The Toyota Tacoma was long in the tooth for its recent third generation but held up well to its highly praised durability and reliability. Marking the fourth generation, the newly redesigned Tacoma from the ground up embarks on a new front where technology takes a new front seat along with two powertrain options that replace the outgoing 2.7-liter 4 cylinder and the long-lasting 3.5-liter V6.

Riding on the newest TNGA-F global body-on-frame architecture, the new Toyota Tacoma feels more like its larger Tundra brother in sharing such a platform. Such a platform affords the new Tacoma new literal heights, bringing new rugged athleticism that surprisingly translates well to road-going adventures with a rather smooth and somewhat sporty attitude. In its somewhat chiseled and up-right stance the new Tacoma is unmistakable-Toyota. Opting for the new Tacoma TRD Pro, which I have this week to review, there’s a lot to digest in the midsized truck segment and several firsts, such as having a hybrid powertrain and some rather unique ventilated, heated, and shock-supported front seats only reserved for the Tacoma TRD Pro.

Performance and Driving Character

Powering the newly redesigned 2024 Toyota Tacoma is either a 2.4-liter turbocharged 4-cylinder i-Force or virtually the same engine paired with a hybrid system and dubbed the i-Force Max hybrid powertrain. The base engine, which is available through most level trims (SR, SR5, TRD PreRunner, TRD Sport, Limited, and TRD Off-Road), touts 278 horsepower at 6,000 rpm and 317 lb-ft of torque that peaks starting at 1,700 rpm. Optional on trim levels starting at the TRD Sport level (TRD Off-Road, Limited), the new 2.4-liter 4-cylinder turbocharged i-Force Max hybrid powertrain is optional while it is standard for the Trailhunter and TRD Pro models. Such a hybrid powertrain, which sends power through an 8-speed automatic transmission, is good for a total of 326 horsepower at 6,000 rpm and 465 lb-ft of torque starting at 1,700 rpm powering the two rear wheels or all four in selectable 4-high or 4-low 4×4 modes.

Having the new Tacoma TRD Pro with all that it has to offer, there is an appreciation for Toyota’s having more of a direct line of competitiveness and answer to competition, like the Ford Ranger Raptor. With that, the Tacoma TRD Pro, with its 326 horsepower and 465 lb-ft of torque, elevates such a truck and segment in new ways. There’s an abundance of trick off-roading equipment to conquer various situations, such as 2.5-inch Fox Racing QS3 shocks with the rears having remote reservoirs, springs, antiroll bars, and anodized red TRD-etched front upper control arms, all giving the Tacoma TRD Pro 11.5-inches of ground clearance to work with while riding on 33-inch Goodyear Wrangler Territory R/T tires. Moreover, there’s rear Fox internal floating piston hydraulic bump stops to soften those rare instances of bottoming out the suspension. Toyota isn’t messing around here! Oh, in case you’re wondering, that hood scoop is somewhat functional in providing a small amount of air over the top of the engine bay instead of into the TRD engine intake.

Probably one of the standout highlights of the new Tacoma TRD Pro, apart from the menacing good looks of my test vehicle adorned in its burnt-orange-like Terra paint color with a black roof, is its front IsoDynamic Performance seats, which feature shock absorbers to add dynamic support for lateral and vertical movements. Such a technological advancement is beneficial to provide adaptive support for the front occupants when you get down and dirty on some wild trails or off-roading escapades in the Tacoma TRD Pro. Trying out the dampened seats is rather interesting, as you’ll want to add air pressure to them to equalize the dampening abilities according to your weight. The movement of the seats is quite interesting as the lateral motions seem to have the most movement, while the vertical support is firmer, but you can feel the benefits upon riding over rough terrain and even large inclines or undulations. Not to get too technical into how the tricked-out seats provide dynamic support, they actually work to help prevent injury or unwanted fatigue from going ‘crazy’ off-road. However, the seats aren’t to say that the new Tacoma TRD Pro rides bad because it doesn’t, far from it – even over rough terrain, which I tested with a huge smile on my face. Even still, the Tacoma TRD Pro feels lively on pavement but has a subtle holdback from its heft that you can somewhat feel and doesn’t do much justice for its overall acceleration, which takes just a hair over 6 seconds to hit 60 mph. With the TRD Pro you can tow up to 6,000 pounds while other trims have a slightly higher rating.

Fuel Economy

Fuel consumption seems to be more consistent than before, even with the new hybrid setup. Unfortunately, the downside is that the overall improvement is marginal but still in the right direction and potentially best the EPA estimates of 22 mpg city, 24 mpg highway, and 23 mpg combined. As expected, with Toyota’s long lineage of moving forward with hybrid technology, the new Tacoma i-Force Max hybrid system is mostly seamless in how well it works in managing power transitions and reserving battery power. Overall, you may not notice the transitions if it were not for the throaty exhaust sound firing off when the engine starts up, which actually sounds decent for a 4-cylinder turbocharged engine.

Interior and Technology

As a fully redesigned midsized truck, the new Tacoma has grown and improved in just about every conceivable way. The interior, a new larger and more inviting space than before, is accommodating. The one exception for interior space remains to be the unfortunate side of the unique IsoDynamic front seats, which cut into rear passenger knee room. The seats are so large that it may eliminate the ability for an adult to sit behind a taller front occupant.

Using Toyota’s latest 14-inch touchscreen infotainment unit brings all of the benefits of a straightforward interface that’s pretty easy to use, along with the wireless integration of Apple CarPlay and Android Auto and a wireless charging pad. There’s a bevy of physical controls throughout for the automatic dual-zone climate system as well as the off-roading modes, which add in a few firsts for a truck of this class being able to electronically disconnect the front antiroll bar for better wheel articulation on serious off-roading endeavors.

There are other unexpected features that potentially add to the value of the new Tacoma TRD Pro – in an effort to help justify its pricing. Some of those highlights include the suite of active safety features, such as adaptive cruise control, a 360-degree camera system with multiple driving angles, color head-up display, TRD LED lightbar that can be activated with the highbeams, Rigid LED foglights, three Auxiliary accessory power switches, fully power tailgate (open and close), and a digital rearview mirror system.

Pricing

Essentially, Toyota has all the bases and more covered for an extreme off-roading midsized truck with the new Tacoma TRD Pro. Of course, you’re going to pay to play for such, which Toyota isn’t shy about stamping a hefty price tag to the Tacoma TRD Pro, coming to $65,869 for my test vehicle, which doesn’t have any viable options as it bundles up just about everything that you see within the TRD Pro trim selection. Is the new Toyota Tacoma TRD Pro the ultimate get-down-and-dirty midsized truck? It could be – though, you may have to ask those who have the Ford Ranger Raptor on their mind as well.