How We'd Spec It: 2024 Toyota Tacoma

The 2024 Toyota Tacoma made a big splash when it was revealed this past summer, with the retention of a manual-transmission option sparking lots of giddy discussion among the Car and Driver staff. Now the 2024 Tacoma's online configurator is live, so we decided to have a bit of fun and craft our ideal mid-size Toyota trucks. There is a caveat, however: the iForce Max hybrid powertrain is not yet available on the configurator, eliminating the possibility of speccing the top-dog TRD Pro. But given out penchant for stick-shifts, we were still content with the array of choices, as three of us opted to row our own gears.

Jack Fitzgerald's $38,395 2024 Tacoma SR

The impetus behind this truck was simple: to spec the cheapest manual Tacoma I could. Part of what has made the Tacoma so historically great is the accessibility of it. In reality, my truck ended up being more expensive than I expected, and honestly way closer in price to some of the higher trims than I'm comfortable with.

While the SR shows a base MSRP of $31,500, the manual transmission requires you to upgrade from the XtraCab to the four-door Double Cab setup, pushing the base price to $33,700. The six-speed manual transmission is also only available with four-wheel drive, which brings us to the true stick-shift base of $36,900, with $1495 for destination and handling taking this build to $38,395. Outside of the transmission/drivetrain, I didn't choose any other options. I went for the (no-cost) Underground gray paint option and kept all package and accessory boxes unchecked. No heated seats or blind spot monitors for me. Additional creature comforts would be nice, but we're balling on a budget and we've got to save our pennies for modifications down the line. —Jack Fitzgerald

Caleb Miller's $44,335 2024 Tacoma TRD Sport

My number one priority for my 2024 Tacoma was a manual transmission. While the DIY gearbox can be had on the base SR model, I upgraded to the TRD Sport. Starting at $39,400, this adds a coil-spring rear suspension. Since the truck would spend most of its time under my care on the pavement, the added ride comfort versus the SR's leaf springs felt worth the extra dough. The TRD Sport also has standard blind-spot monitoring—a boon for highway lane changes—and a 400W/120V AC power supply and LED bed lighting. The TRD Sport's flashy 18-inch machined alloy wheels were also appealing, and the extra grip from the larger 265/65R18 tires would be useful in the winter.

I stuck with the five-foot bed, since I rarely haul anything much bigger than that. Selecting the stick-shift raised the price to $41,800, so I decided to keep the options to a minimum to avoid brushing up against the $50K mark. Luckily the vivid Blue Crush Metallic paint is free while still helping the Tacoma stand out in the parking lot, and I paired it with the white interior accents for a slightly retro feel. I threw in heated seats for $585—a requirement for surviving in Michigan from November to March—and the rear-mounted BedStep for $455 to ease loading and unloading cargo. Add in $1495 for destination and handling, and my total came to a fairly reasonable $44,335. —Caleb Miller