2024 Toyota Tacoma Debuts With Slew of New Features, Variants
The 2024 Toyota Tacoma looks poised to maintain its spot atop the mid-size sales charts with an enticing and broad lineup.
The Toyota Tacoma has dominated the mid-size pickup market for some time, but there’s no denying that the outgoing third-generation model – introduced for the 2016 model year – was getting a bit long in the tooth. Regardless, consumers continued to lineup and plunk down their hard-earned money for this aging pickup, prompting Toyota to invest big in the next-generation model – which has been specifically designed to cater to American customers. Now, the 2024 Toyota Tacoma has been fully revealed following months of teasers and leaks, ready to carry the torch as the best-selling mid-size truck in the U.S.
Unlike much of its competition, the 2024 Toyota Tacoma offers customers a dizzying array of trims and configurations, including two-door XtraCab or four-door Double Cab body styles with five- or six-foot bed lengths. A grand total of eight trim levels are available, a list that consists of the
- SR (base model)
- SR5 (base-model plus)
- TRD PreRunner (2WD off-roading)
- TRD Sport (TRD looks package)
- TRD Off Road (mild off-roading)
- Limited (the fancy one)
- TRD Pro (high-speed off-roading)
- Trailhunter (Overlanding and articulation)
In the powertrain department, 2024 Tacoma customers have a couple of enticing options to choose from, starting with a new turbocharged 2.4-liter four-cylinder making 228 horsepower and 248 pound-feet of torque in base SR form. SR5, TRD PreRunner, TRD Sport, TRD Off-Road, and Limited trims get the i-Force hybrid, which makes 278 horsepower and 317 pound-feet or slightly less when paired with the six-speed manual gearbox.
Toyota is also giving the Tacoma its i-Force Max hybrid, which adds a 48-hp electric motor and a 1.87-kWh NiMH battery pack for a combined output of 326 horsepower and 465 pound-feet of torque in top guise. For this generation, an eight-speed automatic transmission replaces the outgoing six-speed, though the aforementioned manual transmission is still available in SR, TRD Sport, and TRD Off-Road trims.
Riding on a revamped frame and a brand new architecture its shares with the Tundra and Sequoia, the new Tacoma ditches rear drum brakes for standard discs, and also comes equipped with a five-link coil spring suspension on XtraCab models in SR5 trim and up. Depending on trim, each Tacoma also has its own unique suspension upgrades, including the top dog TRD Pro – which is fitted with new Fox QS3 adjustable dampers with rear reservoirs, and the overland-focused Trailhunter, which is equipped with Old Man Emu position-sensitive remote reservoir shocks.
Aside from totally new exterior styling that also varies by trim, the 2024 Toyota Tacoma gets a brand new cabin as well, filled with features like either a 7- or 12.3-inch digital gauge cluster, an 8-inch or available 14-inch center touchscreen, and wireless Android Auto and Apple CarPlay compatibility.
As is the norm, Toyota hasn’t yet revealed any pricing information for the new Tacoma, which is scheduled to launch later this year in the U.S. However, it’s worth noting that those seeking an i-Force Max-powered model will have to wait a bit longer – the spring of 2024 – before their new mid-sizer arrives, too. Regardless, it’s pretty clear that it’ll be worth the wait for those seeking the best the mid-size pickup market has to offer.
Photos: Toyota