WAIMEA, Hawaii — When the redesigned 2024 Toyota Tacoma arrives at dealerships this year, the Japanese brand will offer a midsize truck with a new optional hybrid powertrain, improved ride and a big technology upgrade to fend off rivals.
Toyota unwrapped the latest Tacoma for the media here late Thursday.
As the third of four body-on-frame North American vehicles to move onto the Japanese automaker's new F1 platform, the retooled Tacoma represents an opportunity for Toyota to scale both the advancements and the lessons learned from the launches of the redesigned Tundra full-size pickup and Sequoia large SUV. The redesigned 4Runner midsize SUV will complete the circuit for what Toyota calls its Four Brothers next year.
As with the Tundra and Sequoia, the biggest change in the redesign is a downsizing of the Tacoma's powertrain and improvements to the suspension.
POWERTRAIN LINEUP
Gone is the current generation's V-6 engine in favour of a standard turbocharged 2.4-litre four-cylinder engine, producing up to 278 hp and 317 pound-feet of torque. An optional hybridized version delivers a combined 326 hp and 465 pound-feet of torque. Most versions of the Tacoma will come standard with an eight-speed automatic transmission.
The Tacoma will also have an available multilink rear suspension on some trim levels, replacing the current version's leaf springs, though those springs will remain standard equipment on the SR5 XtraCab trim. Four-wheel disc brakes are now standard equipment, as is an electronic parking brake and electric power steering, Toyota says.
THE CABIN