Toyota Trucks Are Certifiably Badass. Here’s Proof…
Whether it comes to off-roading, owning a piece of history, or getting to experience a true pickup truck, you can’t go wrong with a Toyota.
Toyota makes some of the best trucks on the road. Don’t believe us? Check out the Toyota-branded trucks that made it onto America’s top automotive publications’ lists of “The Toughest Trucks,” “The 15 Greatest Toyotas Ever,” “Twelve Trucks Every Truck Guy Needs To Own In Their Lifetime,” and “The 11 Best Off-Road Vehicles You Can Buy Right Now.”
The mac-daddy of Toyotas, the mighty Tundra, made it to Forbes’ list of “The Toughest Trucks” back in 2011. To make it onto the outlet’s list, Forbes consulted Consumer Reports’ Recommended Picks list of 2011 and then trimmed the selection down by using Consumer Reports’ predicted reliability scores and various collision ratings. The Tundra made it through Forbes’ checklist to make it on the list.
When Car and Driver put together its list of “The 15 Greatest Toyotas Ever,” a plethora of trucks made it onto the record. At number 14 came the 2000 Toyota Tundra. “After diddling around with the T100, an almost-full-size pickup that was bigger than the mid-size Tacoma but smaller than the Ford F-Series, Chevy Silverado, and Dodge Ram, Toyota finally took on the Americans with the Tundra, its first full-size truck,” says Car and Driver.
The next truck on the list, the 1960 Land Cruiser FJ40, came in third place on the list. “The Land Cruiser is the beast that has carried every burden thrown atop it in every corner of the earth,” says Car and Driver. “Larger and more robust than previous versions of the Cruiser, the FJ40 was plain tough.”
The 1964 Stout ranked in at second place on the list. While not widely known, the Stout started Toyota’s compact pickup segment, which is arguably the automaker’s strongest segment. “Whether you call it Hi-Lux or ‘Pickup’ or Tacoma, the compact Toyota truck is the heart and soul of the brand,” says Car and Driver.
Pickup truck enthusiasts may not get to have the same amount of fun as supercar owners, but, as Truck Trend noted in 2015, there are 12 vehicles that truck fans need to own. And two Toyotas made the list.
The first vehicle on Truck Trend’s list is the 1984 to 1988 Toyota Pickup 4×4 – yes, that’s the one Marty McFly drove in “Back to the Future.” “The 1984-1988 Toyota Pickup is one of the toughest, most reliable vehicles ever produced, which is why many of them get turned into trail buggies,” says Truck Trend. The pictures, which we got from The AficionAuto, prove just how good the pickup can look.
The second Toyota to make Truck Trend’s list is the 1996 to 2004 Toyota Tacoma DoubleCab 4×4. The Tacoma was one of the smallest pickup truck offerings during the time, which gave it an advantage over the competition. “The tidy size pays dividends in maneuverability and nimbleness on-and-off-road,” says the outlet.
The last list, Popular Mechanics grouping of the best off-roading vehicles on the market at the moment, has two Toyotas on it. Coming in at second place is the Toyota 4Runner TRD Pro. “Because of its size and flexy coil-link rear suspension, this may be the most capable of the bunch – and the best to drive on the street too,” says the outlet.
Just a few spots down, in fourth place, sits the iconic Toyota Land Cruiser. “Few nameplates are as synonymous with off-roading as the Land Cruiser,” says Popular Mechanics. “And as Toyota’s flagship SUV has grown in size, price, and amenities, the company has been careful to retain the big ute’s talents for slogging through rough terrain.”
With its incredible trucks, Toyota has covered all of the bases for truck enthusiasts. Whether it’s a classic, a pickup truck, or an SUV, vehicles with a Toyota badge can do it all in style.