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Toyota
The new fourth-generation Toyota Tacoma may be the most eagerly anticipated new truck arriving in the next few years. A lot of people love the Tacoma — sales have always been strong, and the midsize truck is more popular now than ever. Tacoma build quality is formidable, and resale values have remained absurd.
But nearly everyone who loves the Tacoma wants something more from it, whether that's better performance to challenge rivals like the Colorado ZR2 and Jeep Gladiator Rubicon, a more spacious and family-friendly cabin or better fuel economy with a hybrid or even electric powertrain. Toyota, then, is under an awful lot of pressure to make sure the next-gen Tacoma has more of what buyers want — without compromising on the things that made the Taco so great today.
Here's what we know right now about what the fourth-generation Tacoma will look like.
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When will the new Toyota Tacoma arrive?
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What platform will the 2024 Tacoma use?
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Here's our best look so far at the 2024 Toyota Tacoma
The folks at TFLNow caught what appears to be the next-generation Tacoma testing in Colorado. The Texas plate — where Toyota is headquartered — and the heavy camouflage support that presumption.
Toyota seems particularly concerned with masking the rear of the truck, which suggests that the Tacoma will follow the Tundra's lead with a coil-sprung rear suspension — dramatically improving handling and ride quality.
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Will the 2024 Toyota Tacoma get a hybrid engine?
The Tacoma is likely going four-cylinder. Toyota downsized the big trucks from V8 to turbocharged six-cylinder engines. The smaller trucks should follow suit, moving from six cylinders to turbocharged four-cylinder engines.
One Toyota insiderthinks the Tacoma will get the new 2.4-liter inline-four engine from the Lexus NX, which puts out 275 hp and 317 lb-ft of torque (substantially more than the Tacoma's current V6). This engine will likely outperform the previous model's 3.5-liter V6 in just about every metric — most notably fuel economy.
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Will Toyota build an electric Tacoma?
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Will the Toyota Tacoma keep its manual transmission?
Unclear...but we suspect the next Tacoma will lose the manual. Toyota has been phasing out manual transmissions from its product lineup, and the Tacoma is one of only two pickup trucks (along with the Jeep Gladiator) that still offers a stick shift on the TRD trims and the take rate for it is low. Getting rid of the manual to save costs would be tempting, especially if the Tacoma adds an electric or hybrid option.
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Will the Toyota Tacoma get a new transmission?
Almost undoubtedly. The major knock on the current generation Tacoma is the dated six-speed automatic; the Tacoma's midsize competitors all feature an eight-, nine- or 10-speed automatic transmission. Moving to one would offer benefits Toyota will be looking for in performance and fuel economy. It would be shocking if Toyota didn't upgrade from the current six-speed automatic.
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What will the new Toyota Tacoma look like?
The new Toyota Tacoma is expected to draw design inspiration from the new Tundra. It could look a lot like the Pickup EV concept seen here — just swap in the faux grille for a real one — which has some Tundra-like features.
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Will the new Tacoma get a better interior?
As the Magic 8-Ball says, all signs point to yes. The 2022 Tundra (pictured here) saw its interior receive a mighty upgrade from the aging past model, complete with new tech, more (and larger) screens and a much fresher design. While the Tacoma won't be as large or as expensive, we fully expect it to receive many of the same sort of updates as Toyota's new full-size truck.
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