Tacomas have been going off-road for a long time
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00:00What you're looking at are the first-ever hybrid-powered Tacomas.
00:07The Tacoma.
00:08Toyota's midsize workhorse is all new for 2024.
00:12We've already driven the turbocharged 2.4-liter grades.
00:15Now it's time to kick things up a gear with the i-Force Max hybrid-powered Tacomas.
00:21What is the i-Force Max?
00:22Well, it's that same 2.4-liter turbocharged engine, but with a 48-horsepower electric
00:27motor integrated into the 8-speed transmission.
00:30With a total system output of up to 326 horsepower and a whopping 465 pound-feet of torque, this
00:37is the most powerful powertrain ever offered in a Tacoma.
00:41Today, we're driving two, the top-of-the-line TRD Pro and the all-new Trailhunter grade.
00:48Both TRD Pro and Trailhunter grades have standard part-time four-wheel drive with an electrically
00:52controlled two-speed transfer case.
00:55And when the trail gets truly demanding, an electronically unlocking front anti-roll
00:59bar is standard on TRD Pro and Trailhunter, allowing for more front-end articulation.
01:05First up, the GoFast TRD Pro.
01:08All right, this is the part we've been waiting for.
01:11I love all kinds of off-roading, but I love going fast the most.
01:15And that is what the TRD Pro is made for.
01:18We are tearing up this road here because we have Fox racing shocks that are manually adjustable.
01:24We've got hydraulic bump stops.
01:26We've got springs.
01:27We've got clearance.
01:28We've got skid plates.
01:29And we've got these awesome seats that have the actual shock absorbers in the back of
01:33them.
01:34You can see pictures.
01:35They're super cool.
01:36And what they're doing right now is, when I'm getting tossed side to side, they're absorbing
01:40a lot of that impact, so I'm not getting as much, like, side to side whiplash here.
01:44But the great thing is, like, we can go tearing up this fire road here at about 40 miles an
01:50hour and not worry about pretty much anything mechanically, as long as we stick on the road
01:54and we're pretty good to go.
01:56But right now, we're just in Swarm Boat and 4i, because that's all you need to go fast
02:01and have fun out here.
02:02The great thing is, like, the TRD Pro feels like a TRD Pro all the time.
02:09It's not one of those, you know, vehicles where you have to get it in the right environment
02:12to enjoy it.
02:13You know, even when I was on the road earlier with this, it turns sharply, it handles well,
02:19it rides real well, like, it's responsive, and it wants to go, you know, even in normal
02:24mode before you put it in sport, like, it's got all that torque fill from the electric
02:28motor, turbo spools up quick, and it wants to take off on you.
02:32So it's a lot of fun to drive on the road, which just makes you want to get it off-road
02:36even more.
02:37It makes me want to misbehave in all the best ways.
02:40All right, check this out.
02:41We're getting to the loops now, and we're going to go through these at 25, 30 miles
02:44an hour.
02:45We're going to use all the suspension travel and those hydraulic bo-stops, and it is going
02:51to tear right through it, no problem.
02:55This thing's got a sway bar that unlocks electronically.
02:58It's got lockers.
02:59It's got all kinds of, you know, high-tech stuff to help you off-road.
03:04But if you just want to go fast, you don't have to spend a whole lot of time setting
03:08it up.
03:09You just turn off the pavement, stick it in 4i, and go for it.
03:12Toyota's first-ever Tacoma Trailhunter grade is a factory-developed overlanding rig.
03:18Available with a choice of 5- or 6-foot bed configurations, it includes standard features
03:22like Old Man Emu forged monotube shocks, 33-inch Goodyear Territory rugged terrain tires with
03:2818-inch bronze-finished alloy wheels, RIDGID Industries fog lights, and an integrated off-road
03:34light bar.
03:35Toyota says this truck is built for people looking for extended adventures.
03:38I'm driving a little bit slower because this is not the desert racing truck.
03:41This is not your off-road racing starter kit here.
03:45This is an overlanding truck.
03:47This thing is set up for going boondocking, going camping way out there, and you can take
03:52it out in the desert for sure, but these shocks, the sway bars, all these things are not set
03:59up for that same kind of high-speed work here.
04:02So this is more for exploring your forest trails and things like that.
04:07But we've still got plenty of hardware, and in fact, this thing's got a lot of cool hardware
04:10on it, from the Old Man Emu shocks to this sweet desert air intake over here that makes
04:16all kinds of noise.
04:17And it is not a snorkel, I have to tell you, it is not water-sealed, so don't try and drive
04:22with water halfway up your windshield, it's not going to work for you.
04:25And we've still got forged control arms in the front, and springs and shocks, and the
04:30whole 90-yard stop, locking diff, all the things you need to get into all kinds of fun
04:38just at a little slower pace.
04:40And honestly, you can feel the difference.
04:43We did a little road driving earlier, now we're off-road here, and it's not as soft
04:47as the TRD Pro.
04:48That thing's got softer shocks on it, especially the way we have them set, so that you can
04:52do this kind of high-speed stuff.
04:54With this one, it's a little stiffer, and the steering's not quite as sharp, because
04:59again, it's not trying to be real sporty, racy.
05:02It's really trying to be kind of an overlanding, an expedition vehicle.
05:06So it'll do all the same stuff, just take a little longer to get there.
05:11So it's really, the way I see it, two branches of the same tree, right?
05:15They're both performance off-road vehicles, but this one is for, you know, taking your
05:21time and really getting out deep into the woods.
05:24And that one is for tearing ass across the woods as fast as you possibly can.
05:29Really great thing about both of these trucks is they both come standard with the new hybrid
05:32powertrain, and don't be thinking that we're talking about a Prius here.
05:36There's no plugs, there's no EV mode.
05:39It only, you know, will move you around under electric power at real slow speeds.
05:44This motor is, it's about fuel economy a little bit, but mostly it's about torque.
05:50It's about giving that extra power to help get you up to speed, getting on the freeway.
05:55But also, when you're out here doing stuff like this, when you step on a throttle, you
05:58get that instantaneous boost from the electric motor, while the turbo spools up, and get
06:03all that torque immediately.
06:04And it really does help.
06:05We're not doing any serious crawling here, where I'm sure it would really shine as well,
06:09but even just coming up and over some of these bumps and things, being able to just give
06:13it just a little bit of throttle, and immediately have that power you need to get over whatever
06:18the obstacle is in front of you, it's really handy.
06:20You don't have to wring that vehicle's neck just to get it to go over something.
06:24But you see we got a lot of the same tricks here.
06:25I got the screen to help me get over these blind crests.
06:28We've got, if we need it, we have all the drive modes, lockers, and even the disconnecting
06:33sway bar.
06:34This thing can do most of what that TRD Pro can.
06:38Just again, not as fast.
06:39I was about to say, you know, maybe you won't get yourself in trouble nearly as easily if
06:43you're moving slower, but if there's anything I've learned about off-roading, you can get
06:47yourself into all kinds of trouble going slow too.
06:50There's a lot of crossover between these two trucks, but each is set up to accomplish different
06:54tasks depending on what you want to do.
06:57Want to bound through the desert eating whoops for breakfast?
07:00Take the TRD Pro.
07:01But if you're looking to billygoat it up to a remote campsite and get off-grid, the Trail
07:05Hunter might be the truck for you.
07:08To read more on these and all the other Tacoma grades, head to MotorTrend.com.