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When you play in a segment that has newcomers from longtime stalwarts such as Chevrolet and GMC you know you have to up your game. Especially since their platform will be the same, just with a few differences as the GMC model will be offered with more equipment than the Chevrolet. Toyota certainly addressed this need for 2016 by presenting a brand new Tacoma to play in the mid-sized truck segment. This new Tacoma just might be everything we hope for from Toyota to not only keep the segment competitive (which is really good for those of us buying vehicles) but also shows us a phenomenal new truck.
The new Tacoma is going to ride on newly designed wheels which can be had in a variety of four styles. Not only can we have them in new styles, but also in sizes that range from 16 to 18 inches. Making the wheels turn is now a new optional 3.5-liter V6 Atkinson-cycle engine with direct and port fuel injection. As the first of its kind in the midsized truck segment this engine will provide the added power needed to make the Tacoma a fantastic power player in this category.
The base engine offered will be the 2.7-liter inline four-cylinder engine that has been offered on the Tacoma already, making for a familiar bit of power and one that will certainly give us some great fuel mileage to go along with the versatile performance and capability. Both engines will be attached to either a six-speed automatic or a six-speed manual transmission to give reasonable fuel mileage for both and help make the best performance possible for these powertrains.
How versatile will the new Tacoma be? It will have five trim levels and two cabs to choose from. The two cabs are the Access Cab or the Double Cab and the five trims will range across either 2WD or 4WD with the SR, SR5, TRD, Sport, TRD Off-Road and Limited. Where needed the frame has been made stronger and the suspension upgraded to create a much better ride quality than before. Adding to the comfort and cool features the Tacoma will also have a tri-fold hard tonneau cover and a tailgate with an easy lowering feature to make for easier loading and unloading of the truck which will certainly make for benefits on this truck that put it ahead of the others in the segment.
A Multi-Terrain Select system allows you to choose the different terrains you might head out in when you have the TRD Off-Road model in your possession. This makes it easier to take this truck out for a run on loose gravel, sand, rock and give you features such as Crawl Control, hill start assist, a limited locking rear differential, active traction control and many others that make the new Tacoma the right mid-sized truck for heading out on any adventure.
What would make the off road adventure even more fun, especially in our highly connected social media world, a standard GoPro mount so you can record the terrain and track you drive your new Tacoma on. This gives you the ability to share this with your friends so they can see later where you took your truck and the amount of fun you have had in your great new truck.
The new Tacoma has certainly upped the game in the midsized truck segment and found ways to show us some great features and equipment that have not yet be made available on the GM twins. This should certainly attract a crowd of adventurers who are ready to take on the great fun and driving excitement of this long time segment leader which is not quite ready to give up its title to newcomers, no matter what badge they wear.
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