FRESH METAL
For 2016, Toyota redesigns its popular Tacoma midsize pickup
Toyota redesigns its popular Tacoma midsize pickup truck.
Seeking to leap a step ahead of some fresh competition, Toyota for 2016 has delivered its popular Tacoma midsize pickup truck sporting a handsome new design. With the 2015 Chevrolet Colorado and GMC Canyon twins nipping at its ankles, the Tacoma hadn’t had a thorough makeover since the 2005 model year, settling for mostly cosmetic updates to keep the truck-buying public interested. Although its near-fanatical adherents buy these trucks not for looks, but for their legendary reliability, minimal maintenance requirements, top-ranked resale value and general trustworthiness.
But the 2016 Tacoma makes a convincing argument for its newness, even though under its butch new looks there’s a lot of the old vehicle still plugging away. And that’s not necessarily a bad thing.
Some toughening tweaks to the Tacoma’s chassis and suspension bring added stiffness — and therefore greater resistance to flex and shake — as well as quieter overall operation. This pickup’s structure is tighter than a proverbial drum both on smooth highway and ragged off-road surfaces.
An eye-popping factoid: Tacoma will be available in 29 — 29! —individual versions, from four-cylinder, six-speed manual-transmission, two-wheel-drive Access Cab work trucks to full-tilt, fourdoor, four-wheel-drive Double Cabs with off-road-ready upgrades.
While the 2.7-liter four is a holdover, the upper models feature an all-new, 3.5-liter, twin-cam V-6 that doles out much smoother, and quieter, power delivery than the retired 4.0-liter six. The six-speed autobox is likewise a slick operator.
The redesigned cabin is impressively assembled, like most all Toyota products, although there’s a surfeit of hard plastics and a virtual lack of soft-touch points, except for a pad on the dash before the front-seat passenger, resulting in a fairly utilitarian aura.
All the secondary controls are simply designed and well-located. A simple rotary knob on the dash engages the electronic dual-range transfer case.
Another holdover from earlier models is the close-to-the-floor seating, necessitating a legs-out driving position. The seats themselves are comfortable, although a bit short under the thighs.
So even if this “redesign” is really more of an update, it’s still a successful advance for the segments’s most popular vehicle. There’s little doubt it will remain on top.