They say that variety is the spice of life. In a world where automakers are slimming vehicle options and packages as ordering practices have been fine tuned in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, Toyota is launching the 2024 Tacoma midsize pickup truck with a long list of configurations.
Eight trim levels. Two bed and two cab options. Eight paint colors. Two engines and two transmissions. Three drivetrains. Eight different wheel choices. And that’s just the exterior.
This is the opposite of how Ford launched its new Ranger just last week, and how the redesigned Chevrolet Colorado and GMC Canyon were brought to market this year. Each of those automakers offered less trim levels, and none will sell their pickup trucks in a hybrid variation or with a manual transmission.
“Tacoma is an anomaly. It has traditionally been the least refined product and the longest to go without updates among its contemporaries. Yet, it sold nearly triple that of its nearest competitor (Chevrolet Colorado) in 2022,” Paul Waatti, manager of industry insights at AutoPacific told Newsweek.
“Toyota knows this buyer well and addressed the most significant downfalls of the current Tacoma without overbaking this latest generation. After all, part of Tacoma’s allure to the fervent following is its rugged charm.”
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Built on the same platform as the Toyota Tundra full-size truck and Toyota Sequoia three-row SUV, the new Tacoma has a high-strength boxed, steel-ladder frame that is designed to take on the mundane drive routes around home or rocky off-road trails, and everything in between.
Its looks, the team at CALTY Design Research, Toyota’s pencil-to-prototype arm in the U.S., says was themed as “Badass Adventure Machine” during development. In reality that means projecting the Tacoma to customers as a tough vehicle mixed with plenty of attitude. This also means that the truck is designed to have a wider divide between grades.
For the new generation, Toyota has leaned heavily into the off-roading set, giving them more options including the new Tacoma Trailhunter grade, which gives buyers another step into an adventurous lifestyle with a rig built explicitly for overlanding.
They’re also feeding the critics, giving North American buyers the option of a hybrid powertrain in a midsize truck for the first time ever. That choice is strategic, allowing for a potent combination of power and fuel efficiency that falls into line with other Toyota hybrid efforts in the Tundra and Sequoia, among others.
Another strategic choice – an available manual transmission.
Toyota Motor North America
Toyota says when grade, engine, bed/cab and options packages are considered Tacoma comes in 227 different configurations (184 gasoline-powered, and 43 with the hybrid powertrain). Add in interior design schemes and exterior colors and Tacoma comes in 406 configurations.
“Tacoma fans will rejoice over entirely new underpinnings, a more rugged and chiseled exterior, a modern interior with the latest infotainment, more advanced driver assistance system features, a hybrid option, coil-sprung rear suspension, and a plethora of trim options, including an overland-ready TrailHunter model straight from the factory,” Waatti said.
“Save for the Nissan Frontier, the other major players have whittled configurations to crew cab with a standard bed length – by far the most requested spec. Meanwhile, Tacoma continues offering various cab and bed configurations, which is undoubtedly easier for Toyota to justify than other automakers, considering Tacoma accounts for roughly a quarter million annual sales.
“The midsize truck space is fierce, and with every truck in the segment recently redesigned and equally modernized, initial impressions suggest Tacoma will continue to dominate the segment into the new generation.”
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Toyota Motor North America
Tacomas with a gasoline engine will be available first, in late 2023. Hybrid Tacomas won’t go on sale until early 2024. Pricing is expected to be announced closer to their respective on-sale dates.