Since the end of March, people who appreciate the North American pickup sector have been swinging back and forth between dreams of full-size EV glory through Ram 1500 REV domination and visions of mid-size electrified greatness via the next iteration of the best-selling Toyota Tacoma.
It seems that the American pickup truck wars are heating up. On one side, there is the eternal full-size struggle, which has now redressed itself according to the percepts of the EV revolution to pit the Rivian R1T, GMC Hummer EV, and Ford F-150 Lightning heroes, that are already on the market, against the upcoming Chevy Silverado EV, GMC Sierra EV, Ram 1500 REV, and Tesla Cybertruck contenders.
The resurging compact pickup truck sector has just a couple of unibody athletes, the posher Hyundai Santa Cruz and the (still) more affordable and electrified Ford Maverick. However, it seems the quarrels have already settled in the latter's favor. As such, Toyota, which is allegedly considering a Stout return to the sector, needs to keep asserting its domination over the mid-size middle grounds by way of great things to come from the 2024 Tacoma. And, at least for now, they are bombing everyone with many next-generation hints, including of electrified i-Force Max hybrid greatness.
Indeed, the Japanese automaker has kicked off the teaser marketing campaign for the best-selling pickup truck, and we already have a lot of information to ruminate about. The first teaser showed a dark silhouette, but it was clear that the 2024 Tacoma is like a mini-Tundra. And, just like its larger sibling, it will also have access to the i-Force Max powertrain for the TRD Pro grade, although it's anyone's guess if it will feature the same 437-horsepower setup or a lower tier as in the 362-hp Grand Highlander.
Anyway, that was not all, because the company has also revealed it will add a new adventurer into the family, the ruggedized and accessorized 2024 Tacoma Trailhunter. Everyone saw the series coming, but getting official confirmation before the upcoming launch is still lovely, indeed. But what about the folks who are too impatient to go through Toyota's teaser ordeal? For them, the imaginative realm of digital car content creators has a solution, of course. Or two, and maybe even three.
So, based on the available teaser images, a bundle of YouTube channels have asked their resident pixel masters to produce some novel CGI interpretations of the fourth-generation mid-size pickup truck. At first, we only saw itsy bitsy digital pieces of the Trailhunter vehicle courtesy of the AutoYa info channel, but now there are additional unofficial visions from the Halo oto and GFcar channels on YT as well. And while even those do not reveal everything, at least we have a clearer rear three-quarters POV and starting point for colorful speculation, right?
Aurel has aimed high all his life (literally, at 16 he was flying gliders all by himself) so in 2006 he switched careers and got hired as a writer at his favorite magazine. Since then, his work has been published both by print and online outlets, most recently right here, on autoevolution. Full profile
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