The 2023 Toyota Tacoma may be the best-selling midsize truck in America, but it’s woefully behind the times regarding efficiency, technology, and interior comfort. The last time Toyota redesigned the Tacoma was in 2016, and since then, all of its competitors have seen complete redesigns with upgraded interiors, the latest tech, and more.
That’s changing with the all-new 2024 Toyota Tacoma. In addition to fresh but familiar Tundra-influenced styling, the redesigned 2024 Tacoma comes with a standard four-cylinder gas engine or an available hybrid drivetrain. Toyota also adds a new 2024 Tacoma Trailhunter trim with overlanding goodies from some of the biggest names in the business.
Toyota offers the new Tacoma in a staggering number of configurations. You can choose an extended cab (XtraCab) or crew cab (Double Cab) and between two different bed sizes. The trim level menu includes SR, SR5, TRD PreRunner, TRD Sport, TRD Off-Road, Limited, TRD Pro, and Trailhunter.
In addition, a turbocharged 2.4-liter four-cylinder is now standard, offering a significant power boost over the old 2.7-liter normally-aspirated four-cylinder. An optional hybrid powertrain makes almost 50 more horsepower than the previous V6 engine.
The new 2024 Toyota Tacoma represents a significant advancement for this model, and if it didn’t deserve its best-seller status before, it certainly will now.
With the new 2024 Tacoma, Toyota wanted to stick close to the design elements that have long defined the model. So, as a result, the new truck is evolutionary instead of revolutionary. Still, it’s easy to spot influences from the larger Toyota Tundra, with which the new Tacoma shares its platform.
As with previous Tacomas, Toyota dresses the new one with trim-specific details. From grille and wheel designs to decals and underbody skid plates, each 2024 Tacoma looks the part. For example, you can spot the new Trailhunter trim by its bronze badging, exclusive grille design, and 20-inch LED light bar. In addition, Toyota offers a range of accessories to customize the truck, and Trailhunter owners will festoon their Tacomas with them.
Toyota reports a seven-percent increase in cargo bed volume, accessible using the new aluminum tailgate with available power opening and closing. A bed-mounted 400-watt AC inverter is available with the standard engine, while all Tacoma hybrids include a 2,400-watt AC inverter. In addition, Trailhunters feature an integrated high-output air compressor for airing up the tires when coming off the trail.
You’ll notice that some Tacoma trim levels include a massive black air dam underneath the front bumper, undoubtedly placed there to help the truck earn maximum EPA fuel economy numbers. Owners will likely remove it, throw it into the garage, and forget all about it. It looks awful.
With no more than a glance at the 2024 Tacoma interior photo above, you can tell it represents a massive step forward in quality, design, and technology compared to the previous generation model. Yes, it still has a distinctly industrial flavor, but with a modern instead of an archaic flavor.
In addition, Toyota offers striking interior color schemes, including blue dashboard accents and bright red upholstery for the TRD Pro trim and bronze contrast stitching in the Tacoma Trailhunter. Shown above is the comparatively dour Tacoma Limited interior.
The new Tacoma continues to offer a physical gearshift lever instead of buttons or a knob, and it supplies grab handles for passengers to use to brace themselves during off-road driving. The Tacoma TRD Pro models also get new IsoDynamic performance seats that provide better occupant support and stabilization while off-roading.
Toyota offered the previous-generation Tacoma with naturally aspirated four- and six-cylinder engines. With the new Tacoma, Toyota takes a much different approach.
The standard engine in the base 2024 Tacoma SR is a turbocharged 2.4-liter four-cylinder engine making 228 horsepower and 243 pound-feet of torque. In all other versions of the truck, the turbo four delivers 278 hp and 317 lb.-ft. of torque.
If that’s not enough power, the Tacoma’s available i-Force Max hybrid powertrain might be in order. Toyota pairs a turbocharged 2.4-liter four-cylinder engine with an electric assist motor to generate 326 hp and 465 lb.-ft. of torque. That’s almost double the torque of the outgoing V6 engine, and Toyota says the new hybrid system lets the Tacoma ascend an eight-percent highway grade without downshifting.
An eight-speed automatic transmission comes standard, but Toyota is bringing back the six-speed manual gearbox as an option. The manual transmission includes automatic rev matching, an anti-stall function, and a clutch-start cancel function, but it reduces the turbo four’s output to 270 hp and 310 lb.-ft. of torque.
The truck is rear-wheel drive by default, with four-wheel drive an available upgrade. Both drivetrains include an automatic limited-slip differential, while the TRD models and Trailhunter add an electronic-locking rear differential. Choose the Tacoma Limited, and you’ll enjoy a full-time four-wheel-drive system with a locking center differential.
