Watch the 2024 Toyota Tacoma Getting Torture Tested Over Punishing Trails in Arizona

1 year, 5 months ago - 31 May 2023, autoevolution

By their nature, trucks have to be sturdy enough to haul and tow on a daily basis without skipping a beat.

Certain pickups also have to hold their own off the beaten path, and the 2024 Toyota Tacoma is one of those pickups. The Japanese automaker torture tested its all-new midsizer on off-road and overlanding trails in Arizona prior to the fourth generation's debut on May 19. The footage pretty much speaks for itself.

Be it dirt, mud, rocks, and everything in between, the camouflaged pre-production trucks don't even break a sweat. Although it may seem like fun, testing a brand-new pickup over harsh terrain requires the full attention of a few dozen engineers. If anything seems off during torture testing, said engineers have to go back to the drawing board in order to sort things out before the truck heads into series production. As a brief refresher, Toyota assembles the 2024 Taco in Mexico.

Named after Mount Rainier in Washington, which is called Tahoma by the Coast Salish peoples, the mid-size pickup is assembled in a facility with a yearly capacity of 266,000 units. Considering that 237,323 were sold in the United States alone in 2022, the Japanese automaker needs to make sure that the all-new Tacoma is right from the outset. Any issue that may have escaped pre-production testing will inevitably hinder first-year sales, and Toyota simply cannot afford to lose first place in the mid-size truck segment to Chevrolet and GMC.

The Colorado and Canyon moved 117,016 units last year, whereas the way too expensive Jeep Gladiator finished 2022 with 77,855 units to its name. Lower down the spectrum, Nissan and Ford reported 76,183 and 57,005 sales in the US.

Pricing for the 2024 Tacoma isn't yet available. Joined at the hip to the full-size Tundra, the midsizer is expected to start at $30k or thereabout, excluding destination freight charge. The outgoing third generation currently holds an MSRP of $28,250 for the SR Access Cab 6-foot bed 4x2 base variant.

For 2024, the hugely popular Tacoma is available in eight distinct grades. The SR comes with a 2.4-liter turbocharged four-cylinder lump. It can be specified with a six-speed manual to boot. Cab and bed configurations include the XtraCab 6-foot bed as well as the Double Cab 5-foot bed.

All trims feature the aforementioned engine, although output figures range dramatically. The SR, for example, rocks 228 horsepower and 243 pound-feet (330 Nm). Output increases to 278 horsepower and 317 pound-feet (430 Nm) when paired with an eight-speed automatic. Trucks fitted with the manual, which sports automatic rev matching and an anti-stall feature, crank out 270 horsepower and 310 pound-feet (420 Nm).

The big-daddy powertrain is – of course – the i-FORCE MAX. Essentially the 2.4 with hybrid assistance, this powertrain includes a 48-hp electric motor. It's neatly integrated in the eight-speed automatic transmission, and it's powered by a 1.87-kWh battery of the NiMH variety. On full song, the i-Force MAX belts out up to 326 hp and 465 lb-ft (630 Nm).