2024 Toyota Tacoma Trailhunter Review

Despite living halfway across the country, I’ve been fortunate to find myself in British Columbia a bunch this year.

And in spite of the eye-watering fuel prices, I’ve noticed the province’s wonderful wilderness destinations are chock-full of Toyota trucks. Sequoias, 4Runners, and Tacomas number in the dozens. Better still, nearly all of them are festooned with kayaks, mountain bikes, roof-top tents, and all other manner of adventurous accoutrement one needs to prove they’ve embraced the B.C. lifestyle.

Thanks to its right-sized packaging and reputation for long-lasting indestructibility, the Tacoma alone is among the top choices for those in need of adventure vehicles. It seems the folks at Toyota have taken notice, and they’ve responded with a rig that’s adequately equipped right from the factory. The 2024 Toyota Tacoma Trailhunter takes the torch from the beloved TRD Pro trim and heads down a different path with off-road goodies geared towards adventure.

Styling: 9.5/10

The Tacoma Trailhunter collected more than a few longing gazes during the nearly 5,000-km drive from Toronto to Vancouver, and no wonder. With its lifted suspension – 51 mm (2.0 in) up front, 38 mm (1.5 in) in the back – and Goodyear Wrangler Territory all-terrain tires wrapped around sexy-as-heck bronze wheels, this truck has presence.

Add the bulging fender flares, proper rock sliders, and ARB steel bumpers and tow-points front and rear, and the Tacoma Trailhunter has the sort of stuff that makes it fit in out west. And the cabin is just as cool as the outside, with a spot-on blend of rugged angles, highly-useful functionality, and funky design flourishes like yellow seat piping and the Toyota wordmark on the dash.

Features: 9/10

Aside from the aforementioned ARB accessories, Toyota also fit the Trailhunter with Rigid accessory lights up front (the fog lights can be switched between clear and amber, depending on conditions), plus shocks from Aussie outdoor specialists Old Man Emu. Inside, there’s heated and ventilated seats, a heated steering wheel, dual-zone climate control, and a removable speaker integrated into the dash.

The backseat and bed both have AC outlets that’ll crank out up to 2,400 watts, meaning you can power a small village, or juice up a big battery pack to keep things running when off-grid. Plus serious off-roaders will surely appreciate the onboard compressor that can be used to air up the tires after some time on the trail.

Power: 7.5/10

Toyota has gone high-tech for its truck powertrains, first by replacing the Tundra’s V8 with turbocharged V6s, and now with the Tacoma foregoing last year’s V6 for a turbocharged four-cylinder. There’s a hybrid version of this powertrain, too, and it’s standard on the Trailhunter (as well as the TRD Pro). It’s meant to augment the immediacy of the power delivery and torque more than make it a fuel-sipper.

The result is a drivetrain that puts out the same 278 horsepower as last year, charged up with a 48-hp electric motor for a combined 326 hp. Torque increases by a whopping 200 lb-ft, now at 465 at just 1,700 rpm. The low-end kick is appreciable, and the Trailhunter surges forward under a heavy foot with considerable ease, despite a weight gain of more than 300 kg (660 lb) compared to its former self.

Fuel Economy: 6/10

All that new technology appears to pay off at the pumps, although the 2024 Tacoma Hybrid’s ratings of 10.5 L/100 km in the city, 9.9 on the highway, and 10.3 combined clearly don’t take into account this version’s all-terrain tires, beefier suspension bits, and weight-adding apparatuses that make this truck so adept off-road. Most of this trip showed an indicated average in the 12s.

When towing a small trailer weighing in at less than half the Trailhunter’s tow rating of 2,699 kg (5,950 lb), it usually swilled fuel at a rate of more than 18.0 L/100 km. That number grew to more than 20.0 once it started the climb toward the Rockies.

Practicality: 7.5/10

Similar to its relative efficiency, the Trailhunter’s overall payload is sure to be less than the advertised 710 kg (1,565 lb), but it’s no doubt competitive with the other performance off-road trucks like the Chevrolet Colorado ZR2 and Ford Ranger Raptor. Adding to its hauling usefulness is the six-foot bed bolted to the back, although that makes the Tacoma Trailhunter harder to manoeuvre on trails or in urban spaces.

