After two decades with little significant change, the Toyota Tacoma enjoys a fresh start for the 2024 model year, with a bigger, better truck that puts the company back into a competitive position in the mid-size pickup truck market.

The tested Tacoma TRD Pro (Toyota Racing Development is the company’s racing division) was outfitted with high-grade off-road suspension, wheels, and tires, but I didn’t have the opportunity to go off-roading with it. I did have the chance to tow a trailer with it, however, so that is the truck utility that gets reviewed here.

The test truck was equipped with Toyota’s 326-horsepower, 465-lb.-ft. 2.4-liter I-Force Max hybrid four-cylinder engine with an 8-speed automatic transmission that is boosted by a 1.87-kilowatt-hour nickel-metal hydride battery pack. This is a great combination for delivering impressive towing power, between the engine’s torque and the automatic transmission’s hydraulic torque converter.

Tow Truck?

In regular driving, the truck’s EPA fuel economy rating is 22 mpg in city driving and 24 mpg on the highway. When towing, it gets significantly worse, even when the open trailer and its payload (my Swift Formula F race car) combine to weigh only about 2,500 lbs., compared to a towing capacity of 6,400 lbs.

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Eighty percent of my mileage was easy 60-mph highway driving on cruise control with the Eco drive mode selected for maximum efficiency. The other 20 percent of the mileage was towing the trailer on the same roads at the same speeds but with the truck in tow/haul mode.

The Tacoma's turbocharged 2.4-liter I-Force Max engine. TOYOTA

The result isn’t pretty, though it is typical of turbocharged small-displacement engines when they are put to work. The drivetrain is good for the EPA test cycle, but when it was put to work pulling the trailer it drank so much gas that it pulled the average fuel economy down to 18.6 mpg even when the towing only represented one-fifth of the driving distance and the rest was under circumstances that should have delivered even better than the rated 24 mpg.

The Tacoma’s back-up camera makes hitching the trailer a snap and the ability to ooze smoothly along on the hybrid electric drivetrain makes it easy to place the truck with pinpoint accuracy, so the ball lines up with the trailer’s hitch.

Lining up to hitch the trailer is simple thanks to the back-up camera. DAN CARNEY

But the truck’s hitch receiver makes installing the drawbar and ball a nuisance. The standard 2-inch receiver’s steel walls are so thick that a regular hitch pin doesn’t reach far enough for the cotter pin securing it to slide through. None of my hitch pins worked so I bought another one that was close enough that I could barely force the cotter pin through the hole. It seems like an absurd mistake to have made it hard to use.

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It is only barely possible to get the cotter pin through the hitch pin's hole because the receiver box is too wide for a standard hitch pin. DAN CARNEY

The poor fuel efficiency makes the Tacoma’s 18-gallon tank seem smaller than it is, with the truck’s computer forecasting a driving range until empty of less than 300 miles even when towing only part of the time. Burning a whole tank with the trailer behind the Tacoma would have you stopping to fill up every three or four hours on a road trip.

Serious Suspension

If you are riding in the front seat, those will be comfortable miles. The TRD Pro is equipped with shock absorber seats that cushion the ride. On the highway, they aren’t needed because the truck has coil spring rear suspension, advanced Fox QS3 three-way adjustable internal bypass shock absorbers with external reservoirs, and balloony 33-inch Goodyear Wrangler off-road tires that combine to provide a cushy on-road ride while also providing excellent stability while trailer towing.

The TRD Pro's off-road suspension also provides a comfortable on-road ride. DAN CARNEY

The Tacoma’s hybrid drivetrain is handy at the race track (and maybe it would work for camping too!), because the truck has a 2,400-watt 120-volt AC power outlet in the bed that should run just about any kind of power tool or appliance you would need. In my case, I was only running a battery charger to keep the race car’s battery at full power, but it is nice to have that ability built into the truck.

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The Tacoma's in-bed 120-volt power outlet charging my race car's battery. DAN CARNEY

Guess what else is built in: A removable JBL Bluetooth speaker! It is part of the truck’s audio system, installed in the middle of the dashboard as the center speaker. It pops out, fully charged from on-board power so you can have tunes in the pits (or campsite) using the JBL Flex speaker.

The built-in JBL Flex powered speaker pops right out of the Tacoma's dashboard. TOYOTA

That saves you from bringing a speaker from home that is just going to rattle around loose inside the truck and annoy you while you’re driving.

Tight Fit

What will be harder to bring along is passengers. The Tacoma has excellent front seats, but there is just no legroom in the back seats and the rear seatback is straight upright, so if someone could somehow fit back there they would be miserably uncomfortable because of that.

Considering the Tacoma’s size, the uselessness of its back seat is a surprise. This is a big machine and it is three inches wider than the previous generation. Also, while the front seats themselves are comfortable to sit in, as with other mid-size trucks, the roof is low. At 6 feet, if the seat isn’t adjusted all the way to the floor, I whack my head on the roof getting in. With the seat moved all the way down, my head doesn’t hit, but I do knock my hat off periodically while getting in.

With front seats adjusted for comfortable seating in front, their backs are nearly against the rear seat's bottom cushion. DAN CARNEY

So, it isn’t notably easier to park than a full-size truck would be, the cabin is cramped, and the fuel economy while doing truck work is no better than that of a full-size truck.

Which brings us to the price. The Tacoma TRD Pro’s bottom line, as tested, was $65,869, including destination charges. Considering that the size, efficiency, and price are so similar to those of a full-size truck and that full-size trucks have useable back seats, I think that would be the way to go if you ever expect to carry more than one passenger.