New Toyota Tacoma Hybrid
Is the new Toyota Tacoma hybrid, the best new truck to buy? That’s what we’re going to find out. Although the idea of a hybrid truck may sound a little bit unconventional for a lot of truck buyers,
there are many reasons why this all new Tacoma hybrid might just be one of the best new trucks that you can buy. And I’m also gonna share five reasons why it might not be.
Performance :
But let’s start off with the good starting with the first reason that makes this an incredible truck and that is the really impressive hybrid performance.
So the regular Tacoma now uses a Turbocharged 2.4 liter four cylinder engine, which replaces the proven V six engine from the old Tacoma.
This engine produces up to 278 horsepower and 317 pound feet of torque, which is pretty impressive in itself.
But the hybrid takes things to a completely different level.
It basically augments that exact same turbo engine with a powerful electric motor that comes sandwiched in between the engine and the eight speed automatic transmission.
And of course you also have a hybrid battery pack which sits underneath the backseat.
And the result of having the boost of that electric motor is 326 horsepower and 465 pound feet of torque, which makes it the most powerful mid-size truck in terms of torque that you can buy, including more torque than the Colorado zero two bison and even the Ford Ranger Raptor with its twin Turbo V six.
And you can seriously feel all that extra hybrid boost that you get from this system.
This is a properly quick truck with more than enough power, and at the same time it has a relatively refined hybrid system.
You don’t really notice the gas engine turning on and off and going into hybrid mode as you drive, which is to be expected from a Toyota, given that they’ve been making hybrids longer than anybody else.
So in terms of performance and refinement, this is a pretty impressive truck, but it’s important to keep in mind that even though it is a hybrid, it’s not exactly going to deliver the kind of fuel economy that you might expect.
At the end of the day, this is still a big heavy body on frame truck with a proper four wheel drive system that’s built for towing and built for off-roading.
So don’t expect it to have the same kind of fuel economy as one of Toyota’s crossover hybrids because that’s not going to happen.
This hybrid system is rated to achieve up to around 20 to 25 miles per gallon or 10 to 12 liters per 100 kilometers, which of course is not exactly the best, but is still really respectable given how much performance you have.
And that blend that you get between performance and somewhat reasonable efficiency is a combination that you cannot get with any other comparable truck.
But of course the complexity of having a hybrid system like this combined with the turbo engine brings into question the reliability.
Durability and longevity :
But that brings us to reason number two, why this is such a great truck and that is its incredible reputation for durability and longevity.
Now, I know it’s not fair to properly assess what the long-term reliability of the Tacoma is going to be like, but it has to be said, this truck has an incredible reputation for lasting an extremely long time without having many issues.
It is just known for being one of the most reliable trucks that you can buy. And despite all the new technology, there are many reasons why this brand new version has a good chance of living up to that reputation.
For one thing, Toyota is adamant that they’ve used a lot of heavy duty commercial grade trucks for all of the parts that are used on this drivetrain.
So it is designed to tolerate a lot of abuse. And secondly, there’s nothing that radical about the technology and features that are used here.
Basically this is the same design as the A 25 A four cylinder engine, which Toyota uses on a number of different models.
So the basic parts and technology that we have here are very well proven and in terms of serviceability, Toyota made things relatively straightforward.
The turbo on the engine is relatively easy to access and doesn’t require pulling the engine just to replace.
It’s very simple and straightforward. And the same is true of the hybrid system.
You basically just have an electric motor that’s between the engine and the transmission and the hybrid battery is just sitting underneath the backseat.
That’s really all there is to it. And as I mentioned, Toyota does make a very solid, well-proven hybrid system and they do give you the longest hybrid warranty, an eight year warranty on the hybrid components and a 10 year warranty on the hybrid battery.
So you are protected for a really long time. And the final reason why this should prove to be a reliable drivetrain is the fact that it’s just used on so many different Toyota and even some Lexus models.
The basic engine and even the hybrid system are used on a number of models.
And typically when Toyota does that, they wanna engineer it as best as possible and make sure the reliability is top-notch.
Because after all, if you have a problem with one, you are going to have a problem with all of them.
And whenever they use a drivetrain that’s going to be used on some Lexus models, Toyota is not going to take a chance with reliability because they wanna maintain that incredible reputation for quality that Lexus is known for.
Now of course, only time will tell what the reliability is going to be like in the long run, but given Toyota’s reputation for reliability, I am willing to give it the benefit of the doubt.
And even if you do sacrifice a little bit of quality or maybe an issue here or there, I think it’s worth the trade off given how many incredible benefits that you get in terms of performance efficiency.
Incredible capability
And the third reason that makes this such an amazing truck, and that is the incredible capability that you get.
Toyota has made massive improvements not just in terms of its truck utility but also Its off-Road ability.
The new Tacoma rides on a new high strength steel fully box frame, the same global truck platform that’s shared with the Tundra, the Sequoia, and the Land Cruiser.
And not only does it make this a much more capable truck in terms of truck utility, it has a towing capacity of up to 6,500 pounds any a payload capacity of up to 1700 pounds.
But it also makes it a much more capable truck in terms of off-road ability.
Although rear wheel drive is standard in the us, all versions of the Tacoma comes standard with a part-time, four-wheel drive system with a two speed transfer case in Canada.
And the limited trim comes with a full-time, four-wheel drive system.
And on top of that you get a completely unique suspension set up depending on which trim you go with the TRD off-Road for example, comes with Bilstein suspension and all terrain tires along with a few more off-road goodies.
