2024 Toyota Tacoma Review: All-Round Improvement Leaves TRD The Star

The 2024 Toyota Tacoma has big shoes to fill, though arguably not in the way you might expect. Toyota's best-selling midsize truck has been a perennial favorite among drivers looking for genuine off-road ability, dependable build, and bountiful potential for modification. That loyal audience, though, has proved to be a blessing and a curse: all vehicles need to change and evolve, but get the Tacoma recipe wrong and that's a big group of people to potentially upset.

As a result, you'd be forgiven for feeling like the third-generation Tacoma had passed through "modern classic" and edged into "uncomfortably archaic" territory. In the face of renewed competition from midsize pickup rivals like Ford's Ranger, Chevrolet's Colorado, and Jeep's Gladiator, its aging platform, not to mention a lackluster and downright old-school cabin was well overdue an update.

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That's where the 2024 Tacoma comes in. Now in its fourth generation, Toyota's truck aims to spread its talents across an even broader range: from the almost-budget entry-level workhorse SR, through the hitherto-unseen luxury of the flagship Limited trim. In between those extremes is this 2024 Tacoma TRD Off-Road, making a strong argument that it's the best of all worlds.

Instantly recognizable as a Tacoma, the 2024 truck has followed the rest of the industry in getting bigger, burlier, and generally more intimidating. The Coke bottle silhouette — a wide front, pinched waist, and bulging rear fenders — is even further emphasized, with Toyota loading up on either black or body-colored cladding on its more rough'n'tumble trims, or splashier chrome on the high-end versions.

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While Toyota offers an XtraCab configuration of the new Tacoma, it's only available on select trims. This TRD Off-Road version, in contrast, can only be had in Double Cab form, though there's still a choice of a 5-foot or — for $500 more — a 6-foot bed. Toyota offers an optional bed camera now, along with power open/close with release buttons integrated into the taillights on both sides. You can also get a 400W AC inverter with bed and cabin outlets, plus USB ports in the cabin and bed.

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This TRD Off-Road gets 17-inch machined alloys with all-terrain rubber, chunky contrast wheel arch and bumper trim, and LED fog lights to go with the LED headlamps with daytime running lights. The Solar Octane paint — a $425 option — won't be to everyone's taste, but Toyota gets credit for at least stepping outside of the usual palette of white, gray, black, and (if you're lucky) blue.

Pricing for the 2024 Tacoma kicks off at $31,500 (plus $1,495 destination) for the SR; there's no sub-$30k option with this fourth-generation. The Tacoma TRD Off-Road now starts at $41,800 — $5k more than the old truck — while the Limited lands at a heady $52,100.

While nobody loves a price bump (though they're hardly rare in generation-to-generation updates, so Toyota is far from alone here), you're getting a much more modern truck in return. It's worth keeping an eye on the options, mind.

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Take, for example, the TRD Off-Road Premium Package on this particular truck. Adding $8,800 to the sticker price, it's certainly not inexpensive, but it includes a lot of the interior and exterior goodies that make the new Tacoma so appealing.

A bigger infotainment touchscreen, nicer front seats with ventilation and heating, surround cameras, audio upgrade, a moonroof, wireless charging, dual-zone climate control, parking sensors front and rear plus a digital rearview mirror, trailer brake controller, and a power tailgate and rear window are all bundled into that one option. Without it, the Tacoma feels a little less special.

Currently, there's just one engine option for the 2024 Tacoma, a 2.4-liter turbocharged four-cylinder. This i-FORCE branded engine comes with a choice of an 8-speed automatic transmission or — to keep the purists happy — a 6-speed manual. Either way, there's four-wheel drive as standard on the TRD Off-Road, though other trims offer two-wheel drive only.

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Still to come is a far more interesting engine, the i-FORCE MAX: Toyota's four-cylinder turbocharged hybrid. For the Tacoma, that'll be tuned for 326 horsepower and 465 lb-ft of torque, a healthy uptick from the regular i-FORCE. Toyota will only offer it with 4x4 Double Cab configurations, though, and while hybrids are typically associated with economy gains, our experience with (larger) versions of the i-FORCE MAX tech suggests that's less the case compared to a more potent driving experience.

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The non-hybrid is no slouch, either. With 278 horsepower and 317 lb-ft of torque, it strikes a decent balance between pep and practicality: the fact that all that torque arrives at just 1,700 rpm doesn't hurt. It's definitely more refined than the outgoing Tacoma, but the key to the improvements is the switch in the rear suspension.

