and the Toyota Baja race trucks for inspiration to capture the extreme spirit of offroad adventure. High lift, big
tires, slim body, and a powerful athletic stance define the iconic Tacoma look, referred to as ‘Tacoma-ness’.”
The CALTY team of designers focused on the theme of a “Badass Adventure Machine” when defining the
essence of the new Tacoma. This refers to Tacoma’s engineered toughness along with its athletic attitude. The
design team strives for Toyota trucks to have a family resemblance, each with unique personalities defined by
each one’s purpose. For Tacoma, its narrow body and wide upper grille are a nod to the original HiLux, with
features like the aggressive skid plates expressing the extreme ruggedness of Tacoma. Other signature design
elements include the high-mount headlamps, side functional air intakes, hexagonal grille motif, as well as
integrated roof and tailgate spoilers.
Engineering research and development was conducted at Toyota Technical Centers in Michigan, Arizona, and
California. The collective engineering teams embraced the “Tacoma-ness” concept and worked tirelessly to
develop the next-generation Tacoma as an extremely capable multipurpose vehicle that can go almost anywhere.
Improvements were made across all grades. The team enhanced Tacoma’s off-road capability, from severe rock
crawling to high-speed desert racing. As a result, Tacomas will perform in widely varied environments, on road
and off. This includes everything from a luxurious night out in the Limited grade or traversing Black Bear Pass
in the Tacoma TRD Off-Road that is more capable than ever.
“We strove to provide even greater attribute separation between grades,” says Sheldon Brown, chief engineer,
Tacoma. “Each has a distinctive focus on the core attribute and uses hardware, spec, and performance-based
tuning to deliver that unique experience more so than in the past.”
Rugged Construction and Capability
The new Tacoma utilizes Toyota’s TNGA-F global truck platform shared with the all-new Tundra and Sequoia.
Much like its full-size brethren, high-strength steel with blanking and laser welds is used throughout the chassis
to increase rigidity over the previous generation, and aluminum is used on the upper body to reduce weight.
Frame crossmembers are also strengthened to increase durability and carry Toyota-available overlanding gear
such as rooftop tents and camp fridges. Additionally, the roof is equipped with integrated attachment holes that
allow the ability to easily add roof rack rails on all models combined with a roof channel sealer to ensure a
watertight seal. A new front cross member was constructed for the steering gear box, which adds rigidity via
additional cross member support while enhancing steering input for the driver and handling dynamics. A new
high lift jack point is also integrated into the rear frame end.
Also enhancing ride and handling characteristics on Tacoma is a newly available multi-link rear suspension. This
system replaces the previous model’s leaf springs in favor of a set of coils. However, leaf springs remain
standard on SR, SR5 XtraCab, and TRD PreRunner grades. Tacoma also now gets four-wheel disc brakes for
increased braking performance compared to the previous model, while TRD models and above are equipped
with a larger front brake package. TRD models and above equipped with i-FORCE MAX add a larger rear brake
package. An electronic parking brake allows for low-speed radar cruise control and a brake hold function. To
provide improved steering feel and facilitate the incorporation of additional safety and convenience features,
Tacoma will now have electric power steering.
Tacoma now features suspensions tuned specifically to each grade. For instance, TRD Sport has red TRD sport-
tuned shocks for a more responsive feel. The TRD Off-Road grade is equipped with monotube Bilstein remote
reservoir shocks for extended wheel travel and greater heat dissipation and includes an end stop control valve
(ESCV) that provides increased damping force as the suspension comes closer to full bound stroke. TRD Pro
comes fitted with FOX’s new QS3 three-way adjustable internal bypass shocks with remote reservoirs for
improved high speed off-road performance and FOX Internal Floating Piston (IFP) rear bump stops to improve
bottom out feel. Trailhunter includes new Old Man Emu (OME) 4×4 Suspension by ARB that is tuned for