But if you wanna go seriously wild in terms of off-road ability, you can also get a TRD Pro and the Trail Hunter, which is the one that I’m driving here.
Now the distinction between the two is that the TRD Pro is more of a high speed off-road truck, whereas the Trail Hunter is more of a low speed overlander that can pretty much conquer anything.
For example, when compared to the TRD Pro, which gets special Fox suspension, the trail hunter gets its own unique old man EMU two and a half inch shocks with piggyback reservoirs, you also get an A RB steel bumper and tow hooks, special rock rails, full skid plates from front to back and up to 11 inches of ground clearance, 33 inch Goodyear territory tires on special bronze rims.
There’s also an intake air snorkel on the A pillar, which gives it a really neat look and a really cool sound as you’re accelerating and a few other unique touches like a unique grill with special lighting and an air compressor in the bed.
It’s a truly incredible package and it’s somewhat shocking that Toyota was bold enough to offer something like this.
And even though in my short test drive I’m not able to properly test all this incredible off-road equipment, it is pretty neat to know that Toyota now makes a truck that can go head to head with the very best off-road trucks that Ford and GM have to offer.
And you get all that incredible off-road capability and performance while it’s still being a hybrid, which has another really great bonus that is worth mentioning, which is a 2,400 watt power inverter, a really beneficial feature that you just don’t get on other trucks.
Incredible configurability
And that brings me to the next reason why I think that this is one of the best trucks and that is the incredible configurability that you have.
The Tacoma just offers so many different configurations that you just can’t get in other mid-sized trucks.
You can get it with either a five foot bed or a six foot bed in the us a choice between an extra cab and a four-door crew cab.
You even have the choice between a regular eight speed automatic or a six speed manual transmission, which is an option that’s pretty much unheard of on any brand new truck.
Of course, you have the choice between either a regular gas engine or this hybrid engine and a wide variety of different trims, all of which have their own unique suspension set up.
So no matter what you’re looking for or what your budget is, chances are you’re going to find a version of the Tacoma that is going to be just right for you.
Resale value
And that brings me to reason number five as to why this is the best new truck to buy and that is the incredible resale value.
Now, there’s no other way to put it. The Tacoma is the class leader when it comes to resale value.
In fact, it has one of the highest resale values of any vehicle that you can buy, period.
And while that might not seem like a huge priority to a lot of buyers who may think that they’re gonna keep their vehicle for as long as possible, you never know, circumstances could change and you may find yourself in a situation where you need to trade in or replace your vehicle down the road.
And when that happens, you’re gonna be really happy that you bought a Tacoma because you’re gonna get so much of your money back.
Now there is certainly a lot to like on this new Tacoma,
There are also quite a few things that I’m not so sure about.
Interior space
Starting with the first one, which is the interior space.
Now this is a very well designed interior. It has fantastic technology, a great large touchscreen infotainment system, and plenty of very straightforward conventional controls with nice chunky switches and knobs, which is really nice to see.
But despite the great design and the technology, it just does not have a whole lot of interior space, especially in the backseats, which are surprisingly cramped.
And not only do they not have a whole lot of room, but because of that hybrid battery that’s occupying the space underneath the rear seats, you don’t have a lot of handy interior storage like you get in a lot of other trucks.
Fuel economy
Issue number two for me with this truck is the fuel economy.
Now I know I said that this is a performance hybrid and it’s not designed to have the best fuel economy, but I still wish there were a larger gap in the fuel economy between the hybrid and the non-hybrid.
And as it stands, the gap between the two is really not that big.
So even though you are getting a lot more performance with this hybrid, it would’ve been nice to see just a little bit more efficiency.
Complexity
And that brings me to issue number three, which is the complexity.
Now, even though I highlighted many reasons that bode well for this being a rock solid well-made truck, there’s still a lot of complexity going on and a lot of potential servicing issues down the road.
And for someone who just wants a very simple no nonsense work truck similar to the V six engine Tacoma that you got for the previous generation, that type of buyer is going to be a bit disappointed.
Availability
And then we have issue number four, which is the availability. Now Toyota hybrids have historically not had the best availability
And I imagine that that could be the same case here, especially with the TRD Pro and the Trail hunter, which are likely only going to be available in very limited numbers, which means that you have the potential for not only long waiting periods, but dealerships potential charging markups, which is an issue.
Pricing
And that could be an even greater issue because of problem number five, which is the pricing. This is not a cheap truck to buy.
The hybrid option is basically only available on the higher trims of the Tacoma where it’s either an option or it just comes as standard in the us The hybrid is optional on the TRD sport,
the TRD off-Road and the limited trims and comes standard on the TRD Pro and Trail Hunter pricing ranges from around 50,000 to upwards of 75,000 for the trail hunter.
And in Canada, the hybrid is only optional on the TRD off-Road premium trim and it comes standard on the limited, the TRD Pro and the trail hunter pricing for the TRD off-road and limited hybrid is around 65 to 66,000 and can go as high as 85,000 for the TRD Pro and Trail Hunter.
So this is absolutely not a cheap truck to buy, but I think Toyota did it the right way because they’re offering the higher trims as the hybrid.
And for somebody that wants to have a Tacoma with all the features, all the options, and they’re willing to spend more money, they’re probably gonna want to have the hybrid anyway.
Whereas for somebody that just wants something a little bit more basic and affordable and perhaps wants a six speed manual transmission or just a basic SR five Tacoma, you can go for the regular gas engine instead.
So which midsize truck would you go for? And if you were buying a Tacoma, which version would be your pick? Let me know in the comments.