2024 Toyota Tacoma has dramatic looks, features — and likely to stay No. 1 midsize pickup
The Toyota Tacoma, America’s bestselling midsize pickup, will take a leap forward in style, capability and technology early in 2024 when a new model that adds hybrid power and shares key systems with the Tundra full-size pickup goes on sale.
The 2024 Tacoma boasts a new frame and eight distinct trim levels as Toyota aims to broaden the appeal of one of its cornerstone models. Don’t sleep on the Tacoma. The understated pickup helped establish Toyota’s sterling reputation for value and durability. New and used, it has been the first vehicle of choice for generations: work truck, play truck and everything in between.
Make that "formerly understated." The 2024 Tacoma will offer off-road models with flared fenders and tracks widened to accommodate all-terrain tires. A high lift and slim passenger compartment reserve the Tacoma’s traditional proportions.
The Tacoma competes with midsize pickups, including the Chevrolet Colorado, Ford Ranger, GMC Canyon, Honda Ridgeline, Jeep Gladiator and Nissan Frontier.
A new Ranger is due early in 2024 and new versions of the Canyon and Colorado debuted in 2023. The formerly sleepy midsize pickup segment, which Chevy, Ford and GMC all abandoned for a few years and Jeep recently reentered after an absence of decades, is suddenly a hotbed of competition.
While Toyota’s full-size truck platform was engineered for global markets, the Tacoma was developed in the automaker’s U.S. design and tech centers.
2024 Toyota Tacoma trim levels and prices
SR Xtra Cab 4x2: $31,500
SR Double Cab 4x2: $33,700
SR5 Xtra Cab 4x2: $36,700
SR5 Double Cab: $37,200
TRD PreRunner Xtra Cab: $38,100
TRD Sport Double Cab: $39,400
TRD Off-road Double Cab: $42,800
Limited Double Cab: $52,100
Source: Toyota. Prices exclude $1,495 destination charge.
Driving impressions
I recently spent a day in 2024 Tacomas on surface streets, highways and daunting off-road trails just north of Los Angeles. The pickup should be in dealerships early in 2024.
I didn’t get to drive any of the hybrids. They go into production and on sale in the spring, a tactic automakers often use to ensure a smooth start of production and high initial quality. The pickups I drove were early enough in the process that they had a few pre-production parts — generally smooth, shiny pieces of plastic interior trim that will be replaced with more finished looking pieces before sales begin.
Setting aside the hybrid for now, both levels of gasoline engine produced plenty of usable power, thanks largely to turbochargers selected to spin up rapidly and provide peak torque from just 1,600 or 1,700 rpm to 4,200.
Toyota used to offer a V6, but only drivers who measure their potency in cylinder count are likely to miss it. The combination of broad torque band and the carefully tuned eight-speed automatic transmission kept the Tacoma in its happy place in traffic, on the open road and while climbing challenging dirt switchbacks that included loose rock, deep potholes and steep slopes.
The optional disconnecting stabilizer bars enabled plenty of wheel travel to negotiate the potholes and numerous spots that left a wheel hanging in midair.
On-road, the ride is comfortable, the steering responsive. The automatic transmission shifts smoothly and avoids obvious hunting among gears, even going up and down steep, twisting mountain roads.
2024 Toyota Tacoma key features
Turbocharged 2.4-liter four-cylinder engine
8-speed automatic or 6-speed manual transmission
Hybrid model coming spring 2024
Locking differential
Disconnecting stabilizer bars
Skid plates
Front and rear recovery hooks
5- or 6-foot bed
17- and 18-inch wheels
Two cab styles: two-door Xtra Cab, four-door Double Cab
10 speaker JBL sound system
Removable JBL Flex Bluetooth speaker
14-inch touch screen
Google search for navigation and more
Power tailgate
How much? How big?
Prices for the 2024 Tacoma will start at $31,500 for a rear-drive Xtra Cab SR with an eight-speed automatic transmission and 2.4L turbocharged four-cylinder engine that produces 228 horsepower and 243 pound-feet of torque.
