The Toyota Tacoma is a truly legendary midsize pickup, revered in the working and overlanding worlds. And 2024 brings us a new generation Tacoma, defending its title as a best seller with plenty of options for buyers of all kinds.

We touched down in Southern California, where Toyota brought out an entire platter of Tacos for us to sample.
All fourth-gen Tacomas are built on the TNGA-F platform, shared with the full-size Tundra. Here for this midsize pickup, the frame allows for various body configurations. There’s the XtraCab, an extended cab-like two-door, two-seater with a six-foot bed…and the DoubleCab, a four-door five-seater with a five- or six-foot bed.

Although a performance-geared i-FORCE MAX powertrain will be available later, the Tacoma launches with a nonhybrid powertrain. In either case, there is a turbocharged 2.4-liter inline-four under the hood.
The base SR outputs 228 horsepower and 243 lb-ft of torque; other grades output 278 horsepower and 317 lb-ft of torque with the new eight-speed automatic. Go for the six-speed manual and you’ll get up to 270 horsepower and 310 lb-ft.

Another major update regards suspension; leaf springs are still standard on certain grades, but a new coil spring multi-link rear setup is available. Both have their pros and cons, the leafs being more rugged and the coils being smoother. For ultimate comfort, the Limited comes with a new Adaptive Variable Suspension.

ALEXANDER KELLUM: So, needless to say, the new Tacoma is still a very configurable truck. So, with the different beds, with the different cabs, and with the different powertrains.

For example, I’m in the PreRunner right now. What’s interesting about the PreRunner- so, it’s got that four-cylinder and it’s got the extra power out of it mated to an eight-speed automatic; but, instead of going with the new suspension, it still has the leaf springs in the back. On top of that, it’s two-wheel drive only. So, if you wanna try and find something that’s not quite, you know, all the way at the top, you don’t want all the, uh, all the new stuff; you can probably find a grade of the Tacoma that’ll work for you.

GREG CARLOSS: The Tacoma’s interior is equally next-gen, including an available 14-inch head unit and 12.3-inch digital gauge cluster.

Pricing has also veered into next-gen territory. Though the 2024 Tacoma does start near $33,000 for an entry-level SR, it shoots up to nearly $54-grand for the Limited.

New Tacomas are arriving at Toyota dealers now.