Yahoo Autos 2024 Toyota Tacoma revealed — with hybrid option and trick suspension bucket seats
The 2024 Toyota Tacoma is finally here, and it is being offered with so many different features and configurations. But even with all the differences through this pickup truck's lineup, there is one thing that's consistent: It's a new truck, not just a warmed over previous-generation model. There's a lot to cover, so we're going to break things down into sections to easily find the juicy details. Keep scrolling to check it all out.
Body and Chassis
The Tacoma is built on the same TNGA-F body-on-frame platform used by the Tundra, Sequoia and Land Cruiser. All of those are notably larger than a Tacoma. Shrinking it down mostly boils down to shortening the frame and wheelbase, which resulted in losing a crossmember toward the front, and a way shorter front overhang compared to the bigger trucks. Some of the other crossmembers and mounting points have been tweaked as well, and some sections of those members have slightly thinner gauge steel for cost and weight savings, since the Tacoma is not as large or in need of such heavy-duty capability as the larger vehicles.
The new body, which looks like a scaled-down Tundra with some hints of the old Tacoma, is mostly high-strength steel, with a bit of aluminum in the upper section and for the tailgate. Somewhat surprisingly, Toyota will continue to offer both an extended cab and a quad cab. The extended cab comes only with the 6-foot bed while the quad cab can have either the standard 5-foot bed or the option of the 6-foot unit. Interestingly, the extended cab only has two seats now, leaving the area behind completely dedicated to storage with lockable bins.
As for suspension, the front of every Tacoma uses a double-wishbone, coil-spring design. But the rear varies. The base SR, SR5 and TRD PreRunner models still use a live axle with leaf springs. This is the only TNGA-F vehicle to use them. Higher trims get a new multi-link solid axle design with coil springs. And there are even suspension variations when it comes to shocks, since there are unique versions for the TRD Sport, TRD Off Road, Limited, TRD Pro and Trailhunter. The Sport has stiffer shocks for road use, the Off Road has remote reservoir Bilsteins for, well, off-road use, Limited has electronically adjustable shocks, the Pro has manually adjustable remote-reservoir Fox off-road shocks (plus upgraded front upper control arms), and the Trailhunter has Old-Man Emu remote-reservoir shocks. Those latter two also sit 2 inches higher at the front and 1.5 inches higher at the rear than other equivalent Tacomas. They're also available with electronic anti-roll bar disconnect for the front suspension to increase articulation by a claimed 10%.
Brakes are also upgraded compared to the previous Tacoma, since all of them now have four-wheel disc brakes. TRD versions get larger front brake rotors, and hybrid models add larger rears. Steering also gets a change with electric power assist.
As for capacities, the Tacoma has a maximum tow rating of 6,500 pounds and a maximum payload of 1,709 pounds. These drop depending on the powertrain, cab and trim configurations. Toyota also boasts about 7% more bed volume and 300% more storage space under the rear seats on the quad cab.
Engines and transmissions
The base Tacoma engine is a turbocharged 2.4-liter four-cylinder. It's pretty much the same across all models as far as the engine itself, but there are multiple outputs. The SR gets the least-powerful version at 228 horsepower and 243 pound-feet of torque. This is mainly because, in order to get the price down, Toyota removed some cooling equipment and mounts for vibration that were only necessary for the higher-output versions. That higher output is 278 horsepower and 317 pound-feet of torque with the eight-speed automatic, or 270 horsepower and 310 pound-feet of torque with the six-speed manual. Both transmissions are available with either two- or four-wheel drive.
The other engine on offer is also a turbo 2.4-liter four-cylinder — but with a battery and an electric motor. The electric motor makes 48 horsepower and 184 pound-feet of torque, and it's fed by a 1.87-kWh nickel metal-hydride battery pack. Combined output with the gas engine is 326 horsepower and 465 pound-feet of torque. Besides the enormous amount of power and torque, the hybrid also adds 2.4-kW of onboard power for all variety of accessories and tools. This hybrid is only available with the eight-speed automatic transmission. Unfortunately, Toyota has not announced fuel economy numbers for this engine or the entry-level ones.
Two-wheel drive is the standard drivetrain option with traditional four-wheel-drive with a low-range transfer case available. All of them come with a limited-slip differential as standard. But an electronic locking rear differential is available on four-wheel-drive models and comes standard on the TRD PreRunner, the off-road-oriented two-wheel-drive model. The Limited trim is available with full-time four-wheel drive, but only with the hybrid engine.
