Toyota’s Tacoma Trailhunter – CHRISTMAS PRESENCE

Toyota’s Tacoma Trailhunter

CHRISTMAS PRESENCE

From Toyota: The Toyota Tacoma is shaking up the midsize truck segment again with the addition of the i-FORCE MAX hybrid powertrain. The i-FORCE MAX pairs a 2.4-liter engine with a 48-hp electric motor integrated exclusively into the 8-speed transmission for the most powerful powertrain ever offered on Tacoma. With a total system output of up to 326 horsepower and a whopping 465 lb.-ft. of torque, that’s a 75% increase in torque compared to the previous generation V-6 powered truck.

Shaking up? Yeah, while contemplating the Tacoma Trailhunter’s almost-$65K window sticker, I was shaken. Obviously, for those youngsters already making six figures, and regard 84 monthlies as a predictable component of living large, $60K-and-up may not raise blood pressures; I’m at an age, however, when I can remember compact or midsize pickups as the affordable entry into trucking. I’m also at an age that I check my blood pressure daily…

With all of that, you can’t deny the ongoing appeal of Toyota’s Tacoma. At a time when the Detroit automakers had parked their compact/midsize entries at the curb, Toyota kept the home garages (the truck is built in San Antonio) burning with continued production of its midsize Tacoma. To be sure, without a competitive landscape they allowed the model to age, but the company’s hands-off approach didn’t diminish sales; the Tacoma dominated the midsize landscape, but then, in a competitive field of two…why wouldn’t it?

With Ford and GM reentering the segment, Toyota and its loyalists had the now-necessary wake-up call. The result is an all-new Tacoma with more variations than the GOP’s Project 2025; given its launch date, call this all-new Tacoma Project 2024. And our press truck sits at the top of the heap in Trailhunter guise, designed for offroad trails and urban tribulations well beyond NorthPark or the Galleria.

For those hoping to duplicate the Trailhunter spec, know it includes Goodyear’s Wrangler Territory R/T rubber, Old Man Emu 2.5-inch monotube shocks, forged aluminum control arms in front, and an electronic disconnect for its anti-roll bars. The Trailhunter also benefits from two inches of lift in front and 1.5 inches of lift in the rear.

It begins, of course, with the Tacoma, which boasts within its all-new sheetmetal a more athletic (can we say ripped?) attitude. With that lifted stance, widened track and wheelwells with appropriate flair – they’re flared – you’ll see more than a little of Ford Raptor in its on-the-road posture. And even with its short bed (a long bed version is available, and more appropriate if hauling the grid with you), this Tacoma can easily swallow a standard parking space. Unlike the small pickups of ‘90s, this isn’t something you’ll just whip into any parking spot, but then, unlike its full-size brothers, neither will it require two parking spots.  

And a word about that stance. In the absence of an outside step, this 29-inch inseam was challenged when ‘mounting up’. The step up is doable, but the roofline is relatively low, so not only did I have to step up, I was forced to duck to clear the door opening. And while you might find a handhold on the A-pillar in other trucks, Toyota doesn’t provide one in this Tacoma. You’ll adjust – I adjusted! – but what they call ‘ingress’ really isn’t.

Once inside you’ll find comfortable room for two in front, and adequate room for the kids in back. Instrumentation and infotainment is about what you’d expect from Project 2024…the gauges are round, infotainment is somewhat intuitive, and given that this is a truck, the gas gauge goes down. And with the aforementioned lift, your view is expansive – you’re not quite King of the World…but you’re a Prince.

Perhaps the sweetest spot in this transformation is what’s under the hood. In more basic Tacomas, power is provided by a boosted 2.4 liter four i-FORCE offering between 228 and 278 horsepower, along with between 243 and 317 lb-ft of torque. This is the non-hybrid powerplant and, notably, is available with a manual transmission. Opt for a higher spec Tacoma – such as our Trailhunter – and you’ll enjoy the i-FORCE MAX. With the hybrid there’s not much boost in efficiency, but combined horsepower is now 326, and its 426 lb-ft of torque (yup…) comes in at 1,700 rpm. It is, as they say, the Sweetheart of the Rodeo.

Given the effortless power delivery and – surprisingly – the Trailhunter’s almost sublime ride, you could easily confuse this Tacoma’s on-road demeanor to that of a Tahoe (Tacoe?). At 80 miles per hour, while attempting to stay behind a GR Corolla, the Trailhunter is completely relaxed, with plenty in reserve if that GR Corolla driver goes nuts. (He didn’t.) And, of course, with the M-F grind behind you, you have enough allroad capability to get you to the trailhead, get on the trailhead and – most important! – find your way back.

While I adjust to this new pricing paradigm, you can think of any Tacoma as a 10-year investment. That ten years, of course, was historically the term for FBI directors…until it wasn’t.