Brings The Ruckus
Toyota’s Tacoma, in the TRD Pro off-road package style. If what Toyota says is true, this combination…could be dangerously effective.
For quite some time, the midsize truck market was dominated by the Japanese. Particularly, this number, the Tacoma. There have been other options from both past and present; Dodge’s Dakota, Chevrolet’s Colorado, The Ford Ranger and now Maverick. Even Hyundai threw their hat in the ring. But North Americans love their big pickups and it almost made little sense to devote resources to these smaller trucks while people were more than happy to throw their cash at the bigger siblings.
But times change, bigger trucks get even bigger, climate crises and fuel costs abound, and suddenly there’s a mini-resurgence of demand for compact utility. Sedans and coupes have nearly gone extinct in favour of crossovers for their perceived practicality. The Silverados and Rams of our time suddenly start to seem a little prehistoric and manufacturers have begun looking at smaller pickups once more. With an inevitable influx of newcomers, how does this seasoned veteran hold up?
Like it’s SUV counterpart, the Tacoma’s charm and resolve comes from its relative simplicity. Luxuries are a minimum here. You’ll even have a turn-key ignition rather than a button, and in this example, a manual transmission. While it is spartan on creature comforts, the Tacoma is more about function than form – though it’s a looker from the outside. Its all-business interior is cut and dry, but still decently equipped, with creature comforts like Bluetooth, adaptive cruise control, lane departure warnings and even a wireless phone charger. But the beauty of such a simplistic interior – is that it’s simple to use. Nearly every control is refreshingly tactile, from the RWD/4WD dial to climate control. The centre touchscreen is clean and simply laid out – though visually, not the nicest looking menu design we’ve seen.
The exterior, with its chunky fenders, raised height, metal skidplate, bright red TRD logos and wide sidewalls looks ready to conquer all manner of terrain. But before it goes off road, it needs to be able to actually drive there first. On regular roads, the intended nature of the Tacoma TRD Pro becomes apparent. Its trick suspension feels soft and bouncy – which makes for a decent ride on shorter trips, but starts to become borderline unsettling on longer journeys – like that internal swaying feel you may get if you spend an extended period of time on the water.
It’s a cool feeling shifting your own gears in a well-equipped truck, but the Tacoma’s 3.5L V6 wasn’t made for power or excitement – or fuel economy. Toyota says it can get figures as good as 11.7 L/100km, but in our week of testing, try closer to 17. We would have also liked some kind of side step, as shorter or older drivers will have some distance between themselves and the ground.
Many who buy this truck will buy it only for the image it presents. But there will thankfully be some who take better advantage of what it has to offer when taking the beaten path. We took it to the most grueling test of off-road capability we could find locally -a wet, muddy mildly challenging incline. If you’re not really sure what you are doing off road, this is where the automatic may suit you better – as the auto features Toyota’s Crawl Control and Multi-Terrain tech. You can certainly make the climb with the manual, but it requires more knowledge on differential setup, finding the right RPM, gear, and maintaining control. Fun and rewarding if you can do it, frustrating if you can’t. But conquer that mild incline and you’ll get a taste of how capable this truck can be. If you own one, or plan to, please take it on a gravel road at the very least. It’ll feel right at home and make the bouncy ride on the way there completely worth it.
Every apparent shortcoming one might see in the Tacoma is ultimately part of its charm. There’s a reason its resale value remains as strong as its reliability. Its simplicity is synonymous with its strength. Tacomas start at just over $40,000, but our manual-equipped TRD Pro will set you back close to $55,730 before fees and other options. Just know that if you sell it, 7 years and 200,000+ kms later, chances are, you’ll get back more of that than you may think.
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