma, foregoing a complete redesign for a few more years. But that’s not the Toyota way. Instead, the brand introduced for the ’24 model year a new upmarket Trailhunter trim as well as the first-ever i-Force Max hybrid powertrain, which is expected to find its way into about 15% of sales for the all-new Tacoma.
Autoweek’s West Coast Editor Mark Vaughn already covered most of the details of the new Tacoma last fall, including bed and suspension configurations, the available manual and automatic transmissions, and his overall satisfaction with the 270-hp 2.4-liter turbo-four under the hood of all Tacos.
But what he didn’t get to do was drive the new hybrid powertrain that cranks up the output of that 2.4-liter turbo to a stout 326 hp and 465 lb-ft of torque, thanks to a 48-hp electric motor integrated within the eight-speed automatic transmission that is paired exclusively with the hybrid. The six-speed manual is only available on 4x4 non-hybrid SR, TRD Off-Road, and TRD Sport Tacomas.
Meanwhile, the hybrid, to be marketed as i-Force Max like other Toyota truck-based hybrids, will cater to the upper reaches of the Tacoma lineup. The hybrid will be standard on TRD Pro and the new Trailhunter models, while remaining optional on TRD Sport, TRD Off-Road, and Limited.
Worth noting, the hybrid can tow up to 6,000 pounds, while certain non-hybrid models can handle 6400 pounds.
Basically, Toyota figured out a way leverage its well-established hybrid expertise for the first time in its successful Tacoma platform, allowing customers to spend $3,200 or more for a high-output hybrid that is EPA rated to improve fuel economy by 2 to 3 miles per gallon. The hybrid is rated at 22/24 mpg in city/highway driving.
Toyota doubts many base Tacoma shoppers will be interested in the i-Force Max powertrain, expecting a take-rate of about 15%. Based on 2023 sales, that would mean more than 35,000 hybrid Tacomas in the first year, which was more than total sales last year for Ford Ranger and GMC Canyon and nearly the Hyundai Santa Cruz.
This is Toyota tightening its grip on the compact pickup segment while tactfully (or shrewdly) pushing up transaction prices and lowering tailpipe emissions.
For context, you can buy your new Tacoma 27 different ways in trim levels from SR and SR5 up to TRD Pro and Trailhunter model trims, with Xtra cab or Double Cab, five-foot bed or six-foot bed, and two-wheel drive or 4WD.
The entry price for a Tacoma SR Xtra cab 4x2 is $32,995 with destination, and there are 19 other non-hybrid variants available as you step up to the least-expensive i-Force Max TRD Sport model, which starts at $47,795. At the very top of the scale is the TRD Pro i-Force Max 4x4 Double Cab, priced at a sobering $65,395 with destination.
We drove a $57,720 tester (Tacoma Limited 4WD hybrid) from downtown San Diego on all-season rubber (265/65 R18) with chrome rims and a bright, deep red paint job. It was a handsome truck that felt better equipped (with its coil spring multi-link rear suspension) for highway meandering than the boxier all-new Land Cruiser. The smooth-shifting eight-speed automatic left us barely missing the six-speed manual.
We drove about 35 miles southeast to Vogt Ranch, where Toyota groomed an off-road track on which the Tacoma TRD Pro shined in its off-road demonstration, displacing copious amounts of reddish sand on banked hairpin turns and even allowing for a 40-mph jump on a straightaway that Napoleon Dynamite would have loved—Pedro too.
The uplevel TRD Pro is the “Baja-inspired” variant for off-road racers who need Rigid fog lights, an ARB steel rear bumper with recovery hooks, reinforced rocker protector, a front skid plate, and underbody protection for the transfer case and fuel tank.
Standard on the TRD Pro is another Baja-inspired feature: the IsoDynamic performance seat with horizontal and vertical air dampers in the structure to keep the head still (“prevent bobble head!”) and slow the motion of the body during aggressive off-roading.
By helping manage body inertia and reducing driver fatigue, Brown says the IsoDynamic seat allows a skilled driver to go 15 mph faster on the same course. The seat helped make for a fun, thrilling drive on the short off-road track.
Compared to this burly TRD Pro, the new Trailhunter trim, which will also be available in the new 4Runner SUV, represents a polar opposite, catering to higher-income customers who appreciate overlanding and communing with nature, rather than tearing it up with high-flying antics.
The well-equipped Tacoma Trailhunter comes standard as a hybrid, starting at $64,395 with destination. Sheldon Brown, chief engineer for the Tacoma, describes the difference between these two range-topping models. “TRD Pro is about going fast, while the Trailhunter is about going far,” he says.
Despite these new offerings, Brown realizes they won’t represent the bulk of sales. TRD Pro should account for about 3% of Tacoma sales volume—probably similar to the new Trailhunter. SR5 should be the volume trim, at about 30% of sales, Brown says.
The Tacoma seemed right at home during test drives in these hardscrabble (snake-infested) lands close to the Mexican border. Heck, 10 miles south from the Vogt Ranch, as the crow flies, is the Baja California, Mexico, plant that produces the Tacoma, as well as the Guanajuato plant further south.
While the non-hybrid Tacoma went on sale in January, the i-Force Max variants are arriving this spring at Toyota dealerships.
If you’re shopping for a fourth-generation Tacoma, are you interested in the hybrid or new uplevels trims, or happy to pay less? Please comment below.
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