2024 Toyota Tacoma Gets Fresh Design, Hybrid, Overlanding Trailhunter Trim

While Toyota has struggled for the better part of two decades to make major inroads into the full-size pickup truck market, it has had no such issues when you step down a size class to midsize trucks. The Tacoma has long been the market leader by a wide margin over competitors from Nissan, General Motors and Ford, typically selling at least twice as many as any of the others. As we head in the 2024 model year, virtually the whole segment is brand new with only the Nissan Frontier having launched last year. The last of the group to get a redesign is the Tacoma and it’s getting big upgrades for the new generation including a factory overlanding model and the only hybrid powertrain in the segment.

Without actually saying it at the time, Toyota provided the world with a preview of the design direction for the new Tacoma back in December 2021 when former CEO Akio Toyoda unveiled a slate of 15 battery electric concept vehicles. One of those was a midsize pickup that, apart from the solid grille cover, is essentially the new Tacoma in crew-cab, short-bed form. Unsurprisingly, the new Tacoma bears a strong family resemblance to its big brother the Tundra.

There are lots of sharply creased lines in the sheet metal that give it a more aggressive look. Interestingly, the designers at Toyota’s Calty studio in southern California opted not to give the Tacoma the sort of comically oversized grille that is all too common in the 2020s.

One advantage that the Tacoma’s massive sales lead gives Toyota is that they can justify offering more configurations than at least Ford and GM. While the Ranger, Canyon and Colorado are now only being offered in a crew cab configuration with a single bed length of about five feet, the Tacoma will be available in the same three body variants as the current model, two-door XtraCab and four-door Dual-Cab with either a five or six foot bed. Fortunately, Toyota has realized that the rear jump seats that most automakers have offered in extended cab versions in the past were essentially useless for carrying passengers in a mid-size truck and has dispensed with them. Instead, there are storage solutions to keep gear secure.

Toyota isn’t yet releasing detailed dimensions of the new Tacoma, but we’re told that overall length is similar. Toyota lists the approach, breakover and departure angles as 33.8º, 23.5º, and 25.7º respectively, but doesn’t say which trim level those apply too. To varying degrees, all three numbers are better than all but the current TRD Pro which implies that the wheel base might be slightly longer than before. What we do know is that the new TRD Pro sits about two inches higher than its predecessor and like the new Ranger Raptor, is also 3.5-inches wider than the standard Tacoma.

The new Tacoma rides on Toyota’s TNGA-F body-on-frame architecture, just like the Tundra and Sequoia. As usual, there is a double control arm front suspension setup. The XtraCab models get a leaf spring rear suspension while DoubleCabs get a multi-link setup with coil springs. TRD Off-Road models get Bilstien monotube dampers with remote reservoirs for longer suspension travel and better heat dissipation. The TRD Pro gets Fox QS3 dampers that aid high-speed off-road handling. The new Trailhunter model gets an Old Man Emu (OME) 4×4 Suspension by ARB that is optimized for off-road body control and load carrying capacity. All Tacomas now also get four wheel disk brakes for improved stopping power.

For the new generation, all Tacomas will get the 2.4-liter turbocharged four cylinder engine that has been filtering its way through much of the Toyota and Lexus lineup over the past couple of years. For the base SR trim, it’s tuned for 228-hp and 243 lb-ft of torque. Step up to any of the higher grades, and it cranks out 270-hp and 317 lb-ft of torque when paired with an 8-speed automatic transmission. The new Tacoma continues as the only truck in the segment to also offer a 6-speed manual gearbox, but with that transmission, torque is capped at 310 lb-ft.

For those that want maximum performance from a new Tacoma, Toyota is also offering an i-Force Max hybrid similar to the Tundra and Sequoia but with the same four cylinder. The hybrid bumps output to 326-hp and 465 lb-ft. While power falls short of the 405-hp of the Ranger Raptor, it will likely beat the torque figures for the Ford.

In the cab, the Tacoma also adopts a lot of the styling direction of the Tundra with a very angular, industrial look and much more modern technology. The base configuration gets a 7-inch gauge cluster and an 8-inch center touchscreen for the infotainment system. Midrange models swap in a 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster display while the top models including the Limited, TRD Pro and Trailhunter get the same 14-inch touchscreen available on the Tundra. The available 10-speaker JBL premium audio system gets a subwoofer and a removable bluetooth speaker in the top of the dashboard.

A digital key system that lets owners unlock and start the Tacoma with their smartphone is available to those that have either a trial or subscription to Remote Connect. Since the overall size hasn’t changed much, cabin space is likely similar, but the storage space under the back seat has tripled in volume on the non-hybrids and the rear seat also folds down for a large package shelf when needed. For the hybrid models, the battery takes up most of the space under the back seat.

Like most of the Toyota models introduced recently, the Tacoma gets the Toyota Safety Sense 3.0 driver assist suite as standard on all trims. This includes the pre-collision system with pedestrian detection, lane departure alert, lane tracing, road sign assist and radar adaptive cruise control. A new feature that has been added is proactive driving assist which uses the front camera and radar to detect curves in the road and gradually reduce speed under some conditions to allow the vehicle to get through the curve safely.

There are no shortage of trims available in the new Tacoma, most of which have been there before including SR, SR5, TRD PreRunner, TRD Sport, TRD Off Road, Limited and TRD Pro. The TRD Pro is Toyota’s equivalent to Ford’s Raptor models, optimized for high-speed desert running while others are tuned for general driving, hauling or heading down a rocky trail. The TRD Pro is getting a new feature this year in the form of the IsoDynamic Performance Seats. These are designed to stabilize the driver and front passengers field of vision with a pair of air-over-oil dampers built into the seat back and limit when flying over rough terrain.

New for 2024 is the Trailhunter model. Toyota showed off a Tundra Trailhunter concept at the 2022 SEMA show and is bringing the idea to production on the Tacoma. The Trailhunter is available with the Double Cab and either bed length and is intended for those that want to outfit their Tacoma for overlanding excursions. Toyota collaborated with Australian company ARB to develop the Old Man Emu (OME) suspension system. This includes 2.5-inch forged monotube dampers remote reservoirs. Along with 33-inch Goodyear Territory all-terrain tires, the Tacoma gets a two-inch front lift and an extra 1.5 inches in the rear along with a new exhaust to provide added clearance at the back end. An A-pillar mounted snorkel air intake keeps water and detritus out of the engine when fording water while rock rails and skid plates help to protect the underside.

A 2,400W AC inverter helps provide power at a campsite, while a 20-inch LED light bar embedded in the bronze colored grille helps light the way. Since Trailhunter buyers are likely to add other power accessories, Toyota has also integrated three pre-wired auxiliary switches on the dashboard. Toyota will also offer plenty of tested and approved aftermarket gear through its new Associated Accessory Products program.

Gas powered 2024 Tacomas will be available later in 2023 with the hybrid models coming early in 2024.