Toyota Tacoma: the American pickup that replaced the Hilux

The Toyota Tacoma is a pickup truck built since 1995 for the United States, Canada, Mexico and a few other markets, while most of the world receives the Hilux instead. The first generation was a compact pickup and later models are mid-size, and the Tacoma was Motor Trend’s Truck of the Year for 2005.

Toyota Tacoma at a glance

Based on one source: the English Wikipedia article on the Toyota Tacoma, which covers the first generation in most detail.

History of the Toyota Tacoma

Origins

The Tacoma was introduced in the United States in February 1995, with sales from March, as the replacement for the Toyota Truck, the name the Hilux had used in North America since 1984. Compared with the Hilux, the Tacoma was engineered with more priority on ride quality, handling, comfort and safety than on ruggedness and payload, because American pickups are often used as personal vehicles rather than for commercial or agricultural work. Development began in 1989 after the fifth-generation Toyota Truck launched in late 1988, and design work at Calty in California ran from 1990 to 1992, with Kevin Hunter’s exterior proposal chosen in autumn 1991 and frozen for production in 1992. Patents were filed in Japan in April 1993 and in the United States on 28 October 1993.

Technical

The first-generation Tacoma offered three engines. Two-wheel-drive models without the PreRunner package had five-stud wheels and the 2.4- or 3.4-litre engine, while four-wheel-drive and PreRunner versions had six studs and the 2.7- or 3.4-litre unit. The 3.4-litre V6, shared with the T100, was optional on two-wheel-drive Xtracabs and on four-wheel-drive regular and Xtracab models, and the SR5 was available on the four-wheel-drive Xtracab V6. From 1997 the regular cab lost the V6 option. A five-speed manual was standard and a four-speed automatic optional, except on the four-wheel-drive V6 regular cab, while the PreRunner and Double Cab came only with the automatic in this generation. A Toyota Racing Development supercharger lifted the 3.4-litre V6 to 254 hp and 366 N·m, or 262 hp and 378 N·m with an extra injector kit, and kits were also offered for the four-cylinders. The first-generation frame was fully boxed until just after the rear leaf-spring mounts, where it became C-shaped.

Updates and variants

The TRD Off-Road package arrived in 1998 with a locking rear differential, available on PreRunner and four-wheel-drive V6 models, and ABS became standard across the range for 2003. A minor update in October 1996 switched two-wheel-drive models from recessed sealed-beam headlamps to a flush design, and cosmetic facelifts followed in July 1997 and October 2000, with new grilles for 1998 and 2001, revised tailgate badging and, for 2000, an optional StepSide bed. The PreRunner, introduced for 1998, was a two-wheel-drive truck with the taller suspension, six-stud wheels and 2.7-litre base engine of the four-wheel-drive model. A four-door Double Cab joined the range in October 2000 for the 2001 model year. The Tacoma has since grown into a mid-size truck and remains a strong seller in North America.

Design and features

• Comfort first: tuned for ride and safety rather than the Hilux’s payload focus.
• TRD Off-Road: a locking rear differential from 1998.
• PreRunner: two-wheel drive with the tall suspension and six-stud wheels of a 4×4.
• Boxed frame: a fully boxed front section for stiffness.

Toyota Tacoma versions

• Regular cab (1995): 2.4-litre four or 3.4-litre V6.
• Xtracab: extended cab with the same bed as the regular cab.
• SR5: the top trim on the four-wheel-drive Xtracab V6.
• PreRunner (1998): two-wheel drive with off-road hardware.
• Double Cab (2001): four-door crew cab.

The Tacoma replaced the Hilux in North America and shares its market with the larger T100 and Tundra. More cars are in the Toyota collection.

Sources

• Toyota Tacoma, English Wikipedia: development, engines, variants