Two off-roading technologies add to the new Tacoma’s talent in the dirt. The first is Multi-Terrain Select with Mud, Dirt, and Sand driving modes. It helps to control wheelspin on these surfaces and operates in 4-Hi and 4-Lo transfer case settings. The second is Crawl Control, a low-speed off-road cruise control that maintains a single-digit speed while the driver focuses on picking a safe path down a trail. Downhill Assist Control is also available.
Toyota adds four-wheel-disc brakes to all 2024 Tacomas while equipping TRD and hybrid versions of the truck with upgraded braking components. In addition, the new Tacoma has an electric parking brake, and electric power steering replaces the previous hydraulic system.
Tacoma XtraCab models continue with a rear leaf spring suspension design, but the Tacoma Double Cabs boast a new coil-sprung multi-link rear suspension. In addition, with Limited trim, the truck has standard adaptive damping for a smoother ride.
Depending on the trim level, Toyota also bolts in specific suspension components. For example, the Tacoma TRD Pro gets Fox internal bypass 2.5-inch manually adjustable shocks with three available settings, while the Trailhunter gets ARB co-developed Old Man Emu position-sensitive 2.5-inch forged monotubes with rear external remote reservoirs.
Compared to a Tacoma SR5, the Tacoma TRD Pro stands two inches taller in front, 1.5 inches taller in back, and is three inches wider. It supplies 11 inches of ground clearance, and the approach, breakover, and departure angles measure 33.8 degrees, 23.5 degrees, and 25.7 degrees, respectively. In addition, an available front stabilizer bar disconnect system improves the Tacoma’s wheel articulation by ten percent, according to Toyota.
Toyota says it reinforced the new Tacoma’s frame to improve payload capacity and give the truck greater ability to carry overlanding equipment. That enables the Tacoma TRD Off-Road to carry up to 1,709 pounds of payload in a bed that is seven-percent larger in volume, making the Tacoma more competitive with direct rivals. When properly equipped, the 2024 Tacoma can tow 6,500 pounds.
Every version of the 2024 Tacoma has Toyota Safety Sense 3.0 (TSS 3.0), a collection of standard advanced driving assistance systems (ADAS). Most of them are new to the Tacoma, which means this midsize pickup gets a significant improvement in collision warning and avoidance technology.
The improved radar and sensors accompanying TSS 3.0 allow for enhanced pedestrian, cyclist, and motorcyclist detection. In addition, the Tacoma’s adaptive cruise control and lane-keeping assistance technologies are more capable and refined than before, and the truck has a lane-centering assistance system for the first time. Unfortunately, blind-spot warning and rear cross-traffic warning are not standard, but you can get them by upgrading to a higher trim level.
The 2024 Tacoma also offers intersection safety features, a new automatic emergency stop assistance system, and Proactive Driving Assist. That latter technology uses camera and radar systems to proactively brake the Tacoma when entering curves while maintaining a safe distance between the truck and other vehicles, pedestrians, or bicyclists.
In addition to new safety tech, the 2024 Tacoma gets the latest Toyota Audio Multimedia infotainment systems.
The standard setup equips the Tacoma with an eight-inch touchscreen display. However, Toyota offers a massive 14-inch touchscreen with enhanced features and capabilities. Highlights include wireless Apple CarPlay and wireless Android Auto, several connected services plans with varying complimentary trial subscription periods, available wireless smartphone charging, and a ten-speaker JBL stereo with a removable portable speaker that docks in the dash.
In addition, the new Tacoma offers an available 12.3-inch digital gauge cluster, a digital key function that lets you use your smartphone to enter and start the truck, and a camera-based digital rearview mirror for improved visibility. Toyota also offers several camera-based technologies to assist with trailer towing and off-roading.
The 2024 model year is shaping up to be an epic one for midsize truck lovers.
The redesigned 2024 Tacoma will face Ford’s brand-new 2024 Ranger, including the Ranger Raptor, which offers a twin-turbo V6 with 405 horsepower. In addition, the Chevrolet Colorado and GMC Canyon were all-new late arrivals for 2023, and both offer beefy off-road configurations in the form of the Colorado ZR2 and Canyon AT4X.
In addition to all these new entries, the segment includes the Honda Ridgeline, Jeep Gladiator, and Nissan Frontier.
Toyota is the source of information in this article. It was accurate as of May 15, 2023, but it may have changed since that date. Always confirm product details and availability with the automaker’s website or your local dealership.
Chris Teague is an experienced writer in the automotive and technology fields. In addition to JDPower.com, his work appears at Forbes, The Drive, Your Test Driver, and others.
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