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A Mid-Size Titan: The Toyota Tacoma
How The 2024 Tacoma Gets Around
The Tacoma Deserves Its Popularity
Is There Any Hope For The Manual Pickup?
We're currently witnessing the death of a long-standing automotive icon: the manual transmission. Automakers all over the world are ditching them for automatic or CVT transmissions, and mainstream consumers are choosing to forego the manual at an ever-increasing rate. As it stands now, the manual may be gone sooner than we'd like to think. After all, even segments like the sports sedan only have a couple of manuals left.
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When it comes to pickup trucks, the death of the manual is felt quite hard. Just 20 years ago, almost every single pickup truck on the market was offered with a stick as standard. Now, only one pickup still offers a manual. It's the 2024 Toyota Tacoma, the last of the manual pickup truck breed. Now that the Jeep Gladiator has dropped its manual, the Tacoma carries the torch alone.
The following information pertaining to the 2024 Toyota Tacoma is sourced directly from various official Toyota press materials.
A Mid-Size Titan: The Toyota Tacoma
Three Tacoma Key Points
- Best-selling mid-size pickup truck for nearly 20 years
- Introduced in 1995
- Sold well over 200,000 units in 2023
There may not be a better truck to be the sole stick-shift option than the Tacoma. Since 1995, the Tacoma has been a popular mid-size truck in the States. Back then, the likes of the Ford Ranger and the Chevrolet S10 were dominating the small truck segment in the US, yet the Tacoma was able to break through the wall built by Detroit thanks to Toyota's steadfast dedication to building long-lasting and durable vehicles, especially important tenets in a pickup truck.
As of 2005, the Tacoma has been the best-selling mid-size truck in the US, and by a large margin, especially today. For context, the Tacoma sold roughly 237,000 units in 2023. In second place for the segment was the Chevrolet Colorado, which only managed to sell 71,000 units. While the Colorado's sales numbers are nothing to shake a stick at, the Tacoma's sheer dominance is almost hard to believe. That is, until you understand just why and how it managed to trounce everyone else.
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Today, the Tacoma offers a slew of trim levels and powertrain options in order to suit virtually any and every type of buyer. A total of eight trim levels are offered, with the base SR kicking off the range at a starting price of $31,500. At that price, it's roughly $1,200 cheaper than a base Ford Ranger XL, and just about $100 more than a base Chevrolet Colorado. In short, the Tacoma seems to be superb value for money, especially at base level. At its most expensive, the Tacoma only reaches roughly $63,000.
On top of the Tacoma's reputation for hard work done dependably, it's also well-known for its off-road prowess. The TRD Pro grade has been a staple Tacoma trim level for a couple of decades now, and offers things like standard 33-inch tires and upgraded skid plates that make for better and more worry-free off-roading. For those interested in overlanding, Toyota now offers a grade called the Trailhunter, which also offers 33-inch tires, but includes Old Man Emu suspension components.
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How The 2024 Tacoma Gets Around
2024 Toyota Tacoma Specs | ||||
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Engine | Horsepower | Torque | Max Towing Capacity | 0-60 MPH Time |
2.4-Liter i-FORCE Turbocharged Inline-Four (SR Trim Only) | 228 hp @ 6,000 rpm | 243 lb-ft @ 1,600 rpm | 6,500 lbs | 7.8 Seconds |
2.4-Liter i-FORCE Turbocharged Inline-Four | 278 hp @ 6,000 rpm | 317 lb-ft @ 1,700 rpm | 6,500 lbs | 7.0 Seconds |
2.4-Liter i-FORCE Turbocharged Inline-Four (Manual) | 270 hp @ 5,400 rpm | 310 lb-ft @ 2,800 rpm | 6,500 lbs | 7.4 Seconds |
2.4-Liter i-FORCE MAX Turbocharged Inline-Four | 326 hp @ 6,000 rpm | 465 lb-ft @ 1,700 rpm | 6,500 lbs | 6.0 Seconds |
Per our handy table above, the Tacoma offers four different iterations of the same 2.4-liter turbocharger inline-four. Toyota calls the 2.4 an i-FORCE, as it's part of their new, streamlined engine offerings. Apart from Ford's special edition mid-sized truck, the Ford Ranger Raptor, the Tacoma's i-FORCE MAX powertrain is the most powerful engine you can get in any mid-size truck. 465 lb-ft of torque in a small pickup makes for some serious throw-you-back-in-your-seat action. (The Ranger Raptor's engine only produces 430 lb-ft of torque).
Interestingly, the Tacoma's power figures differ between the base SR trim and the rest of the lineup, no doubt to encourage potential buyers to spring for a higher trim level. The Tacoma also differs in power between the automatic and manual versions of the i-FORCE. The reason for this is due to something called crankshaft hammering. Because a manual transmission is rougher on an engine due to its lack of smoothness in shifting, it can wear out the crankshaft's thrust bearing quicker than would be seen with an automatic transmission.
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Tacoma engineers saw fit to de-tune the motor by eight horsepower and seven pound-feet of torque to help save the motor from crank hammering. To compensate for the eight fewer horses, the manual transmission sports a final drive gear ratio of 4.30 as opposed to the final drive in the auto, which is rated at 3.58. It's a complicated, yet practical solution to a problem that may have never come up. That, right there, is an example of what sets Toyota apart from many other automakers; their attention to detail and dedication to making a quality product.
The hybrid models are not available with the manual transmission, so if you want the most powerful 'Taco, you'll have to opt for an eight-speed automatic.
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The Tacoma Deserves Its Popularity
We've touched on it already, but it's important to flesh out just exactly why the Tacoma has remained such a popular truck in the US, and around the world in its various iterations. As most know, Toyota's reputation for building reliable vehicles has transcended the decades, making most of their models more popular by default. But, brand reputation only takes you so far, and the latest 'Taco is suffering from some reliability problems.
For starters, the Tacoma was offered as an extremely spartan, but dependable truck when it was introduced in 1995. Back then, pickup trucks were still, largely, relegated to work duties, and few buyers had begun to buy pickup trucks for everyday driving, although the trend had begun at the time.
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Regardless, first-gen Tacomas can still be seen on the road today, having withstood the test of time very well, with many carrying loads in their beds just like when they were new. Contrarily, try spotting a Chevy S10 or a Dodge Dakota from the mid-90s. It's a rare sight.
The Tacoma was also the first mid-size pickup truck to see widespread sales as a crew cab. The Ford Ranger wasn't offered as a crew cab until its most recent iteration was introduced just a few years ago. The Chevy S10 and its sibling, the GMC Sonoma, were offered as crew cabs, but these sold poorly, and looked pretty weird in our opinion. So, Toyota allowed families to buy a pickup truck which could get decent fuel mileage and seat five people comfortably. Nissan's Frontier pickup also offered a crew cab in the early-mid-2000s, but, like the GM options, it sold relatively poorly.
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Is There Any Hope For The Manual Pickup?
Sadly, things don't look good. The manual transmission has been largely erased from the North American pickup truck. The Tacoma is the last mid-size truck to offer one, and the last full-size truck to offer a manual was the Ram 2500, which was discontinued following the 2018 model year. The silver lining is you can still find something like a Ram 2500 for sale used, albeit about six years old. But, if you don't mind a used truck, it's a good option if you need yourself a stick, full-size truck.
We've seen the manual disappear from iconic nameplates like the Volkswagen Golf GTI. It seems, those of us who prefer our coal stirred, will need to find another way to keep ourselves occupied while driving.
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