Toyota Goes All Out with New Tacoma

After a run of two decades for the current-generation Tacoma mid-size pickup truck, Toyota has finally introduced an all-new version of the popular truck.

At the lavish unveiling in Hawaii, Tacoma chief engineer Sheldon Brown elaborated on his team's approach to upgrading the truck.

"It all starts, you know what, with the foundation of this truck, and that's the new TNGA-F platform with this new multilink suspension," said Brown during the press conference.

That same chassis also supports a lower-cost option too. "We developed a leaf spring variant for our SR grade to provide value-conscious trucks to our customers," Brown explained.

Rival Ford offers both leaf spring rear suspension and multi-link coil spring suspesion on the 2024 Ranger, but all of those trucks will employ leaf springs except for the pricey Raptor off-road racer version. Toyota, on the other hand, will install the smoother-riding coil springs all on Tacoma's except the very basic SR versions of their truck.

"We upgraded every aspect of the truck from the steering gear, to the drive shafts, to the 17-inch brakes," Brown added. "For off-road enthusiasts, we're also added 3D multi-terrain monitors and an all-new multi-terrain select, along with a near-silent crawl control."

Another significant difference in configuration for the Tacoma compared to the Ranger is the availability of a two-door extended-cab version. Ford offers only four-door crew cab versions of the Ranger.

Another nod to the roots of this segment is Toyota's continued production of manual transmission versions of the Tacoma, while Ford is selling only automatic transmissions in its Ranger pickup.

For more details on these new trucks, click through the photo gallery.