2024 Toyota Tacoma Drags 4Runner V6 In a Snow Blizzard, a B58 Ineos Grenadier Interrupts

Not long ago, the great folks over at TFL bought a 2024 Toyota Tacoma TRD Off-Road, packing very few extras, and paid a little over $45k for it. Naturally, a lot of fans want to know what the deal is with the new generation switching to the TNGA-F platform and downsizing the engine to a 2.4-liter T24A-FTS turbo inline-four, with or without hybrid assistance.

Because the i-Force Max option is not available just yet on the market, the TFL crew now has a turbocharged four-pot with 278 horsepower and 317 lb-ft of torque (that's 430 Nm) instead of the hybrid version with 326 hp and 465 lb-ft (630 Nm) of torque. Nevertheless, they started putting it through its paces – including a surprising real-world fuel economy test and a quick stint across the Rockies for some beastly off-roading.

It didn't go alone over there as a 2024 Toyota 4Runner accompanied it, just to provide a new versus old point of view regarding its 270-hp 4.0-liter naturally aspirated 1GR-FE V6 and the fact that it has lesser torque and a jittery five-speed automatic instead of a modern eight-speed transmission. Because they still had some time left with the 4Runner, on their way back to the headquarters, they also stopped by the airstrip they use as a test track and devised a trio of drag races for the two Toyotas.

The only problem is that Colorado's weather is riddled with snow blizzards and freezing rain even late in February, and that's what they got when they arrived there. No worries, these two are not afraid of the bad weather and still decided to see who's faster, the aging but excellent and reliable 4Runner, or the new turbo kid on the Tacoma block. Well, as it turns out, the latter is unbeatable by around a car's length, even when it doesn't get the greatest of starts. Secondly, drag race number two provided a surprise – TFL also has a long-term B58-equipped Ineos Grenadier off-road SUV (think of it as a Land Rover Defender from another mother and father), and that one provided a better challenge for the Tacoma.

The Japanese automaker's brand-new mid-size pickup truck ultimately secured a second victory after recouping the initial lost distance, and the third drag race involved solely the 4Runner and Grenadier losers. Because the Toyota was clearly at a disadvantage, Tommy's father, Roman, jumped the countdown and still lost the race… proving that the time of the fifth-gen 4Runner was clearly over. No worries, a new one is coming soon, as it turns out.