Farewell leaf springs — well, unless you're in an SR, SR5, or TRD PreRunner, all of which stick with the old tech — and hello multi-link rear suspension. It is, frankly, long overdue, and helps elevate the Tacoma from the fairly agricultural feel of the old truck. On-road manners are far, far improved, with none of the lurching over twists or bumping over low-quality roads that the outgoing Tacoma suffered.

In the corners, meanwhile, there's the sense that you can actually use more of the i-FORCE's power. That's thanks to a general uptick in stability, and while it won't leave you mistaking the Tacoma for a Ranger Raptor, it does make for a far more relaxing experience at the wheel.

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The 4x4 TRD Off-Road is rated for 6,400 pounds of towing (more than the Ranger Raptor, incidentally, though less than the 7,500 pounds that Ford's 2.3-liter EcoBoost in the regular Ranger is rated for), and while the official EPA figures aren't finalized, Toyota is estimating 19 mpg in the city, 22 mpg on the highway, and 20 mpg combined. That seems a little over-ambitious based on my experience, which clocked in at just over 17 mpg.

Arguably the biggest improvement beyond the new Tacoma's improved on-road refinement is the cabin. Or, more specifically, its technology and how user-friendly it is. Where the old truck was definitely showing its age on the inside, with lackluster materials and a decidedly old-school infotainment system, this new model borrows many of the advances we've seen on other recent Toyota models.

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That includes the offer of a genuinely huge touchscreen for the new infotainment system, which at 14 inches might even be too big. It's available for $845, or as part of several options packages, replacing the comparatively dinky 8-inch standard screen. Either way, Toyota's latest software is easy to use and comprehensive, with wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto support, along with a solid voice control system. Despite its scale, though, Toyota doesn't stint on physical controls for things like the HVAC system.

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You're not expected to go hunting through the menus to control the drivetrain, either. A rotary controller in the center console flips between drive modes, as well as offering quick access to the Multi-Terrain Select system, Tow/Haul mode, and the DAC/Crawl mode which is effectively low-speed cruise control for off-road conditions. Above that, a simple toggle switch moves between 4L, 4H, and 2H settings.

It's all easy to use — even if the fake screw detailing on the control knob itself feels a little gimmicky — while dedicated buttons for the Tacoma's cameras, trailer reverse, electronically controlled locking rear differential, and sway bar disconnect are welcome whether you're in the wilderness or trying to navigate a tight parking lot. Over to the left of the steering wheel, meanwhile, there's a row of three auxiliary buttons, prewired for accessories (that's part of the TRD Off-Road Premium Package, too).

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That's part of Toyota's recognition that Tacoma owners really do tend to go out and use their trucks, and make the necessary modifications to suit that. There's a healthy catalog of official accessories — including GoPro mounts that can clamp to various parts of the bed — though perhaps the most entertaining is the pop-out JBL Bluetooth speaker. That — a $225 add-on, plus installation, if you don't get it as part of a package — docks into the upper dashboard, charging its 10-hour battery there, ready to be whipped out and have its IPX7 waterproofing tested at a campsite or the beach.

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Considering the TRD Off-Road puts — as the name suggests — playtime off the asphalt to the fore, it's still reasonably plush, for a Tacoma. Those wanting more on-road manners (and the equipment to match) will want to look to the Limited trim, which swaps the cloth seats for SofTex faux leather, and includes front seat ventilation as standard.

Though slick, you can't escape the sense that the 2024 Tacoma Limited pushes the pickup a little too far from its home turf. While the more road-focused Tacoma trims benefit from the fourth-gen's undeniable improvement in refinement and general manners, models like the TRD Off-Road display the new platform's most obvious advantages on asphalt and beyond it. Being confident in your ability to roam the wilds, without the side-effect of a loud, uncomfortable experience when back on the highway, is enough to make this new truck instantly competitive again.

Do you pay considerably more for that duality? Certainly, though being judicious with the options and extras — and realistic about what you'll actually do with your new Tacoma — should help some. Yet the truth of it is that spending more on what's now a less aggravating daily driver doesn't feel quite so ridiculous as it once did.

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Overall the new Tacoma fits neatly with the larger theme that, as pickups go, the interesting moves are in the smaller segments. Models like the Maverick and Santa Cruz, reimagining what usable practicality means for a different generation of owners, and then midsize options like this Toyota raise the legitimate question as to whether you really do need a full-size Tundra, F-150, or Silverado. Budget accordingly, but at least with the 2024 Tacoma you needn't feel like you're paying new-truck money for old-truck tech.