Comfort: 7/10

One of the few flaws that afflicted past Tacomas was their odd, legs-out-straight driving position. Happily, that’s no longer the case, and with supportive seats and a more natural, chair-like driving position, 900-km drive days were no problem. The back seats, while offering more space than last year’s truck, are still pretty tight, with a very vertical backrest making it a suitable spot only for shorter jaunts, kids, pets, or cargo.

The Trailhunter’s ride is decent for a truck, but it doesn’t have the same suppleness of TRD Pro models of old. A quaint, almost diesel-like clatter emanates from under the hood, but it’s largely quelled inside. But then the high-mounted air intake along the passenger-side B-pillar makes ridiculously loud whistling and whooshing noises, which can turn tedious even for the most ardent enthusiast. The cacophony inside the cabin is only heightened at speed by the elaborate roof rack, making highway cruising with the sunroof open damn-near deafening.

User-Friendliness: 9.5/10

The Trailhunter gets docked a half-point here for two flaws. First, the infotainment system, while sorted and responsive, is tedious to program channel favourites into the audio system. Tragic, right?

The second gripe is that there’s no grab handle on the driver’s side A-pillar. The Trailhunter’s cabin resides at an elevation that requires a climb for anyone with an inseam shorter than about 40 inches. [Ummm, that’s 101.6 centimetres, Mr. Wilson.–Ed.] For most of us, it means swinging from the steering wheel like a baby chimp to hop aboard.

Once there, however, the Tacoma is an example of how automotive controls should be done. The digital instrument display is bright and clear and configurable in various ways, while the centre stack features a large touchscreen within easy reach, which is situated above a trio of big knobs for volume and climate controls. There are no silly haptic panels, and the gear selector isn’t a little toggle switch or rotary dial, but rather a big, meaty selector that shifts between gears in a linear fashion.

Driving Feel: 7/10

Notwithstanding the intake and roof rack ruckus, the Trailhunter is a good highway cruiser. It never really lets you forget it’s a truck, and its ride isn’t luxury-sedan supple, but it’s not punishing, either. Warning signs about bumps in the road can be ignored altogether because that tough suspension rarely transmits anything other than a slight jostle to the cabin.

Steering, too, is truck-like in that the mass and substance of the components beneath are always felt, and yet body motion is decently composed, so driving the Trailhunter like a rally car around gravel roads can be surprisingly fun thanks to precise steering and strong, progressive brakes. The practicality of that long box length comes with a considerable price, though, as the turning circle is school bus-like, which makes it a pain in parking lots. And considering this truck is meant to be the rock-crawling Tacoma, its break-over angle is hindered by a long wheelbase, plus it’s tough to weave through tight trails.

Safety: 9/10

Toyota’s latest safety suite is standard equipment and includes adaptive cruise control, lane departure warning and keeping assistance, automatic emergency braking with pedestrian detection, and blind-spot monitoring with rear cross-traffic alert. Meanwhile, the Proactive Driving Assist (PDA) system was put to regular use, with the forward-facing camera and radar sensors helping provide predictive braking and steering inputs when entering corners, or when following another vehicle.

Value: 7/10

As the range-topping trim, the Tacoma Trailhunter is expensive. Starting at $82,950, there really isn’t much to add aside from paint protection and a few accessories. That means all the kit put into this truck, from bumpers and skid plates to suspension bits, wheels and tires, racks, and lights, have all been integrated perfectly into this truck. It’s all under warranty and can be financed by Toyota, too. Add the options to a Chevrolet Colorado ZR2 to compete and it’s priced essentially the same, as is the new Ford Ranger Raptor.

For those who revel in modifying their own truck, a lower-trim model like a TRD Off-Road is more than $20,000 less and can be customized to the heart’s content, but I’d bet building a comparable truck would cost more and not get the hybrid powertrain’s additional power.

The Verdict

Toyota has surely done its homework to know that buyers want a truck like this and what they’re willing to spend for it, but at about $20,000 more than last year’s TRD Pro – a serious truck in its own right – the 2024 Toyota Tacoma Trailhunter is a big step up. Still, there’s no question this is a well-equipped and brilliantly accomplished off-road rig, and it’s an awesome example of just how capable the new Tacoma can be. Load it up with a kayak, mountain bike, roof-top tent, and provisions for a week, and hit the B.C. wilderness. This truck is ready for it.