Pick-up trucks are naturally long-living, for starters. Since building such resistant structures is very expensive, and North-America is the only place in the world where they have massive sales, automakers tend to wait at least a full decade between performing another investment like this. Parallel to this, Japanese companies are fond of improving their products, rather than changing them: a given project tends to be given only better engines and more equipments over the years, so as to remain attractive while the maker saves the money to release a breathtaking new generation several years later. And, as if it wasn’t enough, avoiding expenditures like these helped Tacoma not only to survive the recent decadence of its category, as also to conquer those who used to buy its deceased rivals.
Therefore, it’s no wonder why Tacoma didn’t wear a whole new outfit to celebrate its latest anniversary – despite it’s the tenth one of its current generation. Toyota decided to receive the brand new Chevrolet Colorado and GMC Canyon giving its own truck only a facelift, so there wouldn’t be the risk of losing the image it earned over the past years. This is why the only all-new section is the front: the headlights became sleeker and the upper grille taller, so as to convey a more aggressive look; the lower one now connects the fog lights, and lies above a body-color frame and, in some trims, a black spoiler, which probably aids to a dynamic feeling. The rear, in turn, features new lights, now with chrome finishing, and refreshed tailgate and bumper.
You’re going to feel more impressed with the interior. Instead of looking tall, the dashboard now invests in a wider design, which seems to have been inspired by Corolla’s. However, the circular air vents and all the thick chrome inserts were combined to soft-touch materials and some NVH-reducing tweaks, according to the company: stuff like laminated windshield, new door seals and more sound-deadening material. If you want more internal news, you’ll have to choose one of its trim levels. Limited, for instance, includes 18” wheels, dual-zone climate control, keyless entry with push-button start, leather seats, power sunroof, several electronic safety controls, and a wireless device charger as optional. But if you’re more outdoorsy, there are other options to check out.
TRD Off-Road features 16” wheels, rear differential with electronic lock and limited slip, a crawl-control program that works together with the hill-start and descend systems, and a drive-mode selector that allows drivers to change brake aggressiveness, throttle response and traction control according to the terrain. TRD Sport, in turn, is a lighter package which change the last two items for 17” wheels. When it comes to engines, the base 2.7 was carried over, along with its 159 hp and 180 lb-ft. The 4.0 V6, in turn, was dropped in favor of a more modern 3.5 V6, which uses Toyota’s new port-and-direct injection. It alternates between these systems according to the speed, so as to achieve the best output in every case. The new Tacoma is expected to use manual and automatic transmissions, both with six speeds.