Once you move out of the base models, the same engine is tuned to produce 278 hp and 317 pound-feet. A six-speed manual transmission is also available.
The hybrid model coming this spring will add electric motors to boost power to 326 hp and a diesel-like 465 pound-feet of torque.
Pricing, fuel economy and driving impressions of the hybrid, which Toyota calls I-Force Max, should be available shortly before sales begin.
The new Tacoma uses the same TNGA-F global truck architecture as the bigger Tundra pickup and Sequoia and Land Cruiser SUVs.
At 213-226.25 inches long, the base 2024 Tacoma is 0.7 inch longer than the outgoing model, but its wheelbase grew 4 inches, a difference that should show up in better maneuverability from trails to parking lots. Its width increased up to 3 inches to accommodate off-road tires wheel lips.
Competitive base prices
Chevrolet Colorado: $29,200
Ford Ranger: $29,585
GMC Canyon: $36,600
Honda Ridgeline: $38,800
Jeep Gladiator: $38,775
Nissan Frontier: $31,070
Source: Edmunds. Prices exclude destination charge.
What’s good?
The cab is comfortable, with plenty of storage space and familiar dials and toggles for climate controls and volume.
The two-door Xtra Cab has plenty of storage space behind its seats, while the four-door Double Cab’s rear seat is accommodating for passengers or gear. The Xtra Cab’s passenger seat folds flat to make it easy to load gear behind the seats. There’s also lockable storage in the rear.
Toyota abandoned small rear-hinged so-called suicide doors on the 2024 Tacoma because few customers chose them. Deleting the feature and simplifying production helped keep prices in check while Toyota added other features.
Toyota developed new seats that have dampers — shock absorbers, in non-engineering talk — and ball joints to help the keep the driver’s head stable and eyes focused when controlling the vehicle over bumpy surfaces.
New shock absorbers and bushings complement the new suspension, which has either rear leaf or coil springs, depending on the model. Disc brakes are standard.
Safety and driver assist features
Adaptive cruise control
Blind spot alert and assist
Pre-collision braking with pedestrian detection
Lane departure with steering assist
Lane centering
Road sign recognition
Automatic high beams
What could be better?
It’s hard to find fault with the 2024 Tacoma.
The promise of more power and better fuel economy might make it worth waiting for details on the hybrid models coming this spring, if you have extra money on hand.
Beyond that, a driver’s-door grab-handle would come in handy stepping up into the cab of off-road models. It’s a tall pickup, and Toyota’s suggestion that you use the steering wheel is a poor substitute for a correctly positioned, ergonomic handle, especially in vehicles that can top $52,000.
Toyota’s insistence on installing less sophisticated touch screens and instrument clusters in base models starts to feel a bit chintzy somewhere below the ’24 Tacoma’s $31,500 starting point, too.
Why get one?
Not many people have regretted buying a Tacoma, and the 2024 model seems unlikely to change that. Its beefy looks, features and off-road ability should keep it at or near the front of the competitive midsize pickup field. The promise of more power — lots more torque — and better fuel economy might justify holding off until we know the prices and other details for the upcoming hybrid models, though.
2024 Toyota Tacoma at a glance
Specifications as tested:
Model: 4x4 TRD off-road Double Cab 5-foot bed
Base price without options or destination charge: $42,900
Engine: 2.4L turbocharged four-cylinder
Output: 278 hp @ 6,000 rpm; 317 pound-feet of torque @ 1,700 rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed automatic
Estimated fuel economy estimate:19 mpg city/22 highway/20 combined. Regular gasoline
Wheelbase: 131.9 inches
Length: 213 inches
Width: 77.9 inches
Height: 74.6 inches
Ground clearance: 11.5 inches
Towing capacity: 6,500 pounds
Curb weight: 4,720 pounds
Contact Mark Phelan: 313-222-6731 or mmphelan@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @mark_phelan. Read more on autos and sign up for our autos newsletter. Become a subscriber.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: 2024 Toyota Tacoma likely to remain No. 1 midsize pickup: Here's why.
