Tacoma Trailhunter Gives Toyota Another Validation For Hybrids

Until recently, when I've had a bold-looking new model out for a drive, gawkers and passers-by are obviously captivated by the exterior styling of my ride, or the color, or some other new or outstanding characteristic that is only skin deep. And to be fair, the brand-new, 2024 Toyota Tacoma Trailhunter is every bit deserving of that kind of attention, with its high-mount air intake, metal grids that join the back window to the truck bed on each side, and 265/70R18 Goodyear Wrangler Territory R/T tires that are nearly 33 inches in diameter. All of it eye candy for the serious off-roader.

But what's been interesting as I've driven the Trailhunter around—decidedly on-road—is what at least a few curious onlookers have asked me. "That's a hybrid, right?"; or, "That's got the turbocharged four-cylinder, doesn't it?" are typical questions.

And the combination of those two facts alone underscores just how smart Toyota has been to pursue a hybrid-first strategy that has set the rest of the U.S. auto business on its ear. When Toyota can produce a new mauler of a vehicle that looks like it could climb over or through just about any topography anywhere, and the first question from admirers is whether it's truly a hybrid, that alone tells you the company has succeeded: The fact that it's a hybrid with "only" a four-cylinder engine and is being accepted on its own terms is a major victory for the hybridization of the American automotive fleet.

The Trailhunter looks boss and clearly is ready to punish whatever terrain it enters. Tires can be inflated or deflated as needed for off-road adventures with a bed-mounted air compressor, with digital display for easy use. Forged, 2.5-inch "Old Man Emu" monotube shocks designed specifically for this vehicle damp what the terrain is giving the vehicle at each corner, with remote reservoirs in the rear. There's a steel rear bumper with rear recovery points, and a modular sport bar with removable Molle panels. And on and on.

Standard off-road protection includes rock rails and a series of high-strength steel skid plates straight from the factory, to take on tough terrain, instead of standard aluminum underbody protection on the Tacoma. The skid plates guard the front, transmission and rear differential. Plus, Trailhunter bears a bronze-colored "Toyota" heritage-inspired grille with an integrated 20-inch LED light bar and white/yellow color-switching LED fog lamps.

There's also much consideration given to passengers who might be along on teh adventure, given that Trailhunter comes only in a double-cab configuration, with either a five- or six-foot bed. Bespoke Mineral-colored heated and ventilated SofTex-trimmed front seats highlight the cabin.

But in some ways, Trailhunter is dominated by the fact of its "hybridness," if you will. For example, Trailhunter makes available a whopping 2,400 watts of electricity in the bed, for everything from the ability to brew fresh coffee to powering a heater in the winter, or other accessories or tools.

And at 2.4 liters and with turbocharging, the i-Force Max four-cylinder makes peak combined output of 326 horsepower and 465 pound-feet of torque, with 48 horsepower and 184 pound-feet coming from the electric motor. Trailhunter indeed demonstrates still more of what Toyota can get out of its hybrid-first strategy that smartly keeps all-electric vehicles mostly at bay for the moment.