2024 Toyota Tacoma Has Eight Trims, Returning TRD PreRunner Battles TRD Pro & Trailhunter

All those are going to be hard to remember, especially since the outgoing 2023 Tacoma – which starts at $28,250 – also has a lot of trims: TRD Pro, Trail Special Edition, Limited, TRD Off-Road, TRD Sport, SR5, and SR. Alas, dubbed "the ultimate adventure machine," the new iteration seeks to keep the momentum and its best-selling crown with a new generation "designed, engineered, and assembled for North America." Lots of novelties are on point for the scheduled release later this year – while i-Force Max models will arrive early next year.

Among the highlights, we could name the standard Toyota Safety Sense 3.0 suite, which includes seven features and systems, the new and "segment-first" IsoDynamic Performance Seat for the TRD Pro grade, the fresh yet minimalist arrangement of the cabin that puts front and center the latest Toyota Audio Multimedia system with up to 14-inch touchscreen display, or the first-ever Trailhunter variant that's brimming with integrated off-road equipment from ARB, Old Man Emu, Rigid, and more.

As for the powertrains, some will be disappointed that the bigger Tundra and Sequoia only donated the i-Force Max name and not also the 3.4-liter twin-turbo V6 with 437 hp. Even more folks will lament that Ford's 2024 Ranger Raptor has no less than 405 hp from a non-hybrid EcoBoost V6 while Toyota only opposes a 326 hp hybrid powertrain to the competition. As for the base mill, it is the same 2.4-liter four-pot but with a shorter i-Force moniker and no electrification. Still, it delivers 278 horsepower, which is not shabby at all.

Anyway, let us focus on the trims for a bit. Toyota has significant novelties regarding the body and model configurations after adding the new XtraCab long bed configuration "for enhanced interior functionality and cargo capacity." The extended bed option is the one you want if maximum towing capacity is essential – the rating is 6,500 lbs. (2,948 kg) for the SR5 i-Force and TRD PreRunner XtraCab grades. Meanwhile, the maximum payload capacity has surged to 1,709 lbs. (775 kg) on TRD Off-Road.

According to the Japanese automaker, there will be a Tacoma "for everyone" with two cab options – the traditional Double Cab with four doors and the new two-door XtraCab, which probably replaces the current Access Cab model. They are available with either a 5- or 6-foot bed (152.4 or 182.88 cm), but the new XtraCab is exclusively offered with just two seats - instead of four on Access Cab - a functional rear cabin storage area, and the six ft. bed size. It is also combined with just three grades - SR, SR5, and the returning TRD PreRunner (solely with two-wheel drive).

Meanwhile, TRD Pro and Trailhunter sit at the top of the pack. The latter is a new addition to the pack of rugged Toyotas and will also appear on other nameplates. It is a "factory-developed overlander," with ARB and Toyota co-developed "Old Man Emu (OME) position sensitive 2.5-inch forged monotube shocks with rear external piggyback style remote reservoirs, a steel rear bumper, robust rear recovery points, and a bed utility bar with removable Molle panels."

Meanwhile, in the five or six-foot bed, the ARB bed rack supports additional gear, and the Trailhunter sits higher from the ground – 2 inches at the front and 1.5 in the rear via the OME shocks and 33-inch Goodyear Territory R/T tires. Visually, there are cool features like the "high-clearance trail exhaust tip," the "low-profile high-mount" Trailhunter air intake, plus "rock rails and a multitude of hot-stamped high-strength steel skid plates for serious off-the-grid-adventure capabilities." So, which trim is your new favorite? I fyou want our two cents on the matter, the Trailhunter with i-Force Max already sounds sweet!