An early look at the fourth-generation Tacoma pickup reveals a truck with a lot more of what its fevered fans love about the nameplate.
The new-for-2024 Toyota Tacoma is the fourth generation of the popular pickup to roll out since 1995. While originally a compact truck, since gen two, the Tacoma has been positioned as a mide
The Tacoma is built on what Toyota calls its TNGA-F global truck platform, shared with the larger Tundra pickup and the Sequoia SUV. The fourth-gen Tacoma gets a new boxed frame, with high-strength steel with blanking and laser welds for increased rigidity and more aluminum on the upper body to reduce weight.
Toyota says strengthened frame crossmembers also increase durability, with a new front cross member for the steering gear box enhancing steering input and handling dynamics. There’s also a new high lift jack point built into the rear part of the frame.
The design itself was penned at Toyota’s CALTY Design Center based in Newport Beach, California, and Ann Arbor, Michigan, and the truck shares an overall family resemblance with the Tundra and Sequoia, both of which were redone last year.
Every 2024 Tacoma gets Toyota Safety Sense 3.0 standard, which includes Pre-Collision System with Pedestrian Detection, Lane Departure Alert with Steering Assist, Full-Speed Range Dynamic Radar Cruise Control, Lane Tracing and Road Sign Assists, and automatic high beams. New to the truck is Proactive Driving Assist, which uses the cameras and radar to help maintain distance control between the vehicle ahead or cyclists.
The collection of active safety systems included in Toyota Safety Sense uses a system sensors that Toyota says have improved detection capability.
The 2024 Tacoma comes in five trim levels that Toyota calls grades. These grades include SR, SR5, TRD PreRunner, TRD Sport, TRD Off-Road, Limited, Trailhunter, and TRD Pro. The model here is the PreRunner.
The Tacoma TRD PreRunner comes standard with in XtraCab configuration and only with two-wheel drive. It sports a lifted front suspension, an electronically locking rear differential, and larger diameter BFGoodrich all-terrain tires.
The new XtraCab configuration is a two-door setup, with storage space instead of rear seating behind the front two seats. XtraCab is available on SR, SR5, and TRD PreRunner grades.
XtraCab trucks come paired with a six-foot bed and fits the rear of the cabin with additional storage options including lockable storage on the rear floor, along with a lockable storage on the back panel.
Toyota says accessing this rear storage area is made easier by a long-slide driver’s seat, and that the fold-flat passenger seat can also double as a workspace.
Rear leaf springs come standard on SR, SR5 XtraCab, and TRD PreRunner grades, with a redesigned multi-link coil rear suspension available on other grades that Toyota says improves ride and handling.
All 2024 Tacomas come with a double-wishbone front suspension,
Top-of-the-lineup Tacoma TRD Pro models come solely in Double-Cab configurations, which can be had with either a five- or six-foot bed. Styling touches include a two-tone roof and a grille emblazoned with a “Toyota” badge and sporting an integrated LED light bar.
Tacoma TRD Pros also get Rigid Industries’ LED fog lamps up front and an ARB-brand steel rear bumper with red recovery hooks.
Underneath the TRD Pro you will also find forged aluminum upper control arms, electronically activated rear locking differential, disconnecting front antiroll bar, and aluminum front skid plate.
New to the Tacoma is Toyota’s i-FORCE MAX hybrid powertrain, which can be had on TRD Sport, TRD Off-Road, and Limited models but comes standard on the TRD Pro and Trailhunter grades. The hybrid i-FORCE MAX mates the 2.4-liter engine four-cylinder with an eight-speed transmission with an integrated 48-hp electric motor fed by a 1.87-kWh NiMH battery pack. Total system output hits 326 horsepower and a 465 lb-ft of torque, making it the most powerful powertrain stuffed into a Tacoma.
That output almost doubles what is available on the current Tacoma model with its V6 engine.
TRD Pro also comes with FOX QS3 three-way adjustable internal bypass shocks with remote reservoirs and FOX Internal Floating Piston (IFP) rear bump stops to improve bottom out feel.
The 2024 Tacoma TRD Pro also sits two inches higher in the front and an inch and a half in the rear and is three inches wider than a Tacoma SR5.
Tacoma TRD Pro models (without the tow package) also sport up to 33.8-degree approach, 23.5-degree breakover, and 25.7-degree departure angles, with a running ground clearance of 11 inches.
And at the corners, the top-dog Tacoma boasts 33-inch Goodyear Territory R/T tires wrapped around 18-inch black TRD Pro wheels.
Toyota says the bed of the Tacoma sees a 7% increase in bed volume. A cool addition is that of a power-folding tailgate that can open or close at a push of a button integrated into the taillight.
The TacomaRD Pro’s standard i-FORCE MAX engine gets a TRD-specific performance air intake and TRD cat-back dual tipped exhaust, whereas the Trailhunter grade gets a high-clearance trail exhaust tip standard as well as a low-profile high-mount air intake that runs up the passenger-side A-pillar.
TRD Pro models get 2.5-inch Fox internal bypass manual modal QS3 shocks with rear piggyback style remote reservoirs as well as red “TRD” forged aluminum upper control arms. Compare that with the TRD Off-Road grade’s monotube Bilstein remote
reservoir shocks that provide extended wheel travel and greater heat dissipation, with an end stop control valve that increases the damping force as the suspension compresses.
Every Tacoma gets standard front and optional rear recovery hooks and underbody protection.
The 2024 Tacoma also has available a 10-speaker JBL audio system that includes a portable speaker that, when docked on the dash, operates as the center channel speaker. It can also function as a Bluetooth speaker .
A look at the Tacoma’s digital dash panel. A 12.3-inch digital gauge cluster with four different styles is standard on higher trims while a 7-inch gauge cluster is standard on lower grades.
Keyword: 2024 Toyota Tacoma Flexes Its Off-Road Muscle