The Toyota Tacoma is better than ever — but may have lost what made it special
The Toyota Tacoma has been America's best-selling small truck for the past 20 years.
I was impressed by the Tacoma's powerful hybrid engine, solid driving dynamics, and updated tech.
I was less impressed by the Tacoma's high price and tight rear seats.
For the past twenty years, the Toyota Tacoma has been the best-selling small pickup truck in the US, outselling rivals like the Nissan Frontier and Ford Ranger.
The current fourth generation debuted in 2024 with more power and an almost overwhelming amount of new tech.
The Mexican-made pickup is also the first Tacoma to be offered with a four-cylinder hybrid powertrain instead of the traditional V6. It's a much-welcome upgrade, but I fear it risks losing what made the truck so special: no-nonsense reliability at a relatively low price.
I recently spent a week driving a 2025 Toyota Tacoma TRD Pro Double Cab 4×4.
The base two-seat Tacoma SR Xtra Cab 4X2 starts at $31,590, while my range-topping Tacoma TRD Pro Double Cab 4X4 test truck starts at $63,900.
Shipping fees and a few optional extras pushed the as-tested price to $68,093.
The Tacoma lineup ranges from the humble work truck to the premium Limited trim.
As a result, Toyota offers the Tacoma with a variety of front grilles and facias.
My favorite is the test truck's heritage grille, which evokes the look of the brand's iconic pickups from the late 1980s and early 1990s.
The Tacoma is one of the most configurable trucks in the segment.
It has two cab types: a two-passenger XtraCab and a five-passenger Double Cab. It's also available with both a five-foot and a six-foot bed. Most of its rivals, with the exception of the Nissan Frontier, are available only with a five-passenger crew cab and a five-foot bed.
The TRD Pro trim, inspired by Toyota's off-road racing trucks, is designed for high-speed runs across the deserts of Baja California.
That means it comes with a ton of special off-road goodies like Fox adjustable shocks, a performance air intake, and massive 33-inch Goodyear all-terrain tires with 18-inch black alloy wheels. There are also beefed-up aluminum skid plates and underbody protection for the transfer case and fuel tank.
The coolest feature found exclusively on the TRD Pro is the IsoDynamic front seats.
The seats feature a system of air-over-oil shock absorbers that absorb the impact of rough terrain on the occupants. A special air pump adjusts the firmness of the shocks.
All Tacomas are powered by versions of Toyota's T24A-FTS turbocharged four-cylinder engine.
My test truck was powered by a 2.4-liter, turbocharged inline-four-cylinder engine paired with a hybrid system consisting of a 48-horsepower electric drive motor and a small 1.87 kWh Nickel Metal Hydride battery pack.
Together, they produce a robust 326 total horsepower and a whopping 465 lb-ft of torque.
A non-hybrid version of the same engine is available with 228 horsepower, 270 horsepower (manual transmission), and 278 horsepower.
My test truck boasted fuel economy ratings of 22 mpg city, 24 mpg highway, and 23 mpg combined, which aren't spectacular for a hybrid but solid for a high-performance truck of this size.
It's the Toyota Hybrid that doesn't drive like a hybrid.
For all its excellence, the old Toyota Tacoma was a chore to drive. Its V6 lacked grunt, and the driving position was uncomfortable. This time around, Toyota has fixed both.
Power from the turbo four is strong and immediate, with the electric drive motor contributing an extra kick of torque.
Despite being a Toyota hybrid, the Tacoma retains its torque converter and conventional eight-speed automatic transmission. Thus, it drives nothing like a Prius or a Camry, which depends on an e-CVT to drive the wheels.
Instead, it feels more like a regular pickup with an aggressive auto start-stop feature. In fact, I actually forgot I was driving a hybrid at one point and went hunting for the button to shut off the start-stop.
The engine also makes a surprisingly throaty rumble and is one of the better-sounding four-cylinder engines on the market.
The Tacoma's cabin is far more stylish and feature-laden than before, but still as intuitively designed.
Traditional Tacoma interiors are pretty spartan. This one does a full 180. It's got every creature comfort you could ever want in a truck and a few you didn't even know you needed, like seats with shock absorbers and a detachable JBL Bluetooth speaker.
What hasn't changed is that the cabin remains logically designed and easy to use.
This tech content is impressive and is a vast improvement over the previous generation.
The centerpiece of Tacoma's tech package is its massive optional 14-inch touchscreen (base models get an 8-inch unit) running Toyota's latest infotainment system, which is among the easiest to use on the market.
The front seats take out a big chunk of the rear legroom.
As a result, the back seats in my test truck would be uncomfortable for most adults. This is especially the case if the front seat occupants are taller than 6'0.
Open up the power tailgate, and you'll find a versatile bed with plenty of LED lighting and adjustable tie-down points.
There are also USB, 12V, and AC power sockets, and some models even have a built-in air compressor.
The Tacoma can tow up to 6,500 lbs.
That trails the Chevrolet Colorado's 7,700 lb and Nissan Frontier's 7,150 lb rating.
My Verdict: The new Toyota Tacoma is better in every way, but it may have lost some of the essence that made it great.
The 2025 Tacoma is a great truck. Toyota fixed pretty much everything that held it back from my good graces with more power, improved driving dynamics, and updated tech.
But the Tacoma's success has always been built on delivering no-nonsense dependability at a reasonable price. It's the very reason my father purchased one a few years ago.
Power, tech, and luxury have never been its calling card.
In fact, they've caused the price tag to skyrocket to levels that may drive loyalists toward its rivals.
As much as I like the fancy new Tacoma, I can't help but feel that they are diluting the secret sauce that made it so beloved.
Read the original article on Business